June 19, 2018 Tuesday
11th Week in Ordinary Time1st Reading:
1 Kgs 21:17-29 Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48
Jesus said to his disciples, “You have heard that it was said: Love your neighbor and do not do good to your enemy. But this I tell you: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. For he makes his sun rise on both the wicked and the good, and he gives rain to both the just and the unjust.“If you love those who love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much? For your part you shall be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
Today’s Gospel reading ends the fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. The chapter is a series of discourses on some examples on the conduct demanded of a Christian, namely, about anger (20-26), about divorce (27-32), about taking oaths (33-37), about the Law of Retaliation (38-42), and about love (43-48). Today’s reading is about love.
There is hardly any area that love can’t penetrate. With perfect love Jesus did marvels in all areas of human existence. He baffled chemists when he turned H20 into wine; biologists, when upon becoming human he defied the normal process of conception; physicists when he defied gravity at ascension and when he walked over the water; Economists when he defied the law of diminishing return by feeding 5,000 men with 5 loaves of bread. Love when perfect reigns supreme.
The more perfect our love is the lesser difficulties there are that we cannot successfully hurdle. The problem, however, is that love itself is difficult to perfect. It was Jesus himself who created this difficulty because he raised the level of love from “filia” to “agape” to include loving the enemies.
This was totally new to the Jews because it was normal for them to have enemies. Psalm 139, in fact, talks about hating those who hate God and asking God to destroy the wicked. To their shock Jesus said: “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven.”
It was a tall order, but Jesus gave the assurance of his abiding grace as well as the Father’s approval – he who “makes his sun rise on both the wicked and the good, and gives rain to both the just and the unjust.”
With perfect love we too can do marvels especially in the area of forgiveness. Let us strive to perfect our love by disposing ourselves to God’s grace. –(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya?
I-type ang BANDERA REACT at
i-send sa 4467.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.