FOR SOMEONE ELSE!

Author Unknown 



The story is told about a memorable event at the Special Olympics held in Seattle a few years ago. Nine handicapped runners waited nervously at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. When the starter's gun fired, eight runners went bounding off at various speeds. But one boy tumbled head over heels and began to cry. The others heard him, turned around and went back to see what was wrong with their fallen comrade. A girl with Down's syndrome kissed the boy on the cheek, saying, "There, that will make it better!" Then all nine runners linked arms and eventually crossed the finish line together. They were all winners and the fans gave them a standing ovation. 

Perhaps none of those champion runners could have given a verbatim response to the question, "Which is the greatest commandment?" Neither the boy who tripped over his own feet nor the girl who kissed him may have been able to say, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength" and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But both runners could do something much more important. They could live the greatest of the commandments by loving with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. Had Jesus been physically present, he would have led the standing ovation. 

"It is only with the heart that one sees rightly," wrote Antoine de Saint Exupery in the "Little Prince." When we see with the heart, as did the children in the opening story, we see others not as competitors for attention, advancement, wealth or privilege, but as vulnerable human beings like ourselves They are subject to the same weakness, blindness and misguided intentions as we are. 

Living the great commandment of love is our vocation. It is what we are here for. "It is not how much we do, "but how much love we put into it. To God there's nothing small." Not even a cup of cold water given to a thirsty traveler or a little kiss bestowed on the cheek of a fallen comrade.