Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s gospel, there is a lengthy list of what following Christ entails. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Whew! Jesus’ list seems impossible to live out, yet if what he asks seems too much for us, we are beginning to understand that we cannot accomplish these tasks on our own, but only through God’s grace. By receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the sacraments, we will be better able to witness the love, forgiveness and peace to which Jesus calls us.
In Jesus’ gift of the Eucharist, we become his body on earth. With God’s grace, we can participate in the very love of God that Jesus describes. Of course, we sinners often fail. Therefore, instead of reading Jesus’ words as a set of rules to follow, we might reframe our task as finding ways to create space in our hearts to be a channel for God. We can echo the words from the prayer of Saint Francis and say Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, love, and joy. In a reflection on God’s love, Mother Teresa said, “When God created us, He created us out of love. There is no other explanation because God is love. And He has created us to love and to be loved. If we could remember that all the time, there would be no wars, no violence, no hatred in the world. So beautiful. So simple.”
God works within us to make a channel for his love and grace to flow through us and into the lives of everyone we meet. How can we be open and free in letting the image of God in which we are created be seen and experienced by others? Let us seek Christ in the sacraments and carve out time to listen to God in prayer. Doing so, we will notice our lives changing. Perhaps even in ways that begin to reflect Jesus’ words.
-Jessica Gabrielli