Jesus’ Earthly Life Provides Us With A Road Map To Avoid Sin And Live A Holy Life So We Can Be More Selfless And Less Selfish

To be holy takes effort when you consider many people think about themselves first before concerning the wellbeing of others. Most mothers can be excluded who have shown throughout the ages to what extent they will go to protect their child(ren) from any harm. That being the case, why do people still strive to have the virtue of holiness?

The immediate response from Christians references both the Book of Leviticus reading
and St. Matthew’s Gospel today about Jesus telling us we should “love our enemies”
and “pray for your persecutors;” just as Jesus does. The caveat is that this is always
required.

For those who follow social media or watch news outlets, the percentage of those
striving to be there for others is quite small. Sensationalism or garnering of followers
takes a prime seat. It is a numbers game. The more followers you have, the more
famous, powerful, and possibly rich one will become if there is a cost attached. It is
known as the world’s plan for success.

God’s plan is for a longer span than the amount of time we live on the earth. He
would not have persisted in His efforts to require holiness had He not created all who we
are for a specific amount of time given He thinks of time as eternal. Additionally, He
had to save man from his sinful ways by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die
on a cross for our sins and rise from the dead to fulfill the promise of everlasting life in
heaven, if we are obedient to the will of God.

For us, it is a decision about what we want and how to hope we can stay on the narrow
path to live the promise. In doing so, we need to be serious about avoiding sin in
thoughts, words, and deeds either in commission or omission. One suggestion is to
ask ourselves silently when we are faced with difficult decisions how to handle them
as Jesus illustrated for us in His earthly life by treating enemies with love and prayer
for persecutors? Hint: Read the Passion!

Let us take this week to look at uncomfortable situations where we need to reach out to
others when they do not do the same for us or cause us additional hardship we believe
unnecessary. As Jesus said, we may have to turn the other cheek when someone
hurts us, but the message is one of practicing love in the fullest as God has called us
to do.

Reading 1:  Leviticus 19: 1-2, 17-18

Reading 2: First Corinthians 3: 16-23

Gospel: Matthew 5: 38-48