Word to the Wise
Sunday, February 19, 2023 - 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A
[Lev 19:1-2, 17-18; 1 Cor 3:16-23; Matt 5:38-48]You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. [Leviticus] "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 he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and 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 only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." [Matthew]
The quotation from Leviticus is from the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, the law of Moses, handed down on Mt. Sinai. The second quotation is from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel According to Matthew. The evangelist presents Jesus as a "new Moses" handing down a new law: You have heard that it was said.....but I say to you." There is continuity but Jesus takes the law of Moses beyond the common interpretation of the times and extends it both interiorly and exteriorly! The law of love is not a mere abstraction. It is both attitude and behavior. Perhaps the best example in Jesus' teaching can be found in the parable of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel According to Luke (10:29-37). In that parable, Jesus replies to a "scholar of the law" who asks, "And who is my neighbor?" In that story, a traditional enemy has compassion on a traditional enemy. Jesus tells the scholar to "go and do likewise." Do we?
There are plenty of BIG examples of situations where we Christians do not love our enemies! The war in the Ukraine is an example. But for most of us it comes down to the more ordinary challenges of daily life and the garden variety "grudge." It has been said that a grudge is like taking poison and hoping the other person dies! The gospel today challenges us to an honest self-appraisal in regard to our "enemies" and our grudges. If we are challenged to love our neighbor as ourself, what kind of self-love is reflected in a grudge against someone else? A poster I once had said: "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"
The Sermon on the Mount - Jesus' new law - calls us to a high standard. Putting skin on it is a lifetime challenge. AMEN