The Soup Tureen (10/29/2023)

When I was a kid, one of my favorite television shows was the series “The Millionaire.” Every week Michael Anthony would hand a check for $1,000,000 to someone from his anonymous employer. One of the episodes stuck with me for some reason. A gentleman wished to bring love to a household, and he bought a soup tureen, explaining that every home needed one, it was a sign of coming together as a loving family. And so, in 1972 when I was looking for a special gift for my sister, I went to Dayton’s in Minneapolis in search of a soup tureen for my sister, a sign of a prayerful wish for love to be present around her and in her home.

The soup tureen was at the center of every dining room my sister had over the next 50 years. She used it for family chili night. But the real reason it was there was because I gave it to her. Over those 50 years, I came to understand that the soup tureen didn’t really magically transform a family, only love can do that. When my sister passed away, her children wrapped up the tureen and presented it to me. They told me that it was so special to their mom, my sister, because it was a gift from me when I could least afford it (which was true).

The soup tureen is now in my home. It sits on my kitchen island. Every time I look at it, I remember my loving sister, I remember my hope in giving it to her and her family. It’s just a soup tureen, and yet it is a symbol of love.

We all want love. We all need love. We were created by love itself, our LORD, from love, through love, and in love. We are wired for love; it is the foundation and purpose of life. Our love matters. We get to choose whom we love. It is the essential choice of our lives. It is the choice upon which we and our lives will be judged. Whom do we love? How do we love?

Today’s gospel reading from Matthew recounts Jesus’ teaching on this essential principle of life. He tells us that there are two great commandments: You shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole mind… and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Such a simple principle; yet not so easy to live. To make love our reason, our compass, our goal sounds simple. But any of us who have lived longer than a day know that it’s not easy. Choosing the loving path is what we are called to do but we all know at times it is the steepest route, it can be more difficult.

Jesus never told us it was going to be easy. We have the image of him upon the cross to remind us that He knew just how difficult love can be. But we also have hope because of Him and his love. We will live through difficult Fridays, but we believe that Sunday is coming. The reward for loving well isn’t immediate but it is eternal.

And so, let us on the journey, steel ourselves for some rough road ahead. Let us commit to living the love that is within us, spending it in goodness and loving kindness toward our sisters and brothers to the honor and glory of our LORD whom we love with our whole being. Let us choose daily the loving response to the difficulties we encounter. Let us live into our roles as daughters and sons of the living and loving LORD and disciples of Christ through our choices, through our loving sacrifices, through our insistence on being instruments of the LORD’s love always and everywhere.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.