There is a common thread that runs through all three of the readings for mass today. In the first reading from the book of Leviticus, God instructed Moses to tell the Israelite people “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.” In the second reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, Saint Paul said, “the temple of God, which you are, is holy.” And the gospel reading today from the book of Matthew ends by saying, “So be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” God, Jesus and Saint Paul are all basically saying the same thing. The three readings point toward some of the sinful tendencies, that we all have. It is easy to read and understand what God asks of us, but it sure is a lot harder to put it into practice in real life.
In the first reading, God tells us “You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen, do not incur sin because of him.” This is definitely a danger when parents have to correct their children. Sometimes the punishment is worse than the crime. It is easy to lose your temper with your children, and this can sometimes be more damaging to the child than whatever offense they committed.
The first reading also says, “cherish no grudge against any of your people.” This is also hard for some of us to do, but haven’t you ever admired someone that you hurt, who forgave you, and treated you as if they had totally forgotten about what you did to them. It’s like it never happened. We need to try and give this gift to other people too. This is a difficult thing to do, but it is a genuine sign of holiness.
The second reading reminds us that we are the temple of God. You might think – no way, me? But, yes, the Holy Spirit lives inside each one of us. We consume the body of Christ every Sunday at mass and Jesus becomes part of us. We are also made in the image and likeness of God. We are beautiful just the way God created us. Our sins are what prevent us from becoming the person we were meant to be …
Jesus doesn’t talk so much about sin in today’s gospel though, as he does about growing in holiness. It isn’t enough to just avoid sin if we want to grow in holiness. Christ commands us to do more than just the minimum to get by. What he asks of us is very difficult for most of us to do. Being a Christian isn’t easy.
When Jesus told us to, “offer no resistance to the one who is evil” and to turn the other cheek though, he wasn’t talking about domestic violence or abuse in families … In normal, healthy relationships in our families, not fighting back with someone who is angry with you will often diffuse an argument or a fight though. It’s very sound advice. Tempers die down when no more fuel is added to the fire.
Christ said, “If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well.” This is also hard to do in our modern times when people sue each other at the drop of a hat. Especially, over an inheritance or estate of a loved one. The fight and the hard feelings that result just isn’t worth it. Lawsuits of this nature can destroy family relationships and escalate into a toxic state of mind for everyone concerned.
Time, money and effort is valuable to everyone and we sometimes share these things sparingly, but Christ tells us to do otherwise. “Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” This too can be a little difficult to put into practice. After working 40 hours a week, most people greatly value their free time, are tired and want to rest, and they don’t want to give away the money they worked so hard to earn though.
However, Jesus asks us to counter our natural feelings by doing the exact opposite of what we feel like doing. All of the readings for mass today teaches us this same lesson. Love our enemies. Pray for those who persecute us. Love those who do not love us.
Jesus said for us to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” and the simplest way to actually do that, is to counter our negative feelings with a positive action. It’s the same principle that Catholics use to counter the seven deadly sins with the seven lively virtues. It’s easier said than done, but it’s possible for all of us to learn how to do.
Readings for Mass:
Lv 19: 1-2, 17-18 / Ps 103: 1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13 / 1 Cor 3: 16-23 / Mt 5: 38-48
