The Love Of Neighbour

29-10-2017 THIRTIETH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR (A)

SCRIPTURAL READING: 1. Ex. 22: 20-26

                         2. Ps. 18:2-3a.3bc-4.47.51ab (R. 2)

                         3. 1Thess. 1:5c-10; Accl. Jn. 14:23

                         4. Mt. 22: 34-40.

Preamble:

Dear friends please repeat these words after me;

Stay with me Lord Jesus, as I give you my mind, may your word never depart from me.

Stay with me Lord Jesus, as I give you my ears, help me listen and obey your voice.

Stay with me Lord Jesus, as I give you my heart, help me welcome you always.

Holy Spirit, rekindle in me the fire of your love. Amen.

THEME: THE LOVE OF NEIGHBOUR.

Whenever you hear me make the statement Christianity is not a Jamboree, it is a factual statement because it attests to the true taste of our Christian faith and life. It tells us that Christianity is not all about self-receiving where I desire the attention should be “ME” but self-giving where the attention is the “OTHER.” For the word of God in 1 John 4:20 says “if anyone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar.”

This statement is a call to selflessness, sincere service, sincere dedication and commitment to the things of God, prudence, patience and tolerance in the face of provocation, calmness in the face of suffering, trials and tribulations. Forgiveness even when it hurts the most. It is a call to total surrender to God.

Been a Christian simply means been able to practice love in its perfect way. This is the task of every Christian-a call to be another Christ. James Allen speaking about the perfect love would say that those who are called children of light understand one language and that language is the language of love or we say the law of love.

For the children of light, the statement of Jesus and the admonishing of God to the children of Israel is not a difficult task. It is rather a way of life. Now because they consider it as a way of life, they order their whole life in accordance with love, not regarding their own personality. By practicing obedience to the highest, to divine love, they become conscious partakers of the power of love, and so arrive at perfect freedom as Masters of Destiny.

The universe is preserved because love is at the heart of it. Love is the only preservative power. While there is hatred in the heart of man, he imagines the law to be cruel, but when his heart is touched by compassion and love, h perceives that the Law is infinite kindness. So kind is the law of love that it protects man against his own ignorance.

Every time man tries to undermine or corrupt the law of love by attaching undue importance to his own little personality, he brings upon himself such trains of suffering. Love does not punish; man punishes himself by his own hatred; by striving to preserve evil which has no life by which to preserve itself, and by trying to overturn love, which can neither be overcome nor destroyed, since it is the being of the substance of life.

When a man burns himself, does he accuse the fire? Therefore, when a man suffers, let him look for some ignorance or disobedience within himself.

Love is perfect harmony, pure bliss, and contains, therefore, no element of suffering. Let a man think no thought and do no act which is not in accordance with pure love, and suffering shall no more trouble him. If a man would know love, and partake of its undying bliss, he must practice it in his heart; he must become love. That is why, the Lord wants us today to love our neighbors which is the second part of the two commandment of the lord.

The first reading tells us how we may love our neighbor. My neighbor is not necessarily the one who stays next to me in the compound, it includes everyone I may come in contact with in my business, on the road, in the bus, at the Gas station, in the Café, in the restaurant, in the gym, on the field of play, in the classroom, the relaxation lounges and bars, while driving to work, in the market, on the street in fact whoever I come in contact with, I must be sincere in my relationship with them, never to sabotage friendships with them, never be deceitful and cunning or manipulative, I must respect such a person in the way I would want respect.

He who always acts from the spirit of love is never deserted, is never left in dilemma or difficulty, for love (impersonal love) is both knowledge and power. He who has learned how to love has learned how to master every difficulty, how to change every failure into success, how to clothe every event and condition in garments of blessedness and beauty. Friends, it requires training of the mind and will. It is not a day’s job rather it is a life time practice.

Been a Christian is not just a Sunday thing, within the confines of the walls of the church, it means each time I walk into the house of the Lord, I must ensure I walk out with the Lord, I must ensure that the words I hear at mass, penetrate my hearts, break the walls of prejudice I have built over the week so as to be refreshed to face another week.

Friends, perfect love removes fear. To know love is to know that there is no harmful power in the whole universe. Even sin itself, which the worldly and unbelieving imagine is so unconquerable, is known as a very weak and perishable thing that shrinks away and disappears before the compelling power of Good. Perfect love is perfect harmlessness. And he who has destroyed, in himself, all thoughts of harm, and all desire to harm, receives the universal protection, and knows himself to be invincible. When I love, I am not afraid, rather I ensure that the next man is okay and fine and that is the meaning of the word love and a call to love my neighbor as myself.

Perfect love is perfect patience. Anger and irritability cannot dwell with it nor come near it. It sweetens every bitter occasion with the perfume of holiness, and changes trial into divine strength. Complaint is foreign to it. He who loves bewails nothing, but accepts all things and conditions as heavenly guests; he is therefore constantly blessed, and sorrow does not overtake him.

Perfect love is perfect trust. He who has destroyed the desire to grasp can never be troubled with the fear of loss. Loss and gain are alike foreign to him. Steadfastly maintaining a loving attitude of mind toward all, and pursuing, in the performance of his duties, a constant and loving activity, love protects him and evermore supplies him in fullest measure with all that he needs.

Perfect love is peace. He who dwells with it has completed his pilgrimage in the underworld of sorrow. With mind calm and heart at rest, he has banished the shadow of grief, and knows the deathless life.

The troubles we are having in the world, society, church, homes is hinged on selfishness and self-centeredness. If we want peace and calm, if we want to achieve things in life, never use anyone to climb, never destroy trust build upon you, never sabotage the love and respect people have built over the years, never be manipulative and feigning friendships, never be deceptive as a means to drawing attention and power to yourself.

In all that you do, be sincere and true in thy dealings with other men, respect the other person, know your boundaries, never break promises whenever you are unable to fulfill a promise go and consult the individual and talk it over with him or her. Remember as you struggle to acquire material things, and acquire knowledge, seek to grow in perfect love and cultivate a compassionate heart.