7th Sunday Ordinary Time Rdgs & Reflection

February 20, 2011 ~ Liturgical Year A, Cycle I ~ Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading: Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Gospel: Matthew 5:38-48


Reflection Questions


1. Read over the Gospel passage again. Do you think Jesus was exaggerating, or was He speaking literally? Why?

2. Why does God allow terrible evil, injustice and persecution to happen? How does He respond to this?

3. Who are the ‘enemies’ in and of our society today? How would Jesus expect us to love them? Does this passage mean that we cannot protect ourselves from aggressors (See the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the right to defend oneself)?


Gospel Reflection


In this Gospel Jesus goes for the moral ‘jugular’. Now that we have gotten over the shock that living a good moral life is more than what we do, that living a moral life is about converting our hearts, the Lord gives us a standard that is seemingly beyond our ability…and potentially beyond reason. He tells us very clearly that we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. In doing so, He says, we will reach perfection, not perfection in the sense of knowing everything, but moral perfection, a true transformation of heart. All we have to do is turn on the news and see one tragedy after another, or perhaps we have been victimized ourselves, and we see that this challenge by the Lord is virtually impossible. How can a person who has been severely hurt forgive? The Lord desires a total healing for all people, especially those who have been persecuted, and the only way that that will happen is through forgiveness. Often times the ability to forgive is not just a matter of turning on the forgiveness switch, but rather can take years to achieve, perhaps through counseling, sacramental reconciliation, and profound forgiveness from the heart. All of us should struggle with Jesus words in the sense that we should not believe that this kind of forgiveness is an easy process. What we should come to realize is that it is only through Jesus, the Crucified Victim of Calvary, that we can achieve this depth of love. Today we should practice, perhaps beginning on a small level, to forgive the wrongs that have been done to us. Perhaps today Christ calls us just to be patient with those who annoy us as a stepping stone to greater forgiveness. Perhaps today Christ calls us to ask someone, such as counselor, to help us begin a deep healing process. Regardless, let us take time to ponder Christ, who in the midst of terrible persecution, forgave those who put Him to death. May we have the grace, each day, to reflect on the love and put it into action in our own lives.