Edit this in WPZOOM Theme Options 800-123-456
 

WSC Reflection for February 19, 2017

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A, Year I)

Community Word:
Our proclamation of the gospel is an affirmation of God’s power and Spirit.

Theme:
We affirm God’s power and Spirit when we keep His word and do what it says.

Promise:
“He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion.”
(Ps 103:4)

Reflection:
In the gospel of the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time, St. Luke talks about action, not just feelings.  Jesus points out what love of enemies entails.  It is doing what is good to your enemies or people you hate or dislike, blessing them, praying for them, treating them charitably.  If this is our attitude, after a while our negative feelings will slowly change into positive one.  Doing this is doing what is most pleasing to God, as expressed in our Theme this week: We affirm God’s power and Spirit when we keep His word and do what it says.

The gospel reading illustrates a difficult situation, perhaps, experienced often by many of us – how to deal with people who we consider as unlovable, deserving only of our hate and resentment.  But just as our Heavenly Father pardons and continues to shower His people with blessings despite our unfaithfulness and betrayal, we too must do the same for our enemies.  We should never let ill-feelings reside in our hearts, but we must be open to understanding, consideration and forgiveness.  Jesus sets the highest example when He asked His Father to forgive His enemies as He hang dying on the cross – “For they know not what they are doing,” (Lk 23:34). The words of Jesus are difficult to accept in a society where revenge and violence are the order of the day, rather than tolerance and peaceful reconciliation.  Jesus wants to show us the only option that truly works.  His exhortation reflects who He is – He is pure love (1 Jn 4:8).  He therefore expects us to become pure love like Him as he commands us: “your light must shine,” (Mt 5:15a).  To love our enemies is the will of God because He makes the sun rise on the bad as well as on the good ones, and allows rain to fall on both the upright and the wicked.

As Martin Luther King wrote in his book Strength to Love: “the reason why we should love our enemies is that love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.  We never get rid of an enemy by meeting hate with hate, we get rid of an enemy by getting rid of resentments.  By its very nature hate destroys, by its very nature love creates and builds up.”

Jesus shares His words with us because He has confidence in us and believes in us.  He takes account of our sincerity and determination in proving our love.  Jesus knows that after responding to His call, we are now ready to give testimony to our closeness with Him to be His effective disciples in bringing about our community word for the month:  Our proclamation of the gospel is an affirmation of God’s power and Spirit.

Jesus never fails to inspire us.  Let us consider His words in the scriptural readings as encouragement, not just mere commands.  His words are not impossible commands, but words of consolation and empowerment.  Many are disappointed and lose faith because they tend to see God’s precepts as restricting our freedom and telling us to do what is beyond our capacity to act.  Jesus gives us these challenges because He knows what we need to do to inherit eternal life and He gives us the grace to succeed in this life, if only we are humble and obedient enough to trust in the Lord and follow Him.

“Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect,” (Mt 5:48).  This sums up the commandment to love.  The willingness to forgive as God forgives us is a sign that we are indeed becoming like the God we love.  Love heals and sets us free and therefore, if our attitude is loving and forgiving, we will receive the Lord’s promise: “He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion.” (Ps 103:4).

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help us to be loving like You so that we may truly deserved to be your children.  Help us to be kind and tender-hearted to one another.  Help us to love the unlovable, understand those who are incorrigible, accept those who differ from our points of view, and forgive those who cause us emotional pain.  Stretch our patience and allow us to be more tolerant, bearing one another, loving everyone through our life of imperfections.  This we pray in Jesus name.  Amen.

Reflection Questions:
1.How do you keep yourself composed in situations where you are being treated badly?

2.What are your realizations from the gospel reading and what actions can you take to let the words of Jesus affect your attitude towards your enemies or people you dislike or those who hate  or persecute you?

This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
February 19, 2017 (Sun) -Lv 19:1, 2, 17, 18/Ps 103:1-4, 8,10,12, 13/1Cor 3:16-23/Mt 5:38-48
February 20, 2017 (Mon)- Sir 1:1-10/Ps 93:1-2,5/Mk 9:14-29
February 21, 2017 (Tue) – Sir 2:1-11/Ps 37:3-4,18-19,27-28,39,40/Mk 30-37
February 22, 2017 (Wed)- 1Pt 5:1-4/Ps 23:1-3,4-6/Mt 16:13-19
February 23, 2017 (Thu)- Sir 5:1-8/Ps 1:1-4,6/Mk 9:41-50
February 24,2017 (Fri)- Sir 6:5-17/Ps 119:12,16,18,27,34,35/Mk 10:1-12
February 25, 2017 (Sat)-Sir 17:1-15/Ps 103:13-189/Mk 10:13-16

“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ.  Read your Bible daily!”

Save

 
 

Share this Post