Gospel Reading for the Day
From the holy Gospel according to
Matthew, Chapter 5, verses 43 to 48
Matthew, Chapter 5, verses 43 to 48
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| JESUS PREACHING, "BE PERFECT AS YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS PERFECT!" Image from sdbnews.blogspot.com |
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 her 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."
"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 her 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."
The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
Sharing for the Day
In one of our recollections during my seminary days, a priest-facilitator told us that what truly sets apart a Christian from anyone else is the fact that a Christian is someone whose life is conformed to that of the Lord Jesus Christ. He told us that to be a Christian is to be another Christ, an alter Christus and that unlike being a follower of anyone else or being an adherent of a system - whether political, economic or socio-civic, a Christian cannot be a true Christian if his or her life is not lived in accordance with that of the Lord Jesus Christ, while a politician may declare him or herself Democrat, Republican, Liberal or Communist without actually living in accordance with the life of anyone espousing the same system like Kennedy, Reagan, Aquino or Lenin. The same with those who follow Socialist or Communist ideals, or that of the Scouting Movement, Red Cross, Rotary, etc. As St Paul wrote, it is already Christ who lives in the Christian [see Galatians 2: 19-20], which is also in accordance with what the Lord Himself declared, "Anyone who wish to be my disciple must deny himself ..." [see Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23, also, John 12:26].
When someone has already denied him or her self, when he or she has already responded to the call to become a Christian, when someone has accepted the challenge to become another Christ, he or she can already truly and fully love his or her neighbors including enemies. Without becoming a true Christian it is hard to fully love - even those who are very close to us [the many cases of broken families and disorderly communities attest to this] - how much more an enemy!
Being a Christian is living fully configured to the Lord - who lived in accordance with the holiness of the Father. Hence being a Christian is living perfectly in accordance with the perfection of the Father. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not only talk about it: He concretely manifested what it is to be perfect, like loving even enemies, by giving His life as a sacrifice for all, which included those who treated Him badly, those who wrongly accused Him, those who tried Him unfairly, the many who thought Him worthy of being their king at first but turned against Him when He was already badly beaten. He died for us on the cross even though we were unworthy because we were sinners and have not even given our assent to the call to become perfect like the Father. Before dying, He even prayed for those who persecuted Him [see Luke 23:34].
Being a Christian is living fully configured to the Lord - who lived in accordance with the holiness of the Father. Hence being a Christian is living perfectly in accordance with the perfection of the Father. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not only talk about it: He concretely manifested what it is to be perfect, like loving even enemies, by giving His life as a sacrifice for all, which included those who treated Him badly, those who wrongly accused Him, those who tried Him unfairly, the many who thought Him worthy of being their king at first but turned against Him when He was already badly beaten. He died for us on the cross even though we were unworthy because we were sinners and have not even given our assent to the call to become perfect like the Father. Before dying, He even prayed for those who persecuted Him [see Luke 23:34].
The same is expected of each of us who bear the name, that is baptized as, Christian. We are called to perfection: to love even the unlovable and to pray even for those who treat us badly. Not the physical but more of spiritual and moral perfection. It is translated as holiness. We are called to be "holy and righteous all the days of our lives" [Luke 1:75]. We cannot boast of our being Christians without accepting these conditions of becoming a Christian. Baptism initiated us into the Church, it is a free gift by God. We are blessed because we were given the opportunity of being Christians through this sacrament. There are many who find the true way via strange and rough roads. While we only have to build upon this gift by obeying the Lord's command to love one another so that we could become His true followers and friends.
We are living in a world where Christians are called to be perfect, holy and righteous like the Father. We are existing in a period when our friendship with the Lord is being tested moment by moment. But we do not have to worry for the Lord Himself said, "I have conquered the world!" [see John 16: 33] and He confirmed it when He rose again from the dead. And with His Holy Spirit, we shall also conquer the world [see John 16: 7-15].
Application of God's message
[1] Prayer
Pray for God's help that you may conform to His holiness.
[2] Abstinence
What are you willing to abstain from today in order to make a step closer to Godly perfection?
What are you willing to abstain from today in order to make a step closer to Godly perfection?
[3] Almsgiving
What are you willing to share materially today so that someone else may be inspired to aspire for perfection?
What are you willing to share materially today so that someone else may be inspired to aspire for perfection?
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