Email Guidelines Dara's Homilies Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (19th Feb)
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Lev 19:1-2 .17-18; 1 Cor 3:16-23 ; Matthew 5:38-48
MEDITATION:
This week is about forgiving and reviving respect for others.
Is it really possible to love people who are perhaps annoying you? Listen to Jesus on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they don't realise what they're doing”.
When faced with opposition in life, the world teaches us to 'fight bravely', but Christ teaches us to avoid that, and I think that that's a sign of real bravery! Man always has someone about whom to complain but man becomes a true son of God when he looks on the wrongdoer as someone about whom to care. Forgiving is what eventually heals. Condemning destroys and the one to be really destroyed is the one who condemns.
Something I admired very much was when I read about Jewish families in Israel who were inviting German children to holiday with them in friendship. It was well described in a book called "Seventy times seven" which is the phrase Jesus used to describe how many times we should forgive. Some would have said 'seven' so he replied 'seventy times seven'! I imagine you haven't had your entire family exterminated in concentration camps but everyone has been hurt in some way in life. The beautiful solution is when the guy who's had some sweets robbed and realises 'Bob' did it, ends up the next day offering Bob a sweet! That's the way to get Bob to change. It's much more effective than criticising or punishing.
One of the things that's clear in 'community life', is that we have to 'correct' each other ('apport'). But it's done with a heart of love - not annoyance. It isn't a question of argueing, but of proposing things. It's not for any selfish gain, but in the hope that it will help us all to be like Christ. That's a tremendous gain! Fraternal correction is different to outright criticism. The aim is to help. It implies that you really believe in the potential of the other, to become a living Christ and that you just want to help Christ to be born in him! Jesus himself says: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother." (Matthew 18:15 ).
To 'forgive' is more than just ignoring or forgetting about a bad mistake that someone made. It means making the effort to help the person so that the same thing doesn't keep happening! Maybe that means you've to be extra-generous … that's why it's called 'for-giveness'! In the Gospel, Jesus doesn't ask us just to pardon those who've done us harm, but to pray for them! (Matthew 5:25 ) - in other words to genuinely love them and that implies a willingness to help them return to the path of love.
Dara
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