2nd Week in Ordinary Time : Tuesday 21st January 2020

“For the Lord does not see as mortals see.” Today’s readings both speak of looking at each other from the Lord’s perspective. Our perspective is minimal and often tainted by all kinds of sin. As a consequence, we do not see beyond what we see. Therefore we miss the life-giving and life-creating perspective of God. Most of the time, without looking into the hearts of the others, we judge them by their outward appearances, forgetting that these outward appearances can be deceptive.

After having created the world in six days, the Lord rested on the seventh day and consecrated it as the Sabbath. The true spirit behind the Sabbath was to continue doing that which is good for others. In the Gospel, Jesus invites us to return to the true inner spirit behind all of our spiritual practices and not get stuck with outward practices.

The greatest of commandments that Jesus has given us is of love. “I give you a new commandment that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (John 13:34). He teaches us a very simple law, namely “the law of love.” We should always follow the spirit rather than the letter of the law.

Lord Jesus, we pray that our lives may be governed by love always.