First reading Deuteronomy 26:16-19
Moses spoke to the people, saying:
“This day the Lord, your God,
commands you to observe these statutes and decrees.
Be careful, then,
to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
Today you are making this agreement with the Lord:
he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways
and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees,
and to hearken to his voice.
And today the Lord is making this agreement with you:
you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you;
and provided you keep all his commandments,
he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory
above all other nations he has made,
and you will be a people sacred to the Lord, your God,
as he promised.”
Responsorial Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8
Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
You have commanded that your precepts
be diligently kept.
Oh, that I might be firm in the ways
of keeping your statutes!
Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
I will give you thanks with an upright heart,
when I have learned your just ordinances.
I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Gospel Matthew 5:43-48
Jesus said to his disciples:
“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 the 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 and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
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Exercising Christian love
“I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” From experience, we know that it is difficult to do this because our enemies are those who have hurt us deeply, brought harm to us and our loved ones or simply do not wish us well. Thus, the natural human reaction is to repay them in kind.
However, Jesus invites us to act and relate differently to our enemies. He reminds us that as God’s children, we have been given the capacity to learn and imitate the ways of the Father who “causes His sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and His rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike.” Jesus practised this in life: on the cross, He exercised His love by praying to the Father for His enemies. Similarly, we are called to exercise our Christian love to those who have offended us. We exercise our love by beginning to include them in our prayers. In doing so, may we resemble our loving Father more and more.
Reflective question:
Who is my enemy Jesus calls me to pray for?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
