Love Beyond Measure – 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

Love Beyond Measure – 7^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

Is something ethical because God commands it, or does God command it because it is ethical?  This question gets at the very heart of Christian morality, for we often go astray in our answer.  We are inclined to focus our attention on the commandments of God and obedience to the law that God has set for us, forgetting the fact that law became the stumbling block to holiness in the tradition of Israel.  However, the readings today correct this tendency within us and enable us to see that the source of Christian morality lies within the very heart of God Himself.

Within the core of the Old Law we find our first reading we find this striking comment:  “Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.”  The fundamental command to Israel is to imitate God Himself in His very being which consists in holiness.  But how are we to be holy in our lives?  The text indicates that our path to holiness is found primarily in how we treat others.  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 

However, the text also makes clear that our love is directed to our brother and sister, our fellow citizen, and our own people.  On the surface these descriptors seem to limit our love to our own kind and no further.  A deeper reflection might also lead us to recall that we are all children of the one God and that we have a common ancestry from our first parents of Eden.  We are all brothers and sisters as human beings; we are all citizens of the same planet; we are all one people.  Unfortunately, this text was not often regarded in this way. 

Consequently, the teaching of Jesus in the Gospel text today stands in stark contrast to the customary interpretation of the first reading’s text.  Jesus commands us to love our enemies, and in so doing he extends the interpretation of “neighbor” well beyond the measure we customarily provide.  But in so doing Jesus also leads us to consider whether we actually love those within our circle for whom it is easy to love.

Do we love our brother and sister, or are our families a place of discord and strife?  Domestic violence, child abuse, and the staggering divorce rates would indicate we have a long way to go in our love for brother and sister.

Do we love our fellow citizen, or just those who agree with our political views, or those who obey our laws?  The practice of the death penalty in no way conforms to love on any measure.  The rabid insistence of its continued practice in our nation is based solely on revenge and hatred, not on protection of society.  The polarization of our electorate with its hateful speech against one another also bears no recognition of our duties to love one another, let alone our enemies. 

Do we love our own people, or only those with papers?  Too often we find a reason to hate the immigrant among us, limiting our care and love for those who are most vulnerable in our land as well as in their own native place.

 

Do we love our enemy, or are we always looking for new wars to start and new weapon systems to develop?  These wars may be military wars, culture wars, ideological wars, or any other form of warfare.  The command and example of Jesus would seem to indicate a different path from the one in which the human race is currently engaged.  And somehow we continue to justify the slaughter of any and every war, physical or verbal.

Each and every human being is a temple of God, a dwelling place for the Most High, as Paul reminds us.  And rather than have reverence for each and every person, each and every temple of God, we seek to be Romans who would tear down and ravage the dwelling place of the Most High.  But we have the example of the Lord Jesus, who provides for us the way to follow.  For the Lord Jesus loves all, and loved His enemies, even kissing Judas and calling him friend at the moment of betrayal. 

As we discern how we might be holy as God is holy in our personal and communal lives, we gather in prayer at the altar of God, drawing nourishment and inspiration at the example of Jesus before us in the sacrifice of Calvary.  And we pray:  “Let us pray to the God of power and might, for his mercy is our hope.  Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, faith in your word is the way to wisdom, and to ponder your divine plan is to grow in the truth.  Open our eyes to your deeds, our ears to the sound of your call, so that our every act may increase our sharing in the life you have offered us.  Grant this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.”

Wonder Twin Powers

Wonder Twin Powers – 5^th Sunday In Ordinary Time Year A

One of my favorite cartoons to watch as a child was The Superfriends, a collection of heroes who fought for justice against the forces of evil in the world.  Two of the characters, Zan and Jane, were twins who had the special power of fist bumping and changing into whatever object might prove useful to them in a given situation – an eagle, waterfall, elephant, ice bridge.  The struggle for justice and the importance of material objects forms the basis of our readings this week.

In the first reading we find our fundamental mission as children of God is to provide food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, to drive out oppression and malice.  This mission had always been part of the call of God for His people.  However, the people of Israel rejected this mission, and as a result her enemies were able to conquer her, lead her people into captivity, and treat the Israelites in the same manner as they had treated others.  Isaiah reminds the nation of this call, and he looks forward to the day when a leader of the people would come forth to demonstrate in his own life the perfect following of God’s mission of justice.

The Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of this desire of Isaiah.  In providing food for the hungry on many occasions, in curing the sick and those possessed by demons, and in driving out oppression and malice from the Temple area, Jesus in His life and death provides for us the light by which we must orient our lives in order to fulfill the mission of justice entrusted to us.

In the Gospel text Jesus tells us that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, both material items being images used in baptism.  Salt has two functions – to be a preservative for keeping meat from spoiling, and to be a seasoning for making things more flavorful.  Christians are called to be both preservers of justice, peace, and mercy in the world, as well as to be seasoning to make these more attractive to the world.  We seek to preserve the faith and tradition of the Church in every age, preserve hope in people gripped by despair, and always to find new ways to put our fundamental mission into action in every age, place, and circumstance. 

Salt had been used in the first part of the baptismal liturgy, still being retained in the Extraordinary Form.  The priest or deacon places the salt on the lips of the person to be baptized and says, “Take this salt in sign of wisdom. May it be for you likewise a token that foreshadows everlasting life.”  The minister then prays, “God of our fathers, God, source of all truth, we humbly ask you to be well disposed to your servant, N. After this first taste of salt, let his (her) hunger for heavenly nourishment not be prolonged but soon be satisfied. For then he (she) will always pay homage to your holy name with fervor, joy, and trust.”  As we hunger for justice and righteousness, we then seek to live such lives that preserve such in our world and to bring it to places where it is lacking.

The image of light similarly has two important functions:  to dispel darkness, providing direction and hope for those in darkness; and to point out that which deserves the attention of others.  We are called to dispel darkness in our mission of justice, peace, and mercy.  In so doing, we shine light upon these three ideals so that people may be drawn to them.  Our light is not our own.  It is the light of Christ shining through us, for He alone is the light of the world.

The symbol of light is used in the baptismal liturgy after the baptism proper has been completed.  The priest or deacon offers a lit candle to the baptized person and says, “Receive the light of Christ.”  Then, the minister says, “Parents and godparents, this light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly. This child of yours has been enlightened by Christ. He (she) is to walk always as a child of the light. May he (she) keep the flame of faith alive in his (her) heart. When the Lord comes, may he (she) go out to meet him with all the saints in the heavenly kingdom.”  Our light is not our own; it has been entrusted to us to fulfill our fundamental mission of justice, peace, and mercy.

As we seek to live our mission more faithfully in our lives, we come together to be nourished by the Word of God and the Body and Blood of Jesus the Lord.  We pray for the grace we need in every moment of our lives:  “In faith and love we ask you, Father, to watch over your family gathered here.  In your mercy and loving kindness no thought of ours is left unguarded, no tear unheeded, no joy unnoticed.  Through the prayer of Jesus may the blessings promised to the poor in spirit lead us to the treasures of your heavenly kingdom.  We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.  Amen.”