“For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that for your sake he became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.” 2 Cor 8:1-9
“Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Mt 5:43-48
Today, the Sermon on the Mount comes to a conclusion. Jesus closes with the challenge of stepping out of our comfort zone and to do something that no other religious leader has ever spoken about. Jesus teaches us to “love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. This is absurd to anyone who does not have faith. It just doesn’t make sense. The important lesson is in the next verse, “that you may be children of your heavenly Father”. If we are to be children of God and enter heaven this is a requirement and then he teaches us that God made all people. Whether a person is black or white, our religion, another religion, or no religion, our enemy or our friend, our family or a complete stranger, God made them all and He is calling us to love them. We judge so quickly and have everyone labeled within minutes of meeting them or watching something on the news. This is not love. Padre Pio says, “Who can criticize, we all have faults and limits.” There is one guarantee for every human being, we will sin and we will suffer. God’s grace heals sinners, not human efforts or accomplishments (except God working through us). As Paul says in the 1st reading today, Jesus became poor so we could become rich through His suffering. Since we will all suffer, we must learn how to turn the pain and suffering into joy. We must offer it up to Jesus as a small token for what He went through for our many sins. The saints wanted to suffer so they could offer it up to Jesus to love Him more and in return brought them great joy.
Most importantly, Jesus ends with, “so be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Are we called to be perfect? This is impossible, only the sinless Jesus and Mary are perfect. Jesus is not asking us to be perfect in the sense of making no mistakes. He is teaching us today that His grace falls upon all who are open to receiving it and allowing His grace to work through us and bring love to others. The way to perfection is humility, loving God and others, not judging, and suffering for Jesus. We will make many mistakes, we will sin often, we will suffer and complain because our body and mind tell us to, we will judge, we will be prideful and stubborn, and we will not love God and others. So, the task Jesus has given to us seems impossible, but “with God all things are possible” Mt 19:26 How? God’s grace. Where do we receive it after we have fallen, brush ourselves off and get back up to fight, in the sacraments. The Catholic ER (Eucharist and Reconciliation). We receive it in prayer, in doing good deeds for others, praying for others, in loving and forgiving.
Become a saint!
Christian YOLO
Recent Comments