Gospel Reflection 2021/2022

They will know we are Christians by our love.

‘God is love.’ [1 Jn 4: 8, 16] Love is at the core of Christianity because God is love. And love is one of the telling characteristics of Christians. ‘Whoever does not love does not know God.’ [1 Jn 4: 8] Christian love is not mere romanticism; Christian love is a conscious choice and a deliberate decision from the heart, expressed in concrete actions.

Love must be from the heart.

Christ has commanded us to love – not just our family members and friends – but He has taught us to love those who do not deserve our love. Instead of ‘an eye for an eye’ or ‘a tooth for a tooth’, our response should be non-violence and non-retaliation. We can never fight fire with fire, nor can we overcome evil with evil – such is a vicious and unending cycle. Evil can only be stopped, ended and uprooted by good.

Our Lord Jesus has set us the perfect example: innocent yet condemned to death on the cross, He did not spitefully curse all those who had conspired and orchestrated His Passion and Crucifixion. Deep from His heart, He prayed earnestly for His enemies [Lk 23: 34], “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

‘Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly.’ [Lk 6: 27-28]

Imitating Jesus, St Pope John Paul II – who survived four (4) gunshot wounds to his abdomen – visited, forgave, prayed for, and prayed with his would-be assassin in the prison.

Such is the love Jesus is talking about: the love that knows no bounds, the love that forgives and heals, the love that transforms hearts, the love that conquers sin and evil.

'To the man who slaps you on one cheek,

present the other cheek too;

to the man who takes your cloak from you,

do not refuse your tunic.' [Lk 6: 29]

Offer the other cheek for another slap?

No, our Lord Jesus is NOT proposing weak submission to evil. And He is definitely NOT advocating Christian pacifism. ‘To offer the other cheek’ is a call to a courageous yet non-violent confrontation with evil.

Our Lord Jesus calls us – not to hide or shrink from evil – but to stand tall and challenge the action of the other, to unmask evil as it really is, and to challenge the perpetrators so that they may eventually come to their senses and recognise the evil that they are doing.

It was reported that one day, St Mother Teresa went to a baker to beg for some bread to feed the hungry children in her orphanage. Furious with her request, the baker rejected her, humiliated her, and spat at her. In response to his rudeness, Mother Teresa wiped off the spittle with her handkerchief and calmly said, “Thank you for that gift to me. Now how about something for the children?” Surprised and touched by her unexpected response, the baker complied and provided the bread for the children.

Even in the face of evil and injustice, Mother Teresa remained cool, calm, confident, composed and Christ-centred – she did not react in anger, nor did she retaliate with violence. She simply ‘offered the other cheek’: she did not hide or shrink away; she stood tall and challenged the action of the unreasonable baker. That very day, love had triumphed.

Be compassionate as our Father is compassionate. [Lk 6: 36]

Both St Pope John Paul II and St Mother Teresa have shown us what Christian love is all about.

Our Christian love is rooted in the very love of God. We love because God has loved us first. The love of God for us is gratuitous, extreme and unfathomable: ‘He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous,’ [Mt 5: 45] and ‘while we were still sinners, He sent His Son to die for us.’ [Rm5:8]

Jesus has not called us to be vigilantes, judges, and/or executioners. Instead, He has called us to be the ambassadors of His love, the channels of His peace, and the instruments of His grace: ‘ to be compassionate as our Father is compassionate’.

May we always choose love instead of hate, choose prayers instead of curses, choose peace instead of war, choose good instead of evil, choose standing up for truth and justice instead of shrinking away, and choose Christ instead of the standards of the world.

Let our fervent prayer be:

“Lord Jesus Christ, let me be the ambassador of Your love, the channel of Your peace, and the instrument of Your grace.”