7th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A, Yr. I)
Community Word: Disciples of Christ are called to be the salt and the light of the earth.
Theme: We are the salt and the light of the earth when we show unconditional love and kindness to everyone.
Promise: “He redeems your life…crowns you with kindness and compassion.” (Ps 103:4)
Reflection
God’s words in Leviticus – “Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy” (Lev 19:2) exhorts us to imitate our Lord God rather than the ways of the world. Though we are still in the world, we should not conform to the standards of this world, but rather let God’s power transform us inwardly by earnestly following His commandments and responding to the call to be pure and holy that will benefit our spiritual life.
Our theme this week reads – We are the salt and the light of the earth when we show unconditional love and kindness to everyone. Jesus appears to constantly shock his disciples because of his radical instructions and commands. In the gospel, he enjoins his disciples to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. Even the earlier commandment to love one’s neighbor as oneself has always been a challenge to those who are at odds with other people, including their relatives and friends.
The commandment of Jesus to love one’s enemies is startling because people have the tendency to cling to their grudges and resentments. Emotional as we are, we know that we cannot do this by our efforts alone. With God’s goodness and grace we can, and we should allow the Lord to work on us. Jesus is inculcating in us that the proper response in our relationship with others should be taken from the nature of our discipleship, not from the wrong done to us. There is an old adage which says, “To love a friend is earthly, to love an enemy, divine.” True, because loving an enemy is a command which human nature cannot fulfill without divine grace.
This is what makes a true Christian distinct, our awareness of divine grace, that is, to treat others not as they deserve, but as God wishes them to be treated, with loving-kindness and mercy. God’s love embraces both the unjust as well as the just, the saint and sinner alike, “… for He makes His sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust,” (Mt.5:45). God seeks our highest good and teaches us to seek the greatest good in others, even those who hate and abuse us. Our love for others, even those who are ungrateful and selfish towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and mercy which God has shown to us.
When we pray for those who do us ill, it will break the power of revenge and release the power of love to do good in the face of evil. How can we possibly love those who cause us harm and ill-will? With God all things are possible. He gives power and grace to those who believe and accept the gift of the Holy Spirit. His love conquers all, even our hurts, fears, prejudices and grief. Only the cross of Jesus Christ can free us from the tyranny of malice, hatred, revenge, and the “get-even” kind of “fairness” that tends to occupy our thoughts, and give us the courage to return evil with good. Such love and grace has the power to heal and to save us from self-destruction.
Perhaps it is not so much that we are asked to imitate God’s compassion as to be a channel for it. May we be open and free in letting the image of God we were created from, be seen and experienced by people around us. Only by receiving the Spirit that Jesus promises us will we be able to witness to his love and peace. God created man in His own image. He gave us His own nature, planting in us a tendency to be holy so we may desire to be with Him in heaven forever. The Father sent His Son to teach us the way to holiness. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to continue His work of guiding us to holiness. Our salvation then is the work of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity.
When will the measure be measured back to us? God’s mercy and justice is constant and forever and will come as we deserve. It will be given with our awareness that what we are doing to love others regardless of the circumstances, is what God wants us to do. Then we create in our heart a sense of deep joy and peace, as we claim the promise: “He redeems your life…crowns you with kindness and compassion.” (Ps 103:4).
Prayer:
Jesus, help us to be more like You. Teach us when to avoid the ways of this world in order that we become conformed to Your likeness. Teach us how to show love and kindness to our enemies and those who persecute us. Lord, change our heart and let us be truly worthy of being called children of God. Allow us the time to ponder how merciful You are, even when we are ungrateful and wicked; to make us pause before judging and condemning our enemies. Listen to our prayer, forgive all our sins, renew Your love in our heart, help us to live in perfect unity with our fellowmen that we may proclaim Your saving power to all the world. Amen.
Reflection Guide Questions:
- How do you keep yourself composed in situations where you are being treated badly?
- In what ways can you show kindness and compassion to be more Christ-like?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
February 19, 2023 (Sun) – Lv 19:1, 2, 17, 18/Ps 103:1-4, 8, 10, 12, 13/1Cor 3:16-23/ Mt 5:38-48
February 20, 2023 (Mon) – Sir 1:1-10/Ps 93:1-2, 5/Mk 9:14-29
February 21, 2023 (Tue) – Sir 2:1-11/Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39, 40/Mk 30-37
February 22, 2023 (Wed) – Jl 2:12-18/Ps 51:3-6, 12-14, 17/2Cor 5:20, 6:2/Mt 6:1-6, 16-18
February 23, 2023 (Thu) – Dt 30:15-20/Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6/Lk 9:22-25
February 24, 2023 (Fri) – Is 58:1-9/Ps 51:3-4, 56-6, 18-19/Mt 9:14-15
February 25, 2023 (Sat) – Is 58:9-14/Ps 86:1-6/Lk 5:27-32
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
