Monday, June 17, 2024

Loving all... deserving? not deserving?

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 11th week in Ordinary time

June 18, 2024 - 1 Kings 21: 17-29; Matthew 5: 43-48

We normally have a list of people who are our favourites and another list of those who do not deserve our kindliness, our compassion, our understanding or our love. We come to that conclusion after a series of experiences with them and ordinarily speaking, that conclusion would seem to everyone as just and understandable. The Lord instructs us today, to convert that list into your priority list, and start loving those in that list; start loving those who allegedly do not deserve to be loved according to your judgment.

We may hear ourselve saying, or even crying out, "Oh that is not possible?" If we do so, the Lord would immediately retort: you are no different from those who are far away from me! If we are to be known as children of God, we better start loving those, so-called undeserving persons, with genuine love from our hearts!

We have examples: let us look at the first reading today. The Lord loves Ahab... however cruel and ruthless he had been... the Lord forgives and loves. He might have been undeserving but the Lord loves! But why go so far: each of us, let us consider our own life - are we really deserving to receive all the love that God showers on us? Can we still speak about these categories of who is deserving and who not! Can we really maintain that list of those who do not deserve my love? 

If I do, will I ever deserve the love that God has for me?