People who follow the Lord

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite our contemplation of the gift of Law and it’s fulfillment in Love by Jesus Sermon on the Mount.

The Way

The Book of Deuteronomy offers thanksgiving to God for the Covenant.

Psalm 119 praises God for giving Law.

 * [Psalm 119] This Psalm, the longest by far in the Psalter, praises God for giving such splendid laws and instruction for people to live by.2

In the Gospel from Matthew Jesus extends our responsibilities to Love our Enemies.

 * [5:43–48] See Lv 19:18. There is no Old Testament commandment demanding hatred of one’s enemy, but the “neighbor” of the love commandment was understood as one’s fellow countryman. Both in the Old Testament (Ps 139:19–22) and at Qumran (1QS 9:21) hatred of evil persons is assumed to be right. Jesus extends the love commandment to the enemy and the persecutor. His disciples, as children of God, must imitate the example of their Father, who grants his gifts of sun and rain to both the good and the bad.3

Luis Rodriguez, S.J. notes that the Leviticus text contains only the first part of Jesus’ “quotation,” namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The second part – hate your enemy – is not there. It seems that the popular remembering of the text had appropriated a non-Torah addition introduced by the Essenes of Qumran, some of whom even took an oath to hate their enemies.

Yet, as long as that was the popular “remembering” of the injunction, Jesus uses it to correct the existing extrapolation and to expand the true quote with his own injunction: But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. And he bases his commandment on the Father’s indiscriminating goodness in making the sun rise on the bad and the good and causing rain to fall on the just and the unjust.4 

Don Schwager quotes “The gift to love all people - even enemies,” by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

 "Beg God for the gift to love one another. Love all people, even your enemies, not because they are your brothers and sisters but that they may become such. Love them in order that you may be at all times on fire with love, whether toward those who have become your brothers and sisters or toward your enemies, so that by being beloved they may become your brothers and sisters." (excerpt from Sermon on 1 John 10,7) 5

The Word Among Us Meditation on Deuteronomy 26:16-19 reflects on the daily renewal of The Covenant in our relationship with God.

 You too have a brand-new day today. Yesterday, with all the mistakes and choices you wish you could change, is behind you. Tomorrow, with all the challenges that might make you anxious, is in God’s hands. But today, God is offering you his love. Today, he is offering you his word of wisdom. Today, he is inviting you to follow him.6

Friar Jude Winkler explains the gift contained in Deuteronomy is to know what God wants. The choice of death in Deuteronomy is a path we take in opposition to the Life offered by God. Friar Jude urges that we do for others because they need our help without considering our self interest or any judgement of worthiness.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, provides references to Gerard Manley Hopkins, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Louis M. Savary, and Ilia Delio, in his Weekly Summary of Christ in Evolution.

 In order to discover and frequently exercise your new eyes to discern the fire or luminosity within things, start small. Choose one living thing, such as a flower, a bug, a pet, or a baby, and with your imagination picture a kind of glow or luminousness surrounding and penetrating the object of your contemplation. Stay with it for a few minutes, focusing not on the external beauty or complexity of the object but upon the glow surrounding and penetrating it, as if that were its source of life and existence.
Once you learn to do this, the glow or luminosity will develop a life of its own. Then you can move on to another object of contemplation to witness its glowing luminosity.7

The texts today, in harmony with Fr Richard’s advice, invite us to say a word of thanks to this benevolent God who is constantly revealing God’s self to us everywhere in creation.

References

1	(n.d.). Deuteronomy, chapter 26 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Retrieved March 16, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/Deuteronomy/26:16
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 119. Retrieved March 16, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/Psalms/119:1
3	(n.d.). Matthew, chapter 5. Retrieved March 16, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/matthew/5:43
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved March 16, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 16, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
6	(n.d.). 1st Week of Lent - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily Meditations for .... Retrieved March 16, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/03/16
7	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archive: March 2019 - Daily Meditations Archives .... Retrieved March 16, 2019, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/2019/03/