Today's Message: 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time A
Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18; 1 Corinthians 3:16-23; Matthew 5:38-48
Am I the kind of person I would like to be?
I try to treat people the way I would like to be treated. Even more, I try to be kind, caring, compassionate, understanding and loving to them. Do I succeed? Not all the time … but I try. Do I feel that I am growing closer to the Lord? This is always a work in progress for me. I see my Spiritual Director once a month and he hears my confession and keeps me in tune with the Lord’s constant presence in my life. Today’s readings add a word that makes many uncomfortable: Holy. I am called to be holy … each person is called to be holy. We are called to be holy as the Lord is Holy. I so often feel that I am so far away from being holy that I wonder if it is reachable. This is a very good position to be in because I can’t do it … I do not have the gifts or the ability to be holy. It is only by God’s constant grace that I can see that the five steps forward and ten steps falling behind are not a hazard to being holy. That means that I have to rely on the Lord for direction, sustenance, gifts of perseverance, patience and love to keep me on track. We look to the readings for help.
After being rescued from Egypt by God, the Israelites started their journey in discovering God and refocusing their attention on who God was to them. They watched Moses in their desert experiences and came to feel that God was ‘far away’ and untouchable. While Moses was up on the mountain with the Lord, they waited ... knowing that anything that set foot on the mountain was to be stoned to death. Much later, when the Ark of the Covenant was being carried back to Jerusalem and the oxen stumbled and Uzzah stretched out his hand to steady the ark, he was immediately struck down by God. He had touched the ‘holy’. [This account is in 2 Samuel 6.] But the meaning in all of this is that when God pitched His tent among the Israelites, and Jesus lived, acted and loved, God was totally accessible. God’s presence was nothing to fear … God cares and loves. Jesus' statement in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest,” shows us God’s presence now.
In the Leviticus reading today, the tribes have already entered a covenant with God. Now having God so close to them, the people need to make huge changes in how they treat people and how people view them. They are to be people of holiness. They have experienced the divine holiness and it scares them. But God is reminding them to live the standards of heaven. They have so often experienced the tolerance, forgiveness and love of God. Now they have to extend this same compassion to those around them. They are called to reach beyond the ordinary and conventional ways that other countries and cultures use. Is this going to be hard to do? Yes, they are not to hate even secretly. They are not to give in to grudges and getting even. They are to love. I am called to love. All are called to love. We are called to love, not some of the time but all of the time. We are not to determine who is the person we should love. God loves all, I am called to do the same. Is living out these commands easy? Absolutely not! They are always a work in progress. Each positive step I take forms me in living and showing God’s love.
Paul reminds the Corinthians of the divisions within them. These divisions make them feel that they are part of a ‘group’ and this makes them feel good and special. Paul is emphasizing that everything and everyone belongs to God. There are no favorites. All are loved and must be people of love. And since we belong to God, we are holy because God is holy. Are we working on our holiness by living the life of Jesus?
Jesus is continuing His Sermon on the Mount. Today He is emphasizing how the Law (the Ten Commandments) and Jesus’ triple law of Love is intended to form a certain kind of person. Jesus starts off by condemning any form of retaliation. Since this is off the boards, Jesus goes directly to His favorite theme of loving one’s neighbor. This is the core of holiness. Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has been emphasizing that His disciples must surpass the righteousness and goodness of the Pharisees and religious leaders. Now the Jewish idea at that time allowed limited retaliation and they felt this would still keep them ‘holy.’.An ‘eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ [in other words: if you hit me in the right eye, I can only hit you in the right eye … and if I can’t do it, a family member can]. Jesus totally rejects this. Jesus is telling them that a Christian does not live according to the acceptable standards of Caesar … or of our country or a specific leader. The Kingdom of God rejects retaliation. Jesus is teaching love of our enemies. Enemies appear on everyone’s scene, this is not God’s plan. God’s plan was seen in the beginning when God created all things. Jesus does not give up on this radical vision. Being a person of love has never been, nor will it ever be, easy. It is challenging totally.
Jesus ends today’s reading with, “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” He emphasizes mercy over justice. Mercy does not allow ‘getting even.’ Mercy asks each person to give freely of their gifts and talents, especially to the needy. Jesus calls for ‘loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us.’ Loving means wanting good for them … praying for their growth in loving and growth to God. Michael Casey, a Cistercian monk who has written fabulous homilies over his fifty years of priesthood, says:
Christ said of Himself, ‘Whoever sees Me, sees the Father.’ It should be possible for the Christians to say, ‘Whoever sees me, sees Christ.’” We are meant to be images of Christ, icons of the Father. The impossible task we have been given is to be windows into the spiritual world through which the radiance of God’s acceptance and love shines forth.
Such a mission is, thankfully, less a task or a call than a gift from God. We are invited to unwrap the gift that has been given when we received the faith and to unfetter its intrinsic radiance. Our role is to shine, to be radiant. To be witnesses to something that is greater than ourselves.
When Jesus prays for His disciples in the words, ‘Make them holy in the truth,’ it is prayer that the Father hears. The work of holiness is being accomplished among us today not through any merit of ours, but by the powerful work of grace. How does God bring to completion the plan of salvation? By gifting us with a holiness that we do not deserve. We have only to allow it to do its work, and we will be transformed and others will receive the benefit.
So I reflect on:
“I am to be as perfect as God the Father! Is Jesus being unreasonable, asking too much of me? Jesus portrays God as a loving and proud Father who sees Himself in me and in each of His sons and daughters. So He expects that I, a dearly loved child of His, created in His image, will be good to all my brothers and sisters, even my ‘enemies’ and persecutors.
“I am not to retaliate, but should give, share, lend, and go the extra mile. How do I see myself doing one of these in the days to come?”
Am I the kind of person I would like to be?
I try to treat people the way I would like to be treated. Even more, I try to be kind, caring, compassionate, understanding and loving to them. Do I succeed? Not all the time … but I try. Do I feel that I am growing closer to the Lord? This is always a work in progress for me. I see my Spiritual Director once a month and he hears my confession and keeps me in tune with the Lord’s constant presence in my life. Today’s readings add a word that makes many uncomfortable: Holy. I am called to be holy … each person is called to be holy. We are called to be holy as the Lord is Holy. I so often feel that I am so far away from being holy that I wonder if it is reachable. This is a very good position to be in because I can’t do it … I do not have the gifts or the ability to be holy. It is only by God’s constant grace that I can see that the five steps forward and ten steps falling behind are not a hazard to being holy. That means that I have to rely on the Lord for direction, sustenance, gifts of perseverance, patience and love to keep me on track. We look to the readings for help.
After being rescued from Egypt by God, the Israelites started their journey in discovering God and refocusing their attention on who God was to them. They watched Moses in their desert experiences and came to feel that God was ‘far away’ and untouchable. While Moses was up on the mountain with the Lord, they waited ... knowing that anything that set foot on the mountain was to be stoned to death. Much later, when the Ark of the Covenant was being carried back to Jerusalem and the oxen stumbled and Uzzah stretched out his hand to steady the ark, he was immediately struck down by God. He had touched the ‘holy’. [This account is in 2 Samuel 6.] But the meaning in all of this is that when God pitched His tent among the Israelites, and Jesus lived, acted and loved, God was totally accessible. God’s presence was nothing to fear … God cares and loves. Jesus' statement in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest,” shows us God’s presence now.
In the Leviticus reading today, the tribes have already entered a covenant with God. Now having God so close to them, the people need to make huge changes in how they treat people and how people view them. They are to be people of holiness. They have experienced the divine holiness and it scares them. But God is reminding them to live the standards of heaven. They have so often experienced the tolerance, forgiveness and love of God. Now they have to extend this same compassion to those around them. They are called to reach beyond the ordinary and conventional ways that other countries and cultures use. Is this going to be hard to do? Yes, they are not to hate even secretly. They are not to give in to grudges and getting even. They are to love. I am called to love. All are called to love. We are called to love, not some of the time but all of the time. We are not to determine who is the person we should love. God loves all, I am called to do the same. Is living out these commands easy? Absolutely not! They are always a work in progress. Each positive step I take forms me in living and showing God’s love.
Paul reminds the Corinthians of the divisions within them. These divisions make them feel that they are part of a ‘group’ and this makes them feel good and special. Paul is emphasizing that everything and everyone belongs to God. There are no favorites. All are loved and must be people of love. And since we belong to God, we are holy because God is holy. Are we working on our holiness by living the life of Jesus?
Jesus is continuing His Sermon on the Mount. Today He is emphasizing how the Law (the Ten Commandments) and Jesus’ triple law of Love is intended to form a certain kind of person. Jesus starts off by condemning any form of retaliation. Since this is off the boards, Jesus goes directly to His favorite theme of loving one’s neighbor. This is the core of holiness. Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has been emphasizing that His disciples must surpass the righteousness and goodness of the Pharisees and religious leaders. Now the Jewish idea at that time allowed limited retaliation and they felt this would still keep them ‘holy.’.An ‘eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ [in other words: if you hit me in the right eye, I can only hit you in the right eye … and if I can’t do it, a family member can]. Jesus totally rejects this. Jesus is telling them that a Christian does not live according to the acceptable standards of Caesar … or of our country or a specific leader. The Kingdom of God rejects retaliation. Jesus is teaching love of our enemies. Enemies appear on everyone’s scene, this is not God’s plan. God’s plan was seen in the beginning when God created all things. Jesus does not give up on this radical vision. Being a person of love has never been, nor will it ever be, easy. It is challenging totally.
Jesus ends today’s reading with, “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” He emphasizes mercy over justice. Mercy does not allow ‘getting even.’ Mercy asks each person to give freely of their gifts and talents, especially to the needy. Jesus calls for ‘loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us.’ Loving means wanting good for them … praying for their growth in loving and growth to God. Michael Casey, a Cistercian monk who has written fabulous homilies over his fifty years of priesthood, says:
Christ said of Himself, ‘Whoever sees Me, sees the Father.’ It should be possible for the Christians to say, ‘Whoever sees me, sees Christ.’” We are meant to be images of Christ, icons of the Father. The impossible task we have been given is to be windows into the spiritual world through which the radiance of God’s acceptance and love shines forth.
Such a mission is, thankfully, less a task or a call than a gift from God. We are invited to unwrap the gift that has been given when we received the faith and to unfetter its intrinsic radiance. Our role is to shine, to be radiant. To be witnesses to something that is greater than ourselves.
When Jesus prays for His disciples in the words, ‘Make them holy in the truth,’ it is prayer that the Father hears. The work of holiness is being accomplished among us today not through any merit of ours, but by the powerful work of grace. How does God bring to completion the plan of salvation? By gifting us with a holiness that we do not deserve. We have only to allow it to do its work, and we will be transformed and others will receive the benefit.
So I reflect on:
- What does holiness look like in my life? Why does it matter to me?
- When someone dismisses ethical laws as merely being suggestions ... what life stories can I tell in responding to that person?
- I look at my behavior behind the wheel, in the grocery store, with the poor, those living on the fringes of society … what do I need to change to be Jesus?
“I am to be as perfect as God the Father! Is Jesus being unreasonable, asking too much of me? Jesus portrays God as a loving and proud Father who sees Himself in me and in each of His sons and daughters. So He expects that I, a dearly loved child of His, created in His image, will be good to all my brothers and sisters, even my ‘enemies’ and persecutors.
“I am not to retaliate, but should give, share, lend, and go the extra mile. How do I see myself doing one of these in the days to come?”
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