First reading Leviticus 19:1-2,17-18
You must love your neighbour as yourself
The Lord spoke to Moses; he said: ‘Speak to the whole community of the sons of Israel and say to them:
‘“Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.
‘“You must not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. You must openly tell him, your neighbour, of his offence; this way you will not take a sin upon yourself. You must not exact vengeance, nor must you bear a grudge against the children of your people. You must love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.”’
Responsorial Psalm 102(103):1-4,8,10,12-13
The Lord is compassion and love.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.
The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.
As a father has compassion on his sons,
the Lord has pity on those who fear him.
Second reading 1 Corinthians 3:16-23
You belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God
Didn’t you realise that you were God’s temple and that the Spirit of God was living among you? If anybody should destroy the temple of God, God will destroy him, because the temple of God is sacred; and you are that temple.
Make no mistake about it: if any one of you thinks of himself as wise, in the ordinary sense of the word, then he must learn to be a fool before he really can be wise. Why? Because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As scripture says: The Lord knows wise men’s thoughts: he knows how useless they are; or again: God is not convinced by the arguments of the wise. So there is nothing to boast about in anything human: Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life and death, the present and the future, are all your servants; but you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.
Gospel Matthew 5:38-48
Love your enemies
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.
‘You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’
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Jesus’ higher standard: To love like God
“Eye for eye and tooth for tooth”: This was the Old Testament law to limit how much a person can take revenge on another. However, Jesus challenged His listeners to go beyond the need to seek revenge. He said, “But I say to you: offer no resistance to the wicked… love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. These words would be scandalous for His listeners at the time. Today, they continue to be words that are not easy for us to accept. Yet, Jesus calls us to choose love, even when others do not treat us badly. This is because we are called to have the merciful heart of God, who loves the good and the bad unconditionally. Regardless of how others relate to us, we are called to exercise our will to love them by seeking their good.
If we struggle to respond to this call to love, we can find the comfort that the Holy Spirit lives in us and He is the one who can empower us to become loving people as God intended us to be.
Reflective question:
Is it hard for me to respond to Jesus’ call to love unconditionally?
Is it hard for me to respond to Jesus’ call to love unconditionally?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
