Cycle C - Year I:  

24 February 2019: Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23

Second Reading:   1 Corinthians 15:45-49

Gospel:  Please Read  Luke 6:27-38

The Christian challenge: love and forgiveness....

In the old law of retaliation, it is "an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth!" This means, in principle, that a person who has injured another person is to be penalized to a similar degree.

But then, if we persist in this law of retaliation, we would end up a toothless and blind society. For none of us is blameless.

The Gospel message this Sunday is timely but also a difficult one to hear. It is even more challenging to live out in our day to day lives. For many people, even those who profess themselves as Christians, this may be one of the most difficult challenges in the Gospel. It seems to express an idealism that is unrealistic and seemingly unattainable.

 Because we live today in a world of great violence, of terrorism,of murders even the unborn, of vicious vendettas often stirred up in the tabloid press and other media, the horror of terrorist attacks on the innocent, like one we just witnessed in the Jolo Cathedral with scores dead and hurt. So are these things not to be avenged, we ask?

Well, our Lord Jesus utterly reverses human thinking about enemies and forgiveness. He spells out the way God goes about things, holding nothing against us despite all our failings.

Now, two sayings of our Lord Himself will help us to understand what He wants to teach us. The first saying is the so called Golden Rule: "Treat others as you would like people to treat you." (Lk 6:31) The second saying is "Be merciful as your Father in Heaven is merciful." (Lk 6:36)

These two directives from our Lord Jesus Christ indicate that Jesus does not want simply to change the situation. He wants to change the very system. And the novelty which He wants to introduce comes from the new experience of God our Father, full of tenderness who accepts all.  Jesus demands the contrary attitude: "Love your enemies!" (Lk 6:27) And love cannot depend on what I receive from others. Because true love should want the good of others, independently of what he or she does for me.

Of course, in the real world we know, forgiveness is never easy. That is why loving our enemies and those who hurt us is never easy. But then remember that our Lord does not ask us to do the easy things; He asks us to do whatever brings about the most love. And one way to show love for others is through service, especially to the poor and the helpless of society.

In sum, our challenge is to be one of those rare people, of those people who are able to give so much love and forgiveness even if it means not receiving anything in return. This is what our Lord Jesus Christ is calling us all to do.  And His challenge may seem to be beyond our human capacity. But then our Lord also reminds us that our model and strength is the heavenly Father who is compassionate to all, the saints and the sinners alike.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!