YOU MUST BE PERFECT

Saturday of the First Week of Lent

Scriptural Readings: Deuteronomy 26:16-19; Psalms 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8; Matthew 5:43-48

My dear encountered couples:

There are people we seem to naturally like and those we by nature don’t like. Ever met anyone who immediately gave you good or bad feelings about himself or herself? Of course you have. We all have. We might not know why that is, but it happens. Some people we might immediately like, others we don’t. But our feelings of like or dislike is not to be an issue when it comes to people who are supposed to be like God. And that’s us!

“You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” says Jesus. That means we are supposed to love everybody, whether we like them or not. Like and love are different you know. Liking is approving of someone, enjoying being with someone, feeling good vibrations from someone. Loving is wishing someone well and doing what we might be called upon to do in order to see that they are well and cared for.

A person you might not like stops to chat with you. Do you cut them short? Or talk to them friendly-like and give them the time you would give to someone you do like? Someone you don’t like asks you a favor. Do you give them some lame excuse for not fulfilling it? Or do you, in likeness to God, take as much care with their request as you would with the request of someone you like a lot?

Or another person you don’t like, someone who really isn’t very nice to anybody, is down and out, lost his job, losing his wife, losing his home. Does that make you happy? Or do you pray for him as you would pray for a friend?

We all know what God would do in these situations, and in other situations. “You must be perfect,” Jesus said, “as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Tall order! Well, at least we can try.