Excelling In Grace

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Tuesday of 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Year 1, June 15th, 2021
Texts: 2 Cor. 8: 1-9; Ps. 146: 1b-2.5-9a; Mtt. 5:43-48
Yesterday  the appeal was that we should not waste the grace of God; today we are exhorted to excel in the grace of God. We are asked to devote our ourselves to gracious works and to be outstanding in them. Jesus Christ tells us to excel in gracious works by saying, "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ... For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" To excel in grace our good works should not be limited to those whom we love or those who love us. The grace of God makes us do good because it is good to do good and without being selective of the beneficiaries. We excel in grace when our good works are not governed or limited by our bias, ill feeling, prejudice, bitterness, malice, etc. We are to do good to both our friends and our enemies.
St. Paul tells us how the churches in Macedonia excel in grace: "For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favour of taking part in the relief of the saints". They excel in grace because they give without counting the loss; they went beyond their means, they went extra-miles. We are to be exceptional in good works so as to excel in grace.
Another way in which the churches in Macedonia excelled in grace manifested in their attitudes towards their situation. St. Paul puts it thus: "We want you to know, brethren, about the grace of God which has been shown in the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of liberality on their part." The grace of God helps us to cope in difficult times; it sustains us and fill us with joy and peace. The grace of God helps us to respond to life situations with the right attitude.
When we excel in grace we grow in the image of our God and become His Children. For this, Jesus says, "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven". St. Paul tells us that by excelling in grace, we are Christlikes. He says, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich." He cites Jesus Christ as the person we imitate by excelling in grace.

Lord our God, help us to excel in grace that we may grow in Your image and be truly Your children. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke