The Community at Prayer
Reflection by Father Paul M. Baca
February 20, 2011, 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
See the readings 
When I saw that the First Reading is from the Book of Leviticus it reminded me of all the rules and laws that are listed in that book. The author of Leviticus points out that they had rules and laws for everything. I have often wondered if there was anyone that observed all those rules or even knew of them.
The reading from Leviticus today says, "The Lord said to Moses, 'Speak to the whole Israel community and tell them: be holy for I the Lord your God am holy.'" I find it interesting how our take on some of these biblical concepts changes in our journey of life, how we see things differently as we grow older. I remember as a youngster being told that being Catholic meant that we should make a serious attempt to be holy. As a child I equated holiness to the things that we were told to do, that is, saying our morning and evening prayers, going to confession every week, going to Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, going to the Way of the Cross, making visits to church, etc. As I see it now, holiness is an ideal that we reach for throughout our lives, that is, becoming a whole person, being human and recognizing our humanity for starters. I believe God asks that we become a whole person and that we try to comprehend the concept as long as we live.
The scripture speaks to us throughout our journey and reminds us of what we should strive for. Today we are reminded, "You shall not bear hatred for your brother and your sister in your heart; though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself." All of this can be a huge challenge for us, but we are never alone. God assures us that he is always with us and that he is a loving mother and father to all of us. We are fully aware that we make mistakes so God reminds us that he is a loving and merciful God, "Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. Not according to our sins does he deal with us nor does he requite us according to our crimes."
In the second reading, St. Paul reminds us of our dignity, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person. For the temple of God which you are, is holy." To me that means that if we are the temple of God, God dwells in us, and to be holy we must live in such a way that the world around us must see that divine presence in the life that we live.
In the gospel St. Matthew reminds us that to grow in holiness is a real challenge. "You have heard it said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other one as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service, go for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you 
and do not turn your back on the one who wants to borrow. You have heard it said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,' but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good and causes rain to fall on the just and unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense do you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect."
This points out dramatically how our endeavor to become holy as Christians is so different from the way we see the world around us. Jesus points out that with his help we 
can co-create a just world, and that if we proceed to live a life of greed, selfishness, self-indulgence and vindictiveness, we would be living in the world full of blind, toothless people, where a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye is the way of life.
Through the human authors that wrote the scriptures by diving inspiration, God tells us that his plan was for us to use all our gifts primarily for the common good and not for personal gain. I believe God created enough for all of us to live with dignity so that as human beings, we are challenged to do what we can to bring about such a situation. When we think of holiness we must keep in mind the challenge, "So be perfect just as your heavenly father is perfect."