HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT. (2)

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT.

THEME: But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

BY: Fr. Diotacious Chikontwe SMA.

*READINGS OF THE DAY*
Deuteronomy 26:16-19
Psalm 118:1-2,4-5,7-8
Matthew 5:43-48

*LITURGICAL COLOUR*
PURPLE

*FROM OUR FIRST READING*
In our first reading today, the Lord speaks to us through Moses that, we are all commanded to observe the laws and customs given by the Lord; we must keep and observe them with all our hearts and with all our souls. The Lord will be our God, but only if we follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and always listen to his voice.

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*FROM OUR GOSPEL READING*
In today’s gospel Christ calls his followers to make a radical change in thinking. He says: “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”

*CONCLUSION*
Jesus says, “love your enemies.” What does He mean by these words? Does He mean we should have enemies and then later on love them? Or does He mean we should not have enemies at all? Let us take into consideration that He is speaking about the disciples and their persecutors. “Enemies” here mean those who hate the disciples and not those that the disciples hate. Disciples are to hate no one. If by enemies we mean those we hate, then Christians should have no enemies. But if by enemies we mean those who hate us, then we cannot help having enemies. We cannot control how others treat us; we can only control our attitude to them. What Jesus is asking us now is that we should not return hatred for hatred or hostility for hostility. Jesus is telling us clearly that we must not exclude a single person from our love no matter what they have done or will do. We cannot do this because this is the way Jesus himself lived. He put this teaching into practice in his own life. He remains the greatest teacher and example of this even if they were leading Him out to a shameful, public execution on the cross, He still able to say: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing,” (Luke 23:34).

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