6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
People are not property. We cannot exchange them at will or simply use them for our own designs and purposes. What does the word “commitment” mean to you? We can begin to understand its meaning by looking at some synonyms: dedication, devotion, allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity, and bond. Commitment is primarily about relationship, and Jesus is all about relationships. How our lives affect others, how we treat our brothers and sisters, how we resolve conflict, and how we view the vows of marriage. Jesus’ teachings on obeying the commandments, murder, reconciliation, marriage, divorce, and adultery all stem from the sacredness of commitment. All of this has a God connection.
We can easily see one another as interchangeable and dispensable. We treat so much of our lives this way. What works today may not be what I want tomorrow. We search and search for the right thing only to find our hearts still restless in the end. Is real happiness achievable this side of the grave? Sometimes we expect too much out of others and want our relationships to fill a hole that we must figure out how to fill ourselves. Any seasoned married couple will tell you that their love for one another changes as time passes. Even though the understanding of romance changes as life changes, the dedication, devotion, allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, and fidelity all remain and even deepen.
Some relationships can be hurtful, and God does not want us to live with abuse or pain. Also, how a relationship develops is sometimes out of our control, and we become the victim of someone else’s decision. But we can’t be self-focused in our relationships and see them exclusively as self-fulfilling ends. We are companions on life’s journey with varying depths of relationships being enjoyed by all who are with us along the way. We have the freedom to choose. God asks us to do so wisely, with right judgment and thinking. ©LPi
This Week's Gospel Message
