The Word God Spells

Matthew 5: 43-48
1 Kgs 21: 17-29 / Ps 51: 3-6, 11, 16

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…
(Matthew 5:44 )

We’ll always tend to alienate
The people that we cannot trust;
Let’s learn to love, and not to hate
Those who are different from us.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5: 43-48)

Reflection

Clearly, Jesus is teaching us a higher standard of love than that taught by the scribes and Pharisees. There is no reward for a kind of love that takes no effort to practice. To be worthy children of God, we must love the way He loves all men, with no discrimination, showering His blessings and trials both on the righteous and the sinners.

While it may seem that loving one’s enemy is almost an impossible proposition, Jesus is telling us that we must elevate our standard of love to the level of the divine. Which is why He said, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” It is only impossible if we try to love the “unlovable” on our own human effort. But if we pray for God’s grace to transform our hearts and help us to forgive our enemies, then we will eventually understand the true meaning of love in the perspective of Jesus.

If we reflect on what our Lord has been trying to tell us in these last two paragraphs of chapter five of Matthew’s Gospel, we can see that He has been presenting to us what the character of God our Father really is. Jesus lived this example of righteousness in His life, and He wants us to reflect all its aspects in our own life as well. For instance, His love is not influenced by our behavior. “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Mt.5:45). As St. Paul said, “God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Rom.5:8). God’s love is pure, unaffected by our sinfulness, sacrificial, and heroic. I remember a Philippine army soldier who exemplified this heroic kind of love in an encounter with a group of insurgents a few years ago somewhere in the hinterlands of Mindanao. He brought one of the rebels who was severely wounded to a rural hospital, and there donated one liter (two units) of his own blood to save the enemy’s life. His heroism demonstrated how he was able to love his enemy, and be counted as a peacemaker more than a good soldier.

There is more animosity and conflict in the world today not so much because of competition for land, resources, or power — there are more than enough to go around — but because it is easier to hate or alienate than to love and trust those we perceive to be different from us. This has been the case between Jews and Palestinians in Israel, Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, Indians and Pakistanis in the subcontinent, ethnic conflicts in Africa and other parts of the world, and even in our own backyard between Christians and Muslims in Mindanao. As long as we believe this “law of differences”, there will never be true peace. The only way to peace is what our Lord Jesus teaches us – to love our enemies despite their faults, just as God loves us in spite of all our imperfections. Nobody’s perfect. Only the love of God is.

Grant us, dear God, to learn how to love our enemies, so that we may enjoy the peace that only You can give. Not as the world teaches do we learn to love, but from the lessons that our Lord Jesus imparts to us, and through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Luke 6: 27-38
Col 3:12-17 / Ps 150:1-6

But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
(Luke 6:27-28)

True Christians bear no enmities,
And we give with no prejudice;
When we forgive our enemies,
We become God’s channels of peace.

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Reflection

The president of our running club asked me to join their meeting as they had an important matter to discuss. A new member I sponsored had been bad-mouthing the club and its officers. My immediate reaction was anger at this person. Next to BCBP, my running club holds a special place in my heart. For more than two decades, the wholesome relationships and fun fellowships among the more than 100 members have always been a source of pride. Being a past president, I enjoyed the respect and confidence of all the officers, who had been patient and tolerant with this friend whom I had invited to join our club. Unfortunately, the camaraderie in the club had failed to make any moderating influence on the fellow, whose boorish behavior had only put his sponsor in an awkward position. Controlling my agitation, I called him up on my mobile, as the meeting hushed into silence. I asked him if it was true that he had told some people “the officers of the club are stupid.” I was shocked to hear him admit his words without remorse, and even said he didn’t care if the club expelled him. Full of anger now for his arrogance, I asked the board members for the fellow’s expulsion. But my anger quickly subsided when the president said, “Why don’t we just write him a letter and invite him to explain his side?” Another board member commented, “Maybe a suspension would be more appropriate, rather than outright expulsion.” I was humbled and moved by their compassion and tolerance.

In our renewal community we find it so easy to express our love because it is readily reciprocated. We casually do favors for each other because caring and harmony are part of our culture. We pray for God’s blessings on those who are kind to us, and we offer our cheeks when we greet each other with a kiss. But our Lord Jesus asks us, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.” (Lk.6:32) Jesus wants us to bring our loving to a higher level. “But rather, love your enemies and do good to them… then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for He Himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Lk.6:35-36)

Thank you, dear God, for friends who guide us in right paths, who show mercy and forgiveness even to those who are arrogant and boastful. Bless them, I pray. Amen.

Matthew 10:34 –11:1
Ex 1:8-14.22 / Ps 124

Whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
(Matthew 10:38)

As we have been shown by Jesus,
May God’s love be our life’s mission.
For the poor, live out the Good News;
This should be our prime profession.

Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple — truly I tell you, he will surely not lose his reward.”

Reflection

At first it would seem paradoxical to read the Prince of Peace saying He did not come to bring peace, but a sword. But what Jesus was doing was preparing His disciples for the coming persecution that missionaries of the Gospel would be encountering, even up to the present age. Indeed there would be conflicts –- even among family members -– over doctrinal differences, and even His own family –- the Church — would not be exempt from the coming schisms. But our Lord pointed out that no loyalties or commitments on earth can ever be more important than our relationship with Him, even if it means breaking away from our loved ones (as priests do for their vocation), or taking up our cross (trials) to follow Him in our individual missions.

A Jesuit priest once said in his homily, “Life is all about living out our mission from God, nothing more, and nothing less.” And as many of us have heard in countless other homilies, the common thread that binds all of our life missions is to make God’s love for all men a reality in our own individual undertakings. When our goal in life is simply to become the best or the most successful in our chosen career or profession, then we have not yet discovered the real purpose of our existence.

In the daily email messages among high school and college batchmates in our e-group, one of the common topics of conversation revolves around the poverty and social ills of our country. When a suggestion was made for pledges to help build forty low-cost houses for the homeless through the Gawad Kalinga to commemorate our batch’s Ruby anniversary, the quota was filled in just a matter of days, and donations started to pour in. Other concerns like extending financial help to some classmates in medical distress also came up, and the same spirit of love and compassion was shown in “welcoming Jesus and His Father into our lives.” All of us are grateful for the Ignatian ideals that our Jesuit mentors of the past (and our modern day prophets) had successfully ingrained in our formative years. It is to their credit that we have learned to give more than “a cup of cold water” to the poor, having been blessed by the love taught by our Lord Jesus Christ.

May we always live Jesus’ message of love in our lives so that we can magnify You, Almighty God. Amen.

Matthew 10: 7-13
Acts 11:21-26; 13:1-3 / Ps 98:1-6

Preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
(Matthew 10:7)

You Christians who live in Jesus’ name,
For justice and truth take a stand;
Expel the world’s evils and proclaim:
The kingdom of God is at hand!

Jesus sent out His twelve apostles, and told them, “Preach as you go, saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Without cost you have received, without cost you are to give. Take no gold, or silver, or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or a walking stick; for the laborer deserves his keep. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart. As you enter a house, wish it peace. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.” (Matthew 10:7-13)

Reflection

The words of Jesus spoken thousands of years ago in today’s Gospel still applies to the present-day disciples of the Church. “Preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ As practicing Christians, we must live according to the ideals of Christ’s teachings, so as to give witness that the kingdom of God is at hand. In two simple words, our advocacy for true Christian living is proclaimed: “Be Honest!” Two words that can heal our sick economy, revive our moribund spirituality, clean our leprose government bureaucracy, and expel the evil spirits of graft and corruption.

Without cost you have received, without cost you are to give. A relative once said, “You’re investing a lot of time and effort in posting these articles on your website. How much money do you expect to make out of it?” This gift of composing daily reflections on the Gospel and sending it thru SMS and the internet is a gift from the Holy Spirit that must be freely shared with others. It is already a priceless privilege from the Lord; I simply cannot imagine making money out of it!

Take no gold, or silver, or copper for your belts . . . for the laborer deserves his keep. Material needs are the least of our worries when we are in the service of the Lord. In fact they can even be a big burden in our journey to the Father’s kingdom. Travel light, and travel far. Take only what is essential, and leave behind the superfluous that distracts us from our life’s mission. Total dependence on God is the essence of faith, because as Jesus promised, all of His workers will deserve their keep.

Finally, our Lord admonishes His missionaries, As you enter a house, wish it peace. Blessing a home where one is welcomed with peace not only protects it from strife, but cleanses it of evil. Peace is the absence of sin. And the progenitor of sin is the prince of lies. Which explains why Honesty is the vital requisite for Peace. There would never have been a war in Iraq if the lie had not been propagated that Saddam Hussein had amassed weapons of mass destruction.

The call to serve in God’s army is a draft that all Christians must heed to counter the lies propagated by evil forces in the world today. We must all participate in bringing about genuine peace on earth by propagating honesty, and fighting for the truth. It is the only way to peace, and the realization that the kingdom of God is at hand.

Father Almighty, we pray for genuine peace to reign on earth. We know that peace must start in every individual, and it can only be nurtured by honesty and the passion for truth. Guide us in all our ways to seek this path in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

John 16: 29-33
Acts 19:1-8 / Ps 68: 2-7

In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.
John 16:33

If you want to have peace of mind,
All you have to do is believe:
In this world you can never find
The peace that only Christ can give.

Jesus’ disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech. Now we know that you know all things, and need none to question you; by this we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, every man to his home, and will leave me alone; yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Reflection

The disciples professed their faith in Jesus (Jn.16:30), but our Lord predicted that their faith would still be found wanting. He told them: “Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone.” (16:31-32) After a few hours, His apostles did scatter in fear.

Hardly a day passes that we do not encounter problems or troubles. The devil in this world is always trying to disrupt if not corrupt God’s plan in our lives. But all of his schemes are futile because God has already been victorious in Christ Jesus. The problems and hardships that are deployed against us should only serve to strengthen our resolve to win all our personal battles for Christ. All we need to do is “take courage”, and not listen to the enemy’s lies and negative promptings. We must purge all fears and anxieties from our thoughts and feelings, and constantly break out in praise and joy — because Jesus is our Lord and He has already conquered evil.

It has been said that there is nothing to fear when one fears God. The prospect of offending God by committing a sin is the only fear that we must harbor. But with regard to the ‘threats’ of the world, we should take courage in our Savior, for even in His humanity, He had subdued the world and all its evil.

There will always be turmoil in the world because of pride, greed, hatred and all kinds of wickedness and imperfections. Being in the fellowship of Christ and God the Father is like being inside the eye of a tornado. It is the only place where there is peace and calm. “Take courage,” our Lord assured us. There is nothing to fear as long as we are with Him. “You will remain unscathed, with His faithfulness for shield and buckler.” (Psalm 91:7) As long as “Yahweh is the fortress of my life, of whom should I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)

In Your company, Lord, there is no fear. In this Brotherhood where You have placed us, there is only trust, hope, contentment, peace and love. Knowing that we are in You, all of these are in us. Amen.

John 14: 27-31
Acts 14:19-28 / Ps 145:10-13,21

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
(John 14:27)

Do not be troubled or afraid
If peace may seem so far away,
As Jesus promised come what may
His Holy Spirit’s here to stay.

“Peace be with you; I give you my peace. Not as the world gives peace do I give it to you. Do not be troubled; do not be afraid. You heard me say: ‘I am going away, but I am coming (back) to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you this now before it takes place, so that when it does happen you may believe. It is very little what I may still tell you, for the ruler of the world is at hand, although there is nothing in me that he can claim. But see, the world must know that I love the Father and that I do what the Father has taught me to do.” (John 14:27-31)

Reflection

The hour of painful separation and trials was coming, and Jesus wanted His disciples to remain calm by following His example. He would soon face His tormentors with divine restraint, meekness and profound courage. Suppressing His own inner turmoil, He encouraged His followers by saying His going to the Father (dying) would be their gain, “for the Father is greater than I.” They would understand His words when the Holy Spirit descended upon them on Pentecost. With little time left, there was not much more He could tell them, only that the “ruler of the world” (Satan) could never claim any victory over His death. Instead, because of His love for and obedience to the Father’s Will, the peace that He bequeathed to His followers would reign eternal.

In His will, Jesus left His disciples what they needed most to overcome their fears — peace. Obviously, this is the kind of peace that the world can never give. It is what St. Paul understood so well, “surpassing all human understanding, but guarding our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ” (Phil 4:7). This peace is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that comes with love, joy, understanding, patience, kindness, generosity and self-control (Gal 5:22). It is giving when our store is running out. It is being happy, grateful for being healthy and alive. It is keeping faith when we cannot understand. It is persevering when all the chips are down. It is forgiving when we are unfairly treated, trusting that our cause is in the hands of a higher Power. It is, after all, the Holy Spirit Who makes peace through us, whenever we share, forgive, and help in carrying the burden of others. It is those who are blessed with such a gift who are truly at peace, because they are God’s peacemakers.

In times of conflict, Lord, help us to promote Your peace with words and acts that lead to understanding, unity and love, as taught by our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.