How far should we go?

In just a few days' time, we will enter into the season of Lent.  On Wednesday, we will have ashes placed upon our heads, to mark the beginning of this time of grace, but what grace can we hope for?  What changes do we need to make?  How will life be different this year because we have lived Lent well?

Perhaps the scripture passages we have heard today can help us to begin even now to prepare our hearts.  The first reading says: you shall love your neighbour as yourself (Lev 19:18), but what does it really mean to love my neighbour?  How far should a Christian disciple's love extend?  Does this Command mean that we must always like everyone? Are there times when we might appropriately retaliate in response to a slight or an attack?

To answer this question, we must first remember that we are all children of God; we all belong to God and God is a loving parent.  Saint Paul says it this way: Brothers and sisters, do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? (1 Cor 3:16)  We are all God's temple.  God dwells within each of us, in our hearts.  If only we could begin the season of Lent with a prayer, asking for the grace to understand this truth more deeply, I think that we would already have more than enough reason to rejoice and to give thanks, but Christian love is not only about recognizing the goodness of another person.  It is not even only about recognizing God's Spirit dwelling within another person.  It is about loving everyone as we love ourselves.

Christian love is meant to be limitless, extending beyond the local communities and comfort zones that we have grown accustomed to.  Jesus told the disciples that it wasn't enough for them to follow the letter of the Law, Christian disciples must be willing to go beyond the limits of the law; we must be willing to do more than people expect of us.  Jesus told those first disciples: if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, offer them the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give them your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them also the second mile (Mt 5:39-41).  The extent of a disciple's obligation exceeds the limits of merely treating others the way that we ourselves would like to be treated.  A disciple's love gives priority to the other person's welfare first.

During this year's Lenten season, let us all pray for the grace to emulate God's love for us.  Let us strive to love selflessly, forgiving others and loving unconditionally.  God's love for us has called all creation into being.  God's love for us is ongoing: it knows no boundaries.  God's love is redemptive and self-giving.  God's love for us was made known to us in the person of Jesus Christ who willingly gave himself up to death, death on a cross.

How far are we willing to go to love one another?