Saturday March 12, 2022

Saturday of 1st Week in Lent

 

Gratuitous Covenant Love

 

The life of a pious Jew could be summed up as a response to God’s covenant of love with a covenant loyalty. This is also the life of a Christian, even more so: as God takes the initiative of offering his gratuitous love to his people and to each of us, so we try to give him a response of faithful love and offer to our neighbor a spontaneous, gratuitous love which comes from the depth of our being and commits us beyond the call of the law. Christian life is then communion with God, communion with people, even with enemies, for there should be no enemies for Christians.

                           

First Reading: Deuteronomy 26:16-19 

This very day God, your God, commands you to follow these rules and regulations, to live them out with everything you have in you. You’ve renewed your vows today that God is your God, that you’ll live the way he shows you; do what he tells you in the rules, regulations, and commandments; and listen obediently to him.

And today God has reaffirmed that you are dearly held treasure just as he promised, a people entrusted with keeping his commandments, a people set high above all other nations that he’s made, high in praise, fame, and honor: you’re a people holy to God, your God. That’s what he has promised.

 

Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48 

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

 

Prayer

Lord God, from you comes the initiative of love.
You seek us out and you tell us:
“I am your God; you are my people.”
You love us in Jesus Christ, your Son.
God, may our response of love
go far beyond the demands of any law.
May we seek you and commune with you
in the deepest of our being
and may we express our gratitude to you
by going to our neighbor
with a love that is spontaneous like yours.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Love is the identity of a Christian

The phrase “Racial profiling” has become part of our modern vocabulary. It signifies suspicion regarding people of a particular ethnic or racial background solely on the basis of their appearance. It was indeed a problem in the past and it continues to be the curse of the present society. Discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnicity and religion easily affect our outlook of people around us. Discrimination on people on the basis of their economic and social status is rampant even in Church communities today.

The Gospel today directly addresses this problem. The law of the Old Testament commanded love of one’s fellow citi¬zens which implied hatred for the pagans. But, the Commandment of the Jesus calls on his disciples to look beyond. The mandate of Jesus in the New Testament calls us to love everyone. Pope Francis explains what makes a Christian different from others. He says, “The mystery of Christian life is loving our enemies and praying for our persecutors. Forgiveness, prayer, and love for those who seek to destroy us is the path Jesus has laid out for us. The challenge of Christian life is asking the Lord for the grace to bless our enemies and to love them.” Well said, but how far is it possible? How many families do we know, where there is no more love among siblings, between spouses, or between children and their parents?

We may boast of having no enemies. But think of the times when we discriminated our brothers and sisters because of their socio-economic status or their religious beliefs or we faced discrimination and were rejected because of these same reasons.

Cases of rejection and labelling people as “bad” or “good-for-nothing’ is no more Christian because they too are God’s own children as we are! Hatred, gossips and acts of violence are totally un-Christian. Rejection and denial of those who disagree with one’s personal ideologies and projects is against the life principles of Jesus. He taught us to love; to love without conditions and boundaries. To love even the enemies.

Jesus sets “the bar very high” for those who wish to become his disciple. Had the world listened to the voice of Christ, it would never have heard about wars, killings and fighting. The crises of refugees and displaced people would never have occurred amidst us. Millions of people are displaced and are subjected to abuses and torture in this time of crises. Can we be a little more compassionate and empathetic towards people on the streets, migrant workers, low-income families…? Let us continue to pray for the people of Ukraine and Russia and also refugees and suffering people all over the world in this time of Lent.

 

Video available on Youtube: Love is the identity of a Christian