7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran
The call to holiness began in the Old Testament. God invites us to be holy as Jesus was holy. Holiness can be identified with the closeness of God. He wants us to be merciful, kind, and loving. He tells us that His law must lead us to a life where we discover God in all people, not just our friends. It is easy to love those who love us but Jesus asks us to do much more. As we are about to begin Lent, we are invited to forgive our enemies. Jesus is a shining example of love and forgiveness.
Jesus himself is a model in forgiving those who have hurt us. We see this in Jesus’ life. When Jesus and the apostles were in Gethsemane, soldiers came to arrest Him. Peter cut off the ear of one of the soldiers. Jesus told Peter to put his sword away, and He touched the ear and healed it. Jesus forgave and physically healed the one who came to arrest Him. This is not the only healing incident that takes place during Jesus’ Passion; Pilate and Herod had been enemies but become friends on the day of Jesus’ trial.
During His trial before the high priest, one of the officers slapped Jesus. Jesus calmly asked what he had said wrong. When Jesus was being crucified, he prayed for those who were nailing Him to the cross. Even then, Jesus was able to forgive them.
After Jesus’ resurrection, when Peter and the others were fishing, Jesus appeared on the shore of the sea of Galilee cooking fish. After they ate, three times Jesus asked Peter if He loved Him. Each time Peter said yes and each time Jesus asked him to look after His flock. Peter had denied Jesus three times at the high priest’s house, but Jesus forgave him. But Jesus loved Peter and later made him the head of the church. This was the beginning of the Catholic Church, as we know it today. Peter was the first Pope of the Catholic Church. The foundation of Catholic Church was established through the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
Everyone knows that forgiving is not easy. Forgiveness is freedom. Jesus gives his new law of love, grace, forgiveness, reconciliation, and no retaliation. Jesus never took revenge, even when it cost him His life.
To be Holy as God is Holy is to love the offender. We must turn the other cheek, freely giving, and walking the extra mile. Jesus tells us that what makes Christians different is the grace with which they treat others, offering them loving kindness and mercy as god does for us. We are commanded to love our enemies as Jesus Loves us, with agape’ love, not because our enemies deserve our love, but because Jesus loves them so much. He died for them as He did for us.
We not only need to love our neighbors but also forgive whole-heartedly those who have hurt us. We need to pray for the spiritual and physical welfare of all people, not just our neighbors. Today’s readings challenge us to become holy as our God is holy by loving forgiving and blessing all others. As we are about to start our Lenten journey, let us remember the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
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