REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 31ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 8TH NOVEMBER 2023

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 31ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 8TH NOVEMBER 2023

Romans 13:8-10; Ps.112; Luke 14:25-33

Dare to Love

In today’s first reading, St. Paul summarizes the whole commandments as Love. When we make it a duty to love, we will invariably be observing all the commandments. This is because the aim of all the commandments is to make us act rightly towards God and man.

But what does it mean to love? Does it mean to please others at all cost? Am I loving someone when I say YES to all that the person demands of me? The gospel reading of today answers these questions. The commandment to love implies that first of all, God must be prime in our scheme of things. In loving our neighbour, we must not hate God.

Jesus asked that we hate our family members. This means that if loving them will amount to displeasing God, we must choose to rather displease our relatives. This therefore defines the love St. Paul talked about in the first reading. Loving someone does not mean pleasing the person but acting Godly towards the person. So, when you speak against the evil done by a neigbhour, you are loving that neigbhour. When you condone the evil of another, even when the person is pleased with you, God is not, because you have failed to love. Again if your loving a person will amount to causing pain for another person, that love is questionable. You are not loving when you rob Peter to pay Paul.

It becomes easy to understand why a loving person can experience reproach from those he/she is loving. The gospel acclamation tells us that such reproach attracts God’s blessing. Let us not be afraid to love genuinely. It is better to be commended by God than by men.