Saturday
7th March 2020. Read Deuteronomy 26:16-19, Psalm 119 and Matthew
5:43-48)_
_“… So that you may be sons of your
Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” *(Matthew 5:45)*_
Jesus tells us today to aim for
perfection because we serve a perfect God. Of course, children must resemble
their father. Since God is perfect, we who claim to be His children must
reflect God’s perfection in us.
And how do we do this? By loving our
enemies, by praying for those who persecute us, by letting our rain (goodness)
fall on both our friends and our foes alike, by letting our sun (warmth, love,
concern) shine on both our friends and our foes, by greeting everyone including
those who never respond to our greeting.
To be perfect is to have a heart so
clean that it gives no room for hatred; a heart so sweet that it is never
bitter at anyone; a heart so holy that it never contemplates evil against anyone.
They say practice makes perfect. Begin with those you do not like. Change your
feelings towards them, start thinking of them in very positive terms no longer
as devils.
In today’s first reading, we hear the
voice of Moses saying to us: “you have declared this day to walk in His ways,
to keep His statutes and ordinances, to obey His voice and the Lord has declared
that you are a people of His own possession, that He will set you high above
all nations, you shall be a people holy to the Lord.”
What does it mean to be holy to the
Lord? It is to be “set apart” that is, to be different from the rest of the
world. If the people of the world believe strongly in the principle of “an eye
for an eye”, we who are different should practice the opposite. When we are
slapped on one cheek, we turn the other. This is the essence of holiness.
Is there even any reward for loving
our enemies? Yes, we become free from bitterness, we sleep more peacefully at
night, food even tastes better, our minds function better, we are able to
receive new inspirations and as Moses says, God will set us high above all
nations.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, teach me to
love all my neighbours as myself. Amen.
*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 1st Week of Lent. Bible Study: Deuteronomy
26:16-19, Psalm 119 and Matthew 5:43-48).*
Fr. Abu
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