Love Your Enemies

First Reading: Acts 9:1-20
Psalm: Ps 117:1bc, 2
Gospel: Jn 6:52-59

Friends,

Today's gospel is very important. It is at the very heart of an age-old disagreement between Catholics and our Protestant brothers. I am not well-versed enough to elaborate on the topic. I highly recommend reflecting on its words, getting a copy of the direct Greek translation if you can, and discussing it with a spiritual adviser.

Sometimes, it is difficult for us to see how treating another in a Christian way helps the cause of Christ. In today's reading, we hear Ananias responding to God's unusual request that he assist the very man who had made it his mission to tear down the Church.

But Ananias replied, "Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man, what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison all who call upon your name."
But the Lord said to him, "Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel, and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name." - Acts 9:13-17

In our own times, there are many people who attack our faith. Some do it openly, cursing the Church and the name of Jesus. Others seek to undermine teachings of the church and attack those who defend those teachings. In response, many Christians lash back, hurling insults and other un-Christian sentiments. They, and we, are often quick to forget that those who disagree with us and seek to attack us are the very ones that Jesus has asked us to pray for:

But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. - Luke 6:27-28

This is the very thing that is emphasized in the reading, and it shows why this command of our Lord is so important. We do not know how God plans to use each of us for His glory. We most certainly do know that He has not given up on them, that He still loves them, just as He loves us. In any case, we are not given permission to stop treating them with love and respect. God alone has the right to judge them and give them the reward that they have earned.

Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." Rather, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head." Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good. - Romans 12:19-21

Heavenly Father, we thank You and praise You for the gift of this day. We pray for the gift of patience when dealing with people who seek to harm us, that our example might be an offering to Your glory. Help us to love as You love and leave the rest in Your hands. Jesus, we trust in you! Amen.

A Learned Teacher

First Reading: Acts 8:26-40
Psalm: Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20
Gospel: Jn 6:44-51

Friends,

In today's reading, Philip is again being sent to preach the gospel to those outside of Judaism. He meets an Ethiopian returning home after a visit to Jerusalem who just happens to be reading the scriptures and helps him to understand their meaning and fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

We rely on teachers to help us interpret the world that we live in. Students can read the math textbook, but they often will make no progress without a teacher's help. You can hand a new employee the store manual, yet, there is always someone there to help train them as well.

Jesus tells us in the gospel that we shall be taught by God, through the one who comes down from heaven. He also promised us the gift of the Holy Spirit, to guide and direct our journey; a promise fulfilled at Pentecost.

Reflect for a time today on who is a teacher in your faith life. Who can you go to when you have questions? Seek them out, as well as those who first taught you of our Lord's love, and thank them.

Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you for the gift of this day. Thank you for blessing us with teachers on our journey. Bless those teachers with the gift of discernment, that they might share what they have been given with all. Guard their minds and hearts from being swayed by the devil and his angels. Bless also those that listen to those who bring the word of Truth. We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Acceptance

First Reading: Acts 8:1b-8
Psalm: Ps 66:1-7a
Gospel: Jn 6:35-40

Friends,

Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. - John 6:37-38

Have you ever been at mass, or at a church sponsored event, and seen someone that did not look like they belonged there? Maybe they had dirty clothes. Perhaps they had a lot of piercings or tattoos. Maybe they hadn't shaved or showered for a while. In any case, they looked out of place among the other congregants. What did the people around them do? Did they back away, ignore them, whisper to their neighbors?

Not long ago, I might have been one of those parishioners, grumbling to myself something like, "Don't they know that this is church and they should be presentable?" After all, I'd dressed in my nice clothes, bathed and was sitting quietly. Apparently, I'd forgotten to polish my halo. I had a difficult time seeing past the exterior appearance to the person. But God always brings down the proud. Later that year, for a few weeks, I had to make a choice: either skip mass or go wearing clothes that I'd been in all day. Around tigers. And their droppings.

Recently, I was helping a friend who is just coming back to Christ. He has many tattoos all over his arms and face, some of them are pagan symbols. He was cleanly dressed and shaved. Bald. When we took our seats for the mass, we both noticed a few glances in our direction. There wasn't a lack of people in the church, but as more came in, they avoided sitting near us. Just before the homily, my friend turned to me and said that he felt uncomfortable, that people were judging him and maybe he should go.

Jesus tells us in today's gospel that He will not reject anyone who comes to Him, because they have been sent by His Father. The gospels tell us over and over again that He spent much of his time around those who were seen as the lowest of the low. Our job, as the body of Christ, is to accept our brothers and sisters, even the dirty and unsightly ones, with open arms and say "Welcome home."

This is not to say that we should encourage people to attend mass in muddy overalls or the like. There is definitely something to be said for someone who grooms themself before approaching the altar of God. However, we must remember that it is of utmost importance to make that approach (humbly), regardless of our appearance.

The reading for today emphasizes this. Philip (another early deacon) goes to the Samaritans, whom the Jews considered ritualistically unclean. They were taught from a very young age to hate each other, each group believing that it had the truth from the scriptures (sound familiar?) It must have been difficult for Philip to overcome the social conditioning that he had against the Samaritans, but overcome it he did, to do the work of God. Later on, Paul did the same thing in his preaching to the Gentiles. These early Christians followed the command of Jesus to love one another, rather than blindly follow the social norms of the day. Let us follow their lead.

Heavenly Father, we thank You and praise You for the gift of this day. Thank you for the many blessings which we enjoy. Lord, grant that we might see You in the lowly of our world. Help us to look past appearances and accept brothers and sisters of all races and languages that wish to walk with You. Guard us from pride and guide us humbly back to Your graces. We ask all of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Martyrs

First Reading: Acts 7:51 - 8:1a
Psalm: Ps 31:3cd-4, 6 and 7b and 8a, 17 and 21ab
Gospel: Jn 6:30-35

Friends,

Today, we hear of the martyring of St. Stephen, first among the deacons and the first to die in defense of Christianity, after Jesus Himself.

There is a question that I like to ask people who are lukewarm in their commitments or who struggle with apathy: Is there anything in your life that you feel is worth dying for? The question usually knocks people back on their heels. Try it for yourself; is there something that you feel so strongly about that you would be willing to give your life to defend it? Your family? Your country? Your faith?

Jesus mentioned in the gospel yesterday that the work of God is to believe in the one that He sent. That belief is not without hardships. He tells us himself:

If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. - John 15:18-19

This is the wake-up call for Christians who are looking for a way to make Christianity an easy road to walk. It is as true today as it was for the early Christians. We are mocked and ostracized when we dare to stand up for our beliefs. We are called names, turned away from work, threatened and in some places in the world, even killed. On top of everything, those who stumble in their belief are held up by the world and heralded as the ones we should emulate.

As Christians, we can recognize that our beliefs are difficult, but that they are a small price to pay for God's mercy. We are called to love those who hate us and bless those that curse us (Luke 6:27-28). This is the commandment of Jesus and a testimony for our own faith:

This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. - John 13:35

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the gift of this day. We pray that You bless us with the grace needed to love as You love. Grant us the faith of the early church and guard us against compromising on that which has true value. We ask all of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.