THE WORD
1 Kgs 21,17-29 / Mt 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 only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.
IN OTHER WORDS
There are those who say: “If we can only pick and choose the Bible verses we want and disregard the others... Some passages are just soooo hard to put into practice….” And if asked what passages of scripture they are referring to, the gospel above is usually quoted, among others.
Why should I forgive others, after what they have done to me? It’s not even natural or human.
The way of the human is revenge, pure unmitigated revenge. Sure, we can follow this approach; but will it stop the hatred, the violence, so that no eye is left “unplucked”, no tooth remains “un-pulled?” When will all this end? And at what cost? Death? Injury? Insomnia? Hypertension? Do we really want any of this?
Jesus in the Gospel teaches a different approach: mercy and compassion, forgiveness and prayer for those who wrong us. This is the “Jesus way,” which is also the way or approach of the children
of God, loving everyone, especially those we find difficult to love. If in the social sphere we are to practice good manners and right conduct by greeting people and smiling at them, thereby recognizing/ acknowledging them, in Jesus’ way we need to do more and be more. We are to treat others as brothers and sisters under the fatherhood of a loving God, and we are to go beyond our mere human and social obligations so that we may be “perfect, as our Father is perfect.”
- Fr. Lino Evora Nicasio, SVD | National Shrine of Saint Jude Thaddeus
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
