MORE | February 19, 2017

February 19, 2017

Today’s gospel comes from Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount, specifically as 2 out of 6 ways to behave ABOVE the law, in other words, as a mature spiritual being. There is a Switchfoot song called Meant To Live and the chorus says, “We were meant to live for so much MORE. Have we lost ourselves?” I think this captures the theme of today’s gospel.

Yes, it is good to follow and live by the law, but we can do MORE. If we have Christ in our hearts it will show in the MORE that we do.

• When someone strikes one cheek, give him or her MORE to strike. Why? To de-escalate their anger and resentment. Enemies and bullies enjoy the fight, the push and the pull, the blow for blow, but when we bend, it takes that pleasure away and steals their thunder and leads to peace. MORE.

• If someone wants to sue you for one thing, let him or her have MORE. Our attachment to the one thing is what fueled their fire in the first place, but when we show that we are not attached to any things, we diffuse the war. MORE.

•  When we are constantly giving MORE: peace, love, kindness, resilience, ourselves, our possessions, our time, our loyalty, etc. we demonstrate that we are deeply grounded in Christ, in our faith, hope, love, and that the maturity of our souls will bring about peace, or mercy, or forgiveness.

• Lastly, and this is a really hard one, someone that is mature in their spiritual life will be able to love their enemies and pray for their persecutors (MORE). We should imagine ourselves washing the feet of the person that has hurt us the most, or kneeling down and praying for the good of the person that has betrayed us, spread rumors about us, hurt our family, stolen our property, abused us, lied to us, etc. This is for sure a MORE moment, but Jesus tells us, in today’s gospel, that this is what we should absolutely strive for.

“So be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” The word perfect here is really referring to maturity. Mature people have the ability to look at the whole and behave toward the bigger or greater good. Immature people behave to the lesser and more immediate emotions in the moment. Wisdom gives us perspective and perspective helps us understand that we are meant to live for so much MORE. Let’s plant ourselves firmly in Christ today so that we can do MORE and let peace, mercy, and love be our other cheek, our cloak, our extra mile, and our prayer for those that hurt us. Have a MORE kind of day.

Reading 1 LV 19:1-2, 17-18

The LORD said to Moses,
"Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them:
Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.

"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.
Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the LORD."

Responsorial Psalm PS 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13

R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

Reading 2 1 COR 3:16-23

Brothers and sisters:
Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person;
for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

Let no one deceive himself.
If any one among you considers himself wise in this age,
let him become a fool, so as to become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God,
for it is written:
God catches the wise in their own ruses, 
and again:
The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are vain.
So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you, 
Paul or Apollos or Cephas,
or the world or life or death,
or the present or the future:
all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.

Alleluia 1 JN 2:5

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 5:38-48

Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one as well.
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,
hand over your cloak as well.
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.

"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."