THE WORD BEAME FLESH

Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, 2023

2Cor 6:1-10

Ps 98

Matt 5:38-42

Working together…

Dear friends in Christ, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Grace “…is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call…Participation in the life of God. It introduces us to the intimacy of Trinitarian life: By Baptism, the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of his Body.”(CCC. 1996-1997) Those who have received the grace of God must prove themselves to be servants of the mysteries of salvation by following the example of Christ who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

In the first reading of today (2 Corinthians 6:1-10) Paul tells us that it is important to make good use of the grace of God in our lives. “Brethren: working together with Christ, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain.” The baptized are made one with Christ by the grace that the sacrament bestows. He is therefore expected to live as a child of God and a member of the Church. That means his efforts must be in line with his vocation. To work at variance with the Church and God means a rejection of that grace which amounts to vain glory. Paul, therefore says that those who are led by grace do not put obstacles in the way of the salvation of others. Instead, those who walk in grace welcome delightfully the sufferings that may come with their call in Christ. “We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way…” We are all called to give of our time, talents, and treasure as fellow workers with God for the salvation of the world. 

In today’s gospel passage (Matthew 5:38-42) Jesus continues his teaching on the commandments calling his disciples to go beyond the letters of the law. ‘Tit for tat’ looks very reasonable to the ordinary mind. This on a deeper thought, only leads to a vicious spiral of violence. There is nothing extraordinary in our behavior if all we want to do is retaliate for whatever wrong we experience from the other. It is only through reconciliation we can bring about peace and stop the violence in the world. ‘Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.’ We must work with God to bring about that peace that we all desire for ourselves, our families, and our nation. If all we do however is to slap and retaliate, we will not be walking in the path of that peace.

Let us pray: O God, the violence in our world brings pain to us all. Give us the grace to walk and work with you to achieve the peace that we desire and long for. Amen. 

+Remain blessed