February 23, 2020
7th Sunday Ordinary A
There is a word not easily defined – holy! During the Mass, at the end of the preface, we pray together: “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.” We speak of holy people who inspire us – the saints. Artists depict them with a halo – a light or glow circling their head. The English word “holy” is rooted in the word “whole.” It is related to the Latin word “sacer” or “sacred” meaning “set apart.” A person who truly lives with wholeness and integrity is “set apart” for divine purposes.
In our first reading, the Book of Leviticus, God tells Moses to inform the Hebrews that they are called to “Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” We are holy because God is holy. “Holiness” is being “Godlike.” God is “set apart” but involved with the created world through acts of compassion, guardianship, restoration of brokenness, and power that sustains the universe. Again, speaking through Moses, God commands the People of Israel: “You shall not bear hatred for your brothers or sisters in your heart… Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” As well as relating to God with awe, reverence, and right worship, God’s holy people are also to care for one another.
We sing the responsorial psalm refrain: “The Lord is king and merciful.” Our “holiness” must emulate divine kindness and mercy.
St. Paul reminds the Church at Corinth that “you are the temple of God.” God dwells in/with us. We call God’s Triune Life in us Sanctifying grace. Divine indwelling is the source of our holiness.
Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount, challenges his disciples “to love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you that you may be children of your heavenly Father.” Those who follow Jesus on the path of holiness, must have love for both enemies and neighbors. “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
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6th Sunday Ordinary A
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First Sunday of Lent
