I got another call for money this week.

Actually several. As you might suspect, the most frequent calls I get at the office are from those seeking financial assistance. Electricity bills, car payments, evictions, you name it I’ve heard it. Churches are prime targets for those who need a quick buck. And discerning between the scammers and those in genuine need is a skill they didn’t teach me in seminary.

After more than a dozen years of doing this I’ve developed thick skin. I try to get off the phone as quickly as possible. I hand messages off to others to vet for me. I have become callous and thick skinned. Until this week.

God has been dealing with me.

While meditating on this Sunday’s gospel I have been forced to ask: what are the most divine things in our lives? If we answered relationships we get a gold star. Relationships not just with those we know, we love, and we care about, but with strangers, clerks, even beggars.

Every relationship is a divine encounter because every relationship offers the opportunity to love God – for, as we know, in loving others, we love God.

How do we not just tolerate, but treasure that relationship with the operator at the cable TV company, that overworked receptionist at the clinic, and that disorganized person asking for money?

The hard work of carrying the cross has little to do with hauling lumber, and a whole lot to do with how we forgive, reconcile, seek understanding, and offer respect in our everyday relationships.