7th sunday ordinary time
This weekend we are continuing to come out from the darkness of the COVID19 restrictions in our parishes. As we do this, we take the time to remember all those who are not with us as well as all those who have kept us safe wherever we are over the past 2 years. We pray a prayer of gratitude for all those who have done so much in so many different ways.
This weekend we think about the things the Lord asks us to do in following Him, nothing is more difficult that the teaching in this weekend’s Gospel. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you It is much easier to sacrifice our wants for the needs of others, then it is to avoid lashing out at someone but that is what Jesus is calling us to do. And what does God do besides showing us extraordinary compassion, mercy and patience? What he does is love us the way we are. And his love for us is so immense that he makes the greatest of all sacrifices for us by giving for our salvation the life of his own dear Son. What we are talking about then in today’s Gospel is not some ethical system for the good of society or for our own self-interest but something way beyond this. What Jesus gives us is the very principle behind the creation of the universe: God’s infinite love for us all. This is the extraordinary challenge that he lays before us: To love the people around us just as he loves us, just as he loves them. It is not easy and we won’t achieve it often but we know that this is what God wants from us and it is something that deep in our hearts we are glad to do. The way God treats us is to be the guideline for our life as Christians. God is infinitely compassionate and merciful, he is extraordinarily patient with our many shortcomings and he puts up with all sorts of foolishness on our part. It is our task as a true disciple to imitate our master, to imitate the behaviour of God himself. In the words of Micah this is what God asks of us: only this, to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with our God.
Fullerton T 