Matthew 5:43-48

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Is this difficult? Not really. We have many today that we classify as street gangs, thieves, con men, all sorts that we would say are, our enemies. They are people just like you in every way, only difference they have no direction. Some would say that they chose to follow the path of evil. But then so do we, when we do not love our neighbor. Yet we are shown in the first reading how the LORD is merciful to Ahab, because he humbled himself. We do not know what motivates those who become enemies, what may spur them on to what they see as right in their eyes. Just like Ahab, he wasn't good, yet he found mercy.

When we do wrong to another aren't we then their enemy. Yet it takes love to love those who have become enemies. It takes prayer to renew the hearts of those who persecute. When we encounter troubles with others, what is the usual reaction, to lash out, to respond in kind to what they did. Jesus goes one better, he loved those who condemned him. While he was on the cross he still gave love to those who put him there. And he still went further than that, he forgave them. Can we love this way too? The Word of God is rich in bringing life to us. It shows us the way to love and to live peacefully among our brothers and sisters.

Matthew 5:38-42

Jesus is what one could easily call a revolutionist. After the first reading we are given the Gospel of what is opposite the first reading. Jezebel literally had, in a roundabout way, a person knocked off so her husband could have more land, all for a garden. This is one reading that easily angers people.

That is why Jesus comes at us with these, "Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” Because he knows people will do just as Jezebel did. Jesus gives us a way to live without losing life when those of power seek to destroy, when things are denied them. He also shows us how to live the beatitudes so we may attain the kingdom of God, without jeopardizing our souls. The hardest thing is to not seek an eye for an eye when wrong is done to us, but to turn that into love for our neighbor is even harder. Our world it seems is still based on the primitive, where we destroy to get more. This is not something new as companies phase out positions to save money. Nor is it when drugs play a role when they can save a life. Instead the companies make it difficult for people to obtain it, all so they can have more money.

We see it in the Old Testament and we see it today, we are no different. But Jesus will always go one better and show that he is the Truth, the Way and Life, and that through him we will have salvation.

While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." Mark 14:22-25

In the days of old, a lamb was sacrificed for Passover. When Jesus had his last supper and gave us the Eucharist, he gave us his own body. When he died on the cross he gave up his blood for us. He became the sacrificial lamb for our salvation. Today we celebrate this self giving of the Body and Blood of our Lord.

In the picture of the most Blessed Sacrament there is a lamb in the middle of the Host, where Jesus is with us always. This is his Divine Body. What greater sacrifice has God ever given, but the gift of His Son, for us to have always. He is the Lamb of God, who shed his blood for all.

This is the only living bread He gave for us to live, as part of Him. There is no sacrifice too small for us to offer then. We should be open to reconciliation and freeing ourselves of sin. In order to receive this living bread with a clean heart. After all Jesus went above and beyond to give so much of himself. Now it is up to us to give above and beyond, freely what he so loving gave. Can we love him in return just as much as he loves us.

Do not take a false oath,
but make good to the Lord all that you vow.
But I say to you, do not swear at all;
not by heaven, for it is God's throne;
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool.
Matthew 5:33-34

When God keeps a promise he doesn't renege on it. Not like we do today. We all too often swear upon heaven and earth. We swear by the Almighty and give false testimony. Are we good? We are not to judge, yet we do these things. Are we honest enough to tell the truth when we witness someone stealing at work, and asked about it. Or are we afraid to be classified as a whistle blower. It's called morals, by the way. And this is what the Gospel tells us about not taking a false oath. Nor are we to swear.

I swore once, in all honesty, I'll never do it again. I wrote once that I do not swear in this way. It bothered me that it happened, I didn't wait to go to confession either. It tore my heart apart that I could offend God that way. Yet today so many do not even think about using God's name in a swear, it's automatic. Our lips often find Jesus name used daily as a swear, for the tiniest of slips. But the meaning is clear.

Same when we promise to do something and fail to do it. Kids promise they will clean their rooms, often to renege on it. We have gotten into the habit of not making good on our word. Have we then started to teach them that it's okay to renege on a promise. Just as we teach our children to lie, to swear. How many have told their children what to say, because we did not keep a promise, and in keeping with the story told, had the children accomplice to the lie. Think about it; it does happen. If we think about the many things that we do in the way of swearing and vowing, we would think again on how much we truly have offended God.

After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.
A voice said to him, "Elijah, why are you here?"
He replied, "I have been most zealous for the LORD,
the God of hosts.
But the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant,
torn down your altars. 1Kings 19:12-14

Elijah found out that seeking God in the elements was not to be found, but in a tiny whispering sound. He hid his face. Elijah already has a deep relationship with the Lord, but he's asked why he was there. And Elijah tells him he wants more, because of what he witnesses from those who forsake the Lord.

When we have a deep and abiding love for God, we are like Elijah, seeking God in all things. But it is in the tiniest whisper where we will hear him. It is in our zeal that we seek to bring the lost children back to the Lord. It's true, when we love deeply we want to give more of ourselves. Men and women who fall in love know this, they give of themselves for the one they love. When that love is not there we end up seeking from someone else. That's why Jesus used adultery as an example in the Gospel today. If we are fickle with those we love in our relationships, how about those who stray from God, to love and worship another entity. Are they not committing adultery too. After all they are worshiping something that is not of God.

We have been created to be one as man and women are one joined by the grace of God. Just as we are joined to God within our souls. Committing adultery is an act against those we love and against God whose love is everlasting. We destroy our own souls when we go against God.