Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This gospel is a word of God’s love for us even if it doesn’t look like it. One characteristic of God that we don’t think about too much is his humility. It’s a human category but it applies to him as well. He is humble how do we know? Because to love me you have to be humble. And to love you requires even more humility! Because two proud people cannot love and you and I are very proud. Well let me say I don’t know about you but for sure it would take a humble person to love me. Maybe you’re more humble than God, but I doubt it.
Saint Paul says love is not conceited a haughty, puffed up, does not seek itself always takes the last place, et cetera. A Christian is called to be humble, if not, he’s not a Christian. When we are humble God is with us. Christ is the most humble, the smallest seed the mustard seed, that becomes the largest tree to shelter birds. We are called to be like him.
Maybe someone will see in us that gentle breeze, simplicity, kindness without imposing on anyone. A Christian is called to be in the world but not to be of the world. He’s called to let himself be killed by others. We know this and yet we always want to do justice and impose our faith on others.
The second point I would like to mention from the gospel is who among us has not looked at a woman with desire? Probably none of us can deny that and the same for women, who has not looked at men with desire? What is in our hearts brothers, because we are invited to cut out if it is an occasion of sin and perhaps many of us or most of us would be lacking an eye a hand, of foot, a tongue or be left with nothing. The Lord invites us to change our heart, the heart that leans toward evil that does not love and seeks to take advantage of the other. Often one looks at the other not wanting to love but to use him or her. A Christian doesn’t use the other; he loves the other. He gives his life for the other, surrenders everything to the other.
A person coming to speak to a priest for spiritual help had a real spiritual problem; he’s a lady’s man, he has Don Juanism. He desires to flirt all day, to look for attention, to conquer the other just for the pleasure of it. One day he said I fell in love. The love I have now is real, not like what I did with the others. This love is curing this disease in me. He left all the others and stopped flirting.
How has this heart that had such rotten love capable of leaving everything? He doesn’t need to make an effort, when women approach him he’s not even interested. The only solution that helped him was to see that he was loved by God then his life turned in another direction, and he experienced heaven. He no longer needs to cut his hand or his eye or anything. God takes away the inclination to adultery which is always based on passion and is not based on love. Lust is only to use the other.
The church says with certainty that true love is forever. God’s love never fades. When that love is in marriage they don’t separate. If one is a little humble, if there’s some humility in the marriage the relationships work. This is a good news!