Wo can turn the other cheek, give away their coat, love enemies, who can pray for their
persecutors? We know Jesus could and he did. What Jesus is saying to us in between
the lines of the gospel is, ‘follow me’. Who is this God, this Jesus? You watch your
children sleep, you hold them to your heart when they are crying, afraid or sick. Think
of the feeling you have when you do that. That is how God feels about you, that is God!
You are surrounded by his love. There is a given in us, the Spirit of love given to us in
baptism; God is a beckoning presence, inviting us to intimacy. In all your life situations
the Lord is saying [Is 65:1], ‘I am here, my love’!
Then there is this unloving world we create; we want the world to change according to
our mind, ideologies we impose on others; our decisions create division and conflict.
Jesus says, ‘I say to you’, continue my work to unify, remove what causes enmity,
resentment, brokenness inside; heal by love. Salvation is experiencing well-being,
healing by allowing God’s love to hold us, then we become a healing presence in the
world we live and not a presence that says: ‘I am ok and you are not ok’! Jesus
embraced utter desolation on the cross to manifest the depth of God’s love. Husband
and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters, imitate this love of Jesus that
saves life from being destroyed by our uncontrolled emotions, biased thinking or
feeding our ego with anger.
Jesus talks about destructive anger. In our world groups are defined by their anger at
other groups. Jesus is inviting us to an attitude change; let your thinking and behavior
be as one belonging to Christ. What we think is dead or going to hell can be reversed,
raised up by love, what we see in the resurrection of Christ. the risen presence of
Christ in the world, in the church makes love the universal language; learn to speak it,
live it, the kingdom of God becomes contagious in and through you. Everything
changes when you love Christ, crosses become bearable, then there is wisdom in you,
you can be trusted, you are a unifying presence, God becomes real in you!
St. Theresa of Avila in her book ‘Interior Castle’ speaks of three doors of our soul or
inner self. First door is prayer; prayer is about entering into the mind of Christ, second
door is humility, learning to let go angry, vengeful selfish self to enter through the third
door, to enter into the love of the beloved who is Christ. There was a man who used to
buy news paper from a man who always treated him rudely. A friend saw this and
asked, why he put up with such behavior’? The man replied: why should two of us be
rude? Why should I allow another person to manipulate my feelings? Often You are
scared to let go the false version of yourself but love is greater than the ego self that
wants to control, reject and divide. Desire to love God, then you discover your true
God-given self! God says: ‘be holy as I am holy’ in other-words ‘be loving as I am love’!