Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB
Being a follower of Jesus Christ is challenging. It
means that we need to be totally honest with all those we deal with in our
lives, whether in a Church setting or in our dealings with those in our lives.
This saying of Jesus reminds me of the old saying, “Honesty is the best
policy.” In all we do and say in our lives should be reflections of our
Christian beliefs and the fact that we are, indeed, followers of Jesus Christ.
It’s not easy.
We need to ask ourselves: in all our dealings with
those in our lives, can people really see that we are Christians? Do we say one
thing to people’s faces, and then gossip about them behind their backs to
others? Further, are we judging people for not following the Church’s teachings
on love of God and love of neighbor, while we ourselves have people in our
lives that we really don’t like? These are examples of the hypocrisy that Jesus
is talking about. It would take some soul searching to explore our feelings
towards others and attempt to see in others the image of God. We are to always
be honest, truthful, and loving with all we meet in our lives, whether at
church, in our family or in our day-to-day contacts with people in our daily
routines. We are to avoid being hypocritical and be open, honest, and loving
with all we encounter.
Furthermore, if there are people that we have in our lives that are difficult to deal with, and we are on the verge of saying
something inappropriate, the best thing to do is to step away from that person
and not say anything. Another old saying is, “If you don’t have anything nice
to say, don’t say it.” Just pray for that person that may be pressing your
buttons and walk away from him or her.
Our Lord concludes in today’s gospel with some very
comforting words about God’s presence in our lives. After mentioning that God
notices the sparrows being sold, He goes on to say that we are worth more than
those sparrows. Further, our Lord tells us that even the hairs of our head have
been counted. That’s how much the God the Father loves all of us!!! And we are
to take that love of God to all others we encounter by treating them with the same
love that God has for all of us. It’s challenging to realize that everyone is
loved by God, but it’s how are to look at them. We are to live always in the
presence of God and to show that love of God always. Be always open and honest in our
love for God and for each other.
Our prayer for today and always should be, “Lord, help
us to love you above all else, and to love those you placed in our lives as you
have loved us. Amen.”
From Arlene B. Muller
ReplyDeleteI remember being taught that we have to LOVE everyone but we DON'T have to LIKE everyone.
In the world's definitions of "love" & "like", both words are used to describe our feelings & love is considered to be the superlative of "like".
But that is not how GOD & Christianity define these words. Liking someone describes how we feel. But there are various types of love (e.g. eros, phileo, agape). What GOD requires of us is not to have glowingly warm & fuzzy feelings about everyone. Christian love is an act of the will & it is to be determined to wish & act upon willing the good of another person, regardless of our feelings.
There are people in this world who have severely marred the image of GOD in them. The most extreme example would be members of the terrorist group HAMAS who raped, tortured & killed innocent women & chikdren who had done nothing to harm them. I cannot even imagine being able to love them but only wish that they be subjected to GOD'S justice before they could do any further harm to any other innocent human beings.
A less extreme example would be the family of a 94 year old man who showed no love for him and, despite being well-to-do & blessed with material blessings, did not even provide a funeral Mass & proper wake & burial for him, even though he was a devout Catholic. Instead they had a quick 2-3 hour wake early in the day & had him cremated, even though there was a family burial plot. Their only concern was & still is MONEY. My friend who was his devoted caregiver for the past 6 years & who was with him & who held his hand as he died of Alzheimer's disease, was not allowed any voice in the matter. I don't have to like them, but if they were hungry, I would have to feed them, if they collapsed in front of me I would have to dial 911, & I should pray for their conversion & evential salvation & respect their lives as fellow human beings whom GOD created out of love & for whom JESUS CHRIST died on the Cross & rose again out of love.
There are also times when it is necessary to confront people who are doing wrong, because it does them no good if we enable them to persist in doing evil. We are not supposed to gossip about them or be deliberately mean or hateful. But we need to tell the truth in a spirit of love as best we can, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Regarding the second part of the GOSPEL about the LORD'S loving care for us & how much He values us, I have heard that one translation is that the very hairs of our head are NUMBERED, which goes even further & is even more intimate than "counted".