Our Sunday Reflections

CLICK HERE for the Audio recording of the Readings of
February 23rd, 2020.  
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.  

CLICK HERE for the Readings of February 23rd, 2020.  
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.

LEARN MORE about Ash Wednesday.
READ MORE about the Lenten Season.

Sunday, February 23rd, 2020.  Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.
 

Bless the LORD, my soul; and do not forget all his gifts,
Who pardons all your sins, and heals all your ills,
Who redeems your life from the pit, and crowns you with mercy and compassion,... 

Psalms 103: 2-4

No entitlement, no rights 

Recently, I went out with a good friend to lunch; at the end of lunch he said: ‘I will take that’ (meaning pay the bill); I insisted we split it, but he refused saying – ‘ I have been blessed!’ 

We use this phrase often in casual ways or conversations, but to express something we truly believe and want to express not easily with words- how God indeed many times over, surprises us and blesses us so much.
‘I have been blessed’ for me has always meant: it is only because of God that I am what I am.  How unworthy we are of many things many times; how we have escaped much, wrongly thinking it was by luck or chance, but it was all in God’s plan.  Why is it that you did not go through this or that, and why did others who were just like you in every way or merited more, did? 
It is with this kind of attitude or mindset that we can reflect on the readings of this weekend.  The challenge of the readings is:  But if God has indeed blessed us, we in turn must be like Him; do to others what He does so many times for us without our merit or planning it out.

‘Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.’ (Leviticus 19: 2).  Holiness sounds intimidating and to some repulsive. Who can really be holy or perfect as God?  But this simply means: as God is to you, so you are to be too.  Be like Him to others.  Moses reminds the community of Israel that their relationship with God must translate in the way they relate and live with others.  All rules, regulations and commandments find their meaning and purpose only to this end (practice what you preach).

The best impression of God to us all and how he blesses us is through his kindness and mercy.  How he so many times even over-looks our wretchedness, our weaknesses, our frailty.  Pope Benedict XVI phrase is: ‘He writes on crooked lines straight’.  He is a ‘Good Father’ who is never out to get us, or fault us, or even to trap us.  He takes no revenge, cherishes no grudge, loves us as we are.  He forgives. Can we be like Him with others?
As a Christian, the world around us will not let us for it is governed by another principle.  It is a world of merit, a world of competition, a world of retaliation, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.  It is a world of boasting and ridicule.  To be like God is often seen as ‘foolishness’.

The Gospel message today is radical.  To be a disciple means: No expectations, no rights, no entitlements, No I –owe-you’s or you-scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-yours attitude like that of the pagans.  To be a disciple is about only the obligation to serve others.  And no one is ‘unworthy’ of Jesus and the Father’s mercy and compassion, even our enemies.

A Blessed Sunday in the Lord!
Fr. Anthony



View the below video for another Sunday Reflection on the readings.