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 and sisters 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
Jesus gives us a hard teaching today, but one we must strive for to enter into His glory with Him. First, there is a big difference between perfect (holy) and perfectionism. Perfectionism leads us to anxiety, worry, and misery. This does not mean we should not have earthly goals and attain them. To be perfect (holy) in God’s eyes is one who acts like Jesus. How does Jesus act? He came to save not condemn. Time and time again He looks at us with mercy. He sat with tax collectors and sinners, prostitutes, and healed the deformed, deaf, and blind. Many of us run the other way when we see a homeless person, someone different in our class, the drug addict or prostitute and we judge. Since when are we not all sinners in God’s eyes. Not once has He not forgiven you or the murderer if he/she has truly reconciled themselves with God. Many of our greatest Old Testament figures like David (in the lineage of Jesus Christ Himself) murdered and cheated on His wife. This is difficult when we look with a perspective from our head and not our heart (where God dwells). This is not to say that sinners are not judged rightly by God. In this year of mercy, Pope Francis has asked us to come to Jesus and be washed clean, get a new start, and allow ourselves to be loved by Christ. It is His greatest desire. We are His “the one”. He is constantly thinking about us, thirsting for us, to open ourselves up to Him. When we do this with a clean heart and desire nothing but Him, we begin to really start loving. Nothing else matters except to live for Christ. We want to fight sin harder, receive the Sacraments more faithfully, drink from the Bible more deeply to get to know Him better, spend time talking to Him in prayer every day, offer our sufferings up with His to be purified no matter how much pain and suffering we are going through. Why? When you come to Jesus, He never fails you. He is the only One who cannot fail you. It is against His nature not to love, forgive, and have mercy on us. Love and mercy are His very Being. Finally, we desire holiness with our whole heart, mind, body and soul when we get to know Jesus personally. ”So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” MT 5:48
Today’s challenge: Get to know Jesus personally, it will be the most important decision you make in your life. It is the only decision to make if you want to be with Father in heaven for all eternity!
Become a saint!
Christian YOLO
Recent Comments