by Father Alonzo Cox
Throughout the month of February, we, as a community, celebrate Black History Month. During this month, we recall the tremendous impact that men and women of color have had not just on our society but on the Church. We thank God for the many gifts that men and women of color have given to the Church, allowing us to see the diversity and beauty of who we are as a Church.
During this month of February, I think of and pray for those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith who fought for equality and justice. One of those people I think of and pray for is my grandmother. She was a true southern black Catholic from North Carolina who was very much in love with Jesus and his Church. She made sure to spread that love of the Lord with all of us, her children and grandchildren. It is from that love that she told us of the stories of racism and discrimination she endured.
She was told that she could not sit in the pews of the church because of the color of her skin. She had to attend Mass from the doors of the church. As she was growing up in the ’50s and ’60s, she told us of the horrific stories of walking to school and being hosed with water and being called derogatory names. Whenever she told us these stories, we would ask her, “You must have hated the people who did this to you?” My grandmother would respond, “Jesus doesn’t call me to hate, only to love.”
Whenever I reflect upon this Gospel passage we have for Mass today, I think of her. Jesus doesn’t call us to hate, only to love. He challenges us today to love our enemies and to be good to them. He even goes further to say that if someone strikes you on one cheek, turn the other.
I have been told that these words of Christ make it difficult to be a follower. How can we love someone who clearly despises us? How can we turn the other cheek to someone who hurts us? How can we give our hard-earned resources to someone who clearly will not return it to us? The Lord answers these questions for us, “The measure in which you measure will, in turn, be measured out to you.”
Jesus gives us the golden rule: Do unto others as they would do unto you. We see that as the foundation of how we treat one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all created in the image and likeness of God, loved unconditionally by him.
St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Corinthians that we must bear the image of Christ in all we say and do. St. Paul challenges us to live the natural into the spiritual, to rise above what the world wants of us, and to be who God truly calls us to be.
When we love our enemies, we truly embrace the love of God. It is through this embrace that we invite the Holy Spirit to be at work in our lives. We must not allow hatred, jealousy, or envy to make its way into our lives as disciples of Christ.
Our faith gives us a strong foundation to seek justice through healing, accountability, and transformation. Jesus wants to transform not just our hearts but the hearts of all of God’s holy people.
We are called to bring that transforming love to the poor, the lonely, and the hardened of hearts. Jesus shows us that love is powerful! We must continue to be the witnesses of love on this earth so that we may enjoy the merciful love of the Father in the kingdom of heaven.
Readings for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23
1 Corinthians 15:45-49
Luke 6:27-38
Father Alonzo Cox is pastor of St. Martin de Porres Parish, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and coordinator for the Vicariate of Black Catholic Concerns for the Diocese of Brooklyn.