February 20, 2022 Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Welcome Father Martin Today’s Readings: 1 Sm 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23 | 1 Cor 15:45-49 | Lk 6:27-38

This gospel just heard brings us to the crucial point to our life as christians. All that Jesus says hits us a blow over our head. We all know and make, needless to say, almost day by day, the experience, the hurtful experience that violence, egoism and revenge rule the world. And, I dare to say, none of us is free of thoughts like “Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” when we feel ourselves wounded, injured. Especially in such moments when we are not guilty, or we do not accept or admit any involvement or share of responsibility. We are also great in self-excusing: because everybody acts like this, I permit myself to act like this, too. From time to time, to be honest, we have a bad conscience. We remember Jesus words, addressed to those who were following him. But , quasi instantly, we ease our conscience, convincing ourselves that, more’s the pity, I am afraid, the world we are living in is brutal, our contemporaries are offenders, enemies, haters, the greedy. We have no real choice if we do not want to sink, to come off badly. Yes, once upon a time, things were different. But this is what we call paradise, and, paradise is lost, unfortunately not really since John Milton. Yes, if all would remember Jesus’ words and do what he proposes, our world would be a better one and, of course, we also. Imagine … John Lennon has composed a song about it. But it is not so. But, constantly, incessantly, Jesus pleads (plieds) us every Sunday to follow his way, to risk practicing his commandments. He tries tempting us to behave in the new style in the well-known, old world. What do we receive? At best, probably, a friendly laughing, a surprised glance by our neighbour, perhaps a sympathetic glance that says: “You should have known better … .”. It is not guaranteed that others do to us as we have done to them. Our experience of life tells us: on the contrary. And the prospect “after death everything will be excellent” is hard to take, when actually we are blamed and feel tortured. The degree of consolation is not excessive. What should we do? Following the world and his rules, following Jesus Christ and being always the fools? You will not really wonder that I suppose to follow our Lord. Because what he offers is much more than being accepted by our contemporaries. If we are willing to surpass the golden rule – do to others as you would have them do to you – he promises us to become children of God. If we risk trusting him and in this way receive freedom of all brooding of the right equivalence, we are becoming quite as God. We are no longer passive looking on the other and what he or she does to us, but we regain activeness. This “being active“ is like a self-development, an independence in a special sense: we do not live and behave like a self-sufficient, solitude, plant that circles around others. Our independence is a related one. That sounds paradox. But even this paradox marks the mystery of love that means to all the same. No. Justice in that point of view means / to all that / what is necessary for growing in life, in truth, in mutualness, love, faith, hope. Following the provocating and at the same time inviting propositions of Jesus turns us whose want to follow him into creators, like God himself, creators of an enlightened atmosphere , a community that shines and invites others to enter because it does good. Perhaps it inflames not instantly the whole world. But it is like a seed. And we chisel freely and freed our existence as disciples of the Lord, children of God, who do not fear to be laughed at, to be discriminated. Because Jesus has done so and he invites us to share his active creativity for the benefit of our brethren and sisters.

Source: Fr. Martin Müller, SJ Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Van_Dyck,Anthony-St_Martin_Dividing_his_Cloak-c._1618.jpg/448px-Van_Dyck,_Anthony-St_Martin_Dividing_his_Cloak-_c._1618.jpg

News

• 20 February - There will be confessions in English after Mass.