Follow Jesus’ Instructions to Live as a Christian| National Catholic Register

User’s Guide to Sunday, Feb. 23

Sunday, Feb. 23, is the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. Mass readings: 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23; Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49; Luke 6:27-38.

In Jesus’ teachings, we learn our truest identity and how he seeks to transform us to live well our Christian identity.

Jesus said to his disciples, “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Jesus asks us: What makes you different from a virtuous atheist or pagan?

The Christian must live differently:

“For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them …”

We must:

• Love our enemies
• Do good to them who do ill to us
• Lend even when we expect to get nothing back, and
• Stop the cycle of injustice and violence.

Natural virtues have their place in this life. But believers and nonbelievers can have those.

Living as a Christian means going beyond, standing out and allowing the supernatural virtues of faith, hope and love to shine brightly in our lives.

Only a Christian can have supernatural virtues. The difference about us should be obvious to others.

The instruction of Christ adds, “and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (5:44-45).

We are to demonstrate that we are true children of the Father by doing what he does.

What else does that require? As Christ further explains in the Gospel:

“Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give, and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

Jesus teaches that we will reap what we sow.

If we show mercy, forgiveness, and generosity, that is the measure or standard by which he will judge us. But if we do not show this to others, the standard of our judgment will be strict.

Since all of us will need lots of mercy and grace on our judgment day, we do well to show it now and store it up for that day. You and I can have a lot to do about the standard by which our Lord will judge us. Choose and act wisely.