Holy people in perfect Love

The happiness expressed by the psalmist in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today is for those who walk in the Law of the Lord. These keep His decrees and seek Him with all their heart. Friar Jude Winkler notes that the Book of Deuteronomy, from which the passage today celebrates the acceptance of the Covenant by the people, has the theme of our decision to accept from God one of two paths for our lives. We can choose life and live to become a holy people or we can choose to serve ourselves and be consumed in the isolation of separation from God as we put our passions, power and privilege first. The Gospel from Matthew is part of Jesus Sermon on the Mount where He examines the Law of Moses and offers His direction on how that Law is fulfilled. Kyle Shinseki, S.J. of Creighton University reflects on how Ignatius taught that we need to break down spiritual barriers between “us” and “them” if we are to journey to being the people holy to the Lord who loves all and instructs us in Jesus words to love our enemies. We, like Kyle Shinseki, may not find enemies in the people with whom we associate. We need to ask who it is that is separated from us by barriers we have erected. These barriers may have been placed there to avoid conflict. We may have seen ourselves as different as or better than those across the barrier. The sign to the world of Jesus Life is to destroy the barriers in witness to Love which is for all. We need to hear the theme in Pope Francis exhortation that the weeds and the wheat grow together. Richard Beck reflects on the Gospel (Matthew 13.24-30) parable which encourages us to let the weeds and wheat grow together and sees in the Greek translation a call to be forgiving to those who we see as the weeds. We rush to a judgment which is not the decision of God when we attempt to separate good and bad before the harvest.