The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/090714.cfm) reminds me how much God asks us to love each other
The second reading is full of love.
Brothers and sisters:
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery;
you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet, ”
and whatever other commandment there may be,
are summed up in this saying, namely,
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Love does no evil to the neighbor;
hence, love is the fulfillment of the law
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery;
you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet, ”
and whatever other commandment there may be,
are summed up in this saying, namely,
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Love does no evil to the neighbor;
hence, love is the fulfillment of the law
Love. Love. Love. Forgive one another. Love one another. It is that great it Paul says that love is the fulfilment of the law. Wow. Big words. But looking at it, this actually makes sense. As we look at commandments 4-10, we see that it is all about other people. Therefore, to fulfil the law and commandments, we need not memorize everything word for word. We just need to remember one thing - love. Love God and love others.
When we hear the word love, a lot of times we think of something romantic. However, that is just one of the kinds of love. In the readings today, we see a powerful, everyday, normal kind of love - love we sometimes take for granted or not practice, because it is difficult.
In the first reading, we see how God wants us to care enough for other people to want them to be saved. It is not enough that we are doing good with our lives. In the gospel, Jesus wants us to love others by forgiving them – something very hard to do. It is very hard to forgive others, because we want to get revenge, we want to even the score. Thus, forgiveness is really not a sign of weakness, but of power and love.
It is very hard to love others, especially those unlovable. But God wants us to do it. because only as we love others even if it hurts, do we allow God to love us and love through us.
Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another day to spend time with you and be one with you. Lord, thank you for your love. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your forgiveness. I ask that I be able to soak it in and experience it, so that as I become more aware of it, I may share it with others. Help me to forgive like you do, and most importantly, to love like you do. Amen.
Blessed Sunday!
In Christ,
-g-
Ps
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