July 11: Friday of Week 14 of Ordinary Time, Year A-II:
Hosea 14:2-10; Psalm 51:3-4, 8-9,
12-13, 14, 17; Matthew 10:16-23
To surrender to
Jesus expressing himself through us in ministry.
God vs. Good
“I will heal their defection… I will love
them freely;.” Hosea 14:4.
Jesus sent his disciples to bring life to others by dying
to themselves and to everything this world offers. People will accept you if
you do what is good, but kill you if you urge what is best. That is why we
killed Jesus.
Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” Try urging people to love
and forgive the rapist, the child abuser, the decapitating terrorist, the
suicide bomber who kills women and children indiscriminately. The murderer who
killed their own spouse and children. Try abolishing the death penalty. Or
handguns intended solely for killing those who would kill us. Suggest
non-resistance to genocide. This is the “best”—the way God loves. It is
abhorrent to us.
“Nice” is acceptable. “Religious” is suspicious. “Fervent”
is fanatic. Do you dare talk about love for God? (When did you do that last?)
You can’t be a priest and shield yourself from being a victim. It takes
vulnerability to heal.
Test yourself. Sing enthusiastically at Mass. Say the Gloria as if you meant it. Are you
afraid to be “a sheep among wolves,” a singer among the silent?
Are you afraid to express what you really believe? Suggest
loving as God does? Propose dying as a way of life?
Ministry is surrender to expression. Expression is
vulnerability. Vulnerability can get you killed—in more ways than one.
PRAY: “Lord, let your Spirit speak in me.”
PRACTICE: Speak out when afraid.
To love your enemy is to resist the evil but not hate the person. If you are nice to those who do evil, that is not being good. To love them is to tell them what they did was wrong. "And yet genuine charity consists in acting prudently, and to the end that good may come thereby. He who relieves any poor or needy villain, does evil to his neighbor through him, for by the relief which he affords he confirms him in evil, and supplies him with the means of doing evil to others. It is otherwise with him who gives assistance to the good." (Emanuel Swedenborg)
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