Love Your Neighbor As Yourself ~ by Ronnie Archer

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lv 19:1-2, 17-18
Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13
1 Cor 3:16-23
Mt 5:38-48

"An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth... when someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other one as well." These verses are Jesus' command from the Gospel of Matthew 5:38-39.

The Lord tells us in the first reading this 7th Sunday, that we are to not bear hatred even though we might feel we have a reason to feel that we have been wronged by someone. Jesus tells us NOT to incur sin because of him/her.

On this Sunday's celebration of Black History Month, we are told how our ancestors knew how to "turn the other cheek"... There were many times that they had to walk through difficulties and persecution. They knew that Jesus prayed for those who persecuted Him; and He challenges us to do the same.

Our ancestors, as well as many others of our own lifetime, have gone before us and they did not come alone, but by faith in God. The Good News of His Son Jesus' love and mercy that we hear about in Matthew's Gospel was what they remembered and kept in mind during those difficult years.

All of us can tell stories of incidents where we know that God has worked on our behalf through our faith journey.

We come from people who believed in the Word of God that worked wonders before, and would do so again. They did not strike back; they knew that God had worked with dry bones before and that He would work with them again. Our ancestors remembered what God spoke to Ezekiel, that he prophesied and breathed life into dry bones. (Ez 37:4-5)

Thanks be to God that we had people who didn't take revenge. They prayed and came this far by FAITH! They knew that God was with them even in the midst of trouble - now our journey is to keep up what our ancestors did.

We are living in an evil world. Satan works all the time. We have to teach our children and pray for, and with them, or we will lose a generation; and if a generation is lost, then the church will be lost, and if the church is lost, then our world is doomed.

Jesus had to deal with all sorts of conditions, but HE knew that God, His Father, was with Him. God did NOT promise life without trials, but He promised us that HE would be with us through them.

Peace is not the absence of trials, but realizing that He is with us through it all.

In this dangerous world, we need to be WHAT God called us to be, for the sake of our children.

We are not only commanded to share the Good News, but to BE the Good News!

Do not hide your light under a bushel basket. We are called to be the LIGHT OF THE WORLD!

We have come this far by Faith, and we cannot turn around now!



* From Deacon Calvin Bailey's homily ~ Black History Celebration Sunday


~ Sermon on the Mount by Fra Angelico, c. 1440

~ Image from Free Christ Images