Saturday of the First Week of Lent
GRATUITOUS COVENANT LOVE
Introduction
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 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.
Reading 1: Deuteronomy 26:16-19
Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48
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.
Reflection:
4 March 2023
Matthew 5:43-48
Love is the identity of a Christian
No other passage of the New Testament contains such a concentrated expression of the Christian ethic of personal relations. To the ordinary person, this passage describes essential Christianity in action.
The phrase “Racial profiling” has become part of our modern vocabulary. It signifies suspicion regarding people of a particular ethnic or racial background solely based on appearance. It was indeed a problem in the past, and it continues to be the curse of the present society. Discrimination based on gender, ethnicity and religion easily affects our outlook on people around us. Discrimination against people based on economic and social status is rampant even in Church communities today.
The Gospel today directly addresses this problem. The Mosaic law commanded love of one’s fellow citi¬zens, which implied hatred toward the pagans. But, the Commandment of Jesus calls on his disciples to look beyond and 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 the 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 no more love exists among siblings, spouses, or children and their parents?
We may boast of having no enemies. But think of the times when we discriminated against our brothers and sisters because of their socio-economic status or religious beliefs or faced discrimination and were rejected for these same reasons.
Cases of rejection and labelling people as “bad” or “good-for-nothing” are no more Christian because they are God’s 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 are 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 crisis. Can we be a little more compassionate and empathetic towards people on the streets, migrant workers, and low-income families…? Let us continue to pray for the people of Ukraine and Russia and also refugees and suffering people worldwide in this time of Lent.