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Gospel Reflection 20070218

Unpack your excess baggage.
Traveling through life, we can get bogged down in inessentials, sometimes losing sight of core values. We need to pack lightly during days of preparation for Christ's resurrection. A Lenten pilgrimage will be smoother if we take inventory of our baggage at the onset. Release a burden of grief today, give up an idol that prevents you from choosing life.

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Christ Raises the Standard for the True Disciples
February 18, 2007


Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 6:27-38
Jesus said to his disciples: "To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount. But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful. "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."



The Sermon on the Mount, from which we have just heard, is replete with wisdom. It is a wisdom which sees beyond rights and freedoms, violence and counter-violence, possessions and loans, negotiation and accountability, yes, and beyond our all too defective vision and exercise of human justice. The wisdom of the Cross perceives the heart of all things, especially the heart of man and, indeed, above all, the Heart of God Himself.

Today's Gospel challenges us to do precisely the opposite of what our human nature naturally wants us to do. The principle of ''eye for eye'',''tooth for tooth.'' But the first words of Jesus cut to the heart of the matter: Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, Pray for those who mistreat you, Give to everyone who asks. Do good for your enemies, lend them money expecting nothing back. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging, Stop condemning, Forgive and you will be forgiven. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
The Gospel today tells us that if we, as Christians, want to be followers of Christ, then we are to be as open in our attitude to others as God has been in his care for us. We are challenged to love and pardon those who wrong us. It is not easy to be a Christian and do all the things the Gospel tells to do but we must share our lives with one another. This is what discipleship requires.

We find it hard to love, to forgive, and to trust those who have hurt us and let us down. Our society is divided on the grounds of class, language, religion, gender, race. Husbands and wives go through traumatic experiences when they hurt each other. Parents find it so difficult to correct their own children, because today nobody accepts correction easily, without self-defense. Teachers cannot cope up with their students who find them fallible. Employers cannot tolerate one another’s imperfections. Priests and religious brothers and sisters find so difficult to live with one another. We may try to adopt the ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude and to criticize, to moralize, to condemn, to point out faults with a self-righteous attitude. We may try to grab power in every encounter with our neighbour and show our superiority. We may hurt our brothers and sisters with harsh words. We may try to build up walls instead of bridges. This is not what our heavenly Father wants from us. This is not to be Christ-like. This attitude only hampers our development and progress. The love of Jesus demands that we accept and respect the ‘other’ as s/he is, if we are to spread God’s Kingdom and its values.

Last Sunday we heard Jesus proclaim the attitudes that we are to have if we want to be blessed by God. These Beatitudes are the blue print for building our lives as disciples. Today Jesus gives us the step by step instructions to build the attitudes that will complete our transformation into heavenly beings disposed for union with God. These building instructions are clear, concise, and unambiguous.
First, we are to love as God loves - everyone - No exceptions, No conditions. We are to love enemies just as if they were our closest friends. Of course, loving means we wish the best for them, we help them and pray for them.
The disciples had a difficult time following the Old Law, and even in loving their neighbors, but suddenly and dramatically Jesus raises the standard. It is no longer enough to love those who love us; now we must also embrace those who don’t love us. This is the new law of love which Christ preaches. It is hard for our human nature, so weighed down with pride and self-justifications, yet the Gospel calls us to a higher path and a purer love. Sometimes it goes against the grain of our culture and “common sense.”

Second, when we are mistreated we do not offer anything but kindness, even when it might require sacrifice on our part (i.e. “from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic”).
Third, give without expectation of repayment.
Fourth, stop judging and condemning. The disciple who loves and offers kindness does not behave this way.
And finally, be sure to forgive – this is how we will obtain forgiveness.
Of course it is easy to forgive those who forgive us, or those who are truly sorry. It’s easy to have pity on someone if he or she is a sympathetic figure. But when we have to forgive someone who continues to do wrong and to hurt us, it takes the grace of God to make this possible. Jesus tells us we will receive forgiveness only if we forgive others. How often do we pray the Our Father – “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” – and not really mean it! We need to tap into his divine grace, his mercy and love, and give that same forgiveness we have received. This will change our hearts and the hearts of others, and ultimately, it will change the world.
An example of forgiveness that I know of is in a short story. I would like to share with you: This by the way is a true story. This happened in the Saint Louis area. Some years ago this couple lost a daughter, who was in college. The girl was young - she had her whole life ahead of her. She was murdered by a man. I can only imagine the shock, the pain, the anguish of her family at the news of the tragic death of their loved one. The man, who committed this horrible crime, was caught, tried and found guilty. The parents of the murdered girl forgave the man found guilty and pleaded with the judge that he not receive the death penalty. This is a perfect example of loving your enemies.

Another story of forgiveness is the parable of the Prodigal Son
Every one here has at one time or another been wounded by someone or, at least, we believe we have been hurt or offended. Every one of us carries scars from just living and the way in which life can be cruel and hurtful at times. Because of this we can accumulate a tremendous burden of resentments, grudges, hatred and anger. We all know someone who has nursed a grudge for years and who is consumed with their anger, justified or not. Sometimes those wounds are slight and sometimes serious and extreme, especially if at the hands of someone we love and trust. These wounds can be real and our anger justified.
In today's Gospel, Jesus gives us the solution to our anger and wounds. "Be merciful as your Father is merciful." He asks us to love our enemies and to good to those who harm and hate us. The key is forgiveness, to forgive those who wound us and hurt us not matter how severe those wounds. A deacon friend of mine had his belief in the virtue of forgiveness put to the test when his 18 year old daughter was murdered by two men in the process of robbing their home. She was murdered in a brutal and unnecessary way. At first, he was enraged and his anger, although justified, consumed him. He said that it was with him night and day and he thought of little else but his wounds and his anger. But eventually he also recalled the words of Christ that His followers must be willing to forgive, no matter what the injury. That to continue to hate was contrary to everything that Jesus taught. He said that the moment he came to the point where he could truly forgive the two murderers, through much prayer, there was a sense of peace that was tangible as he let go of his anger and hatred. To be able to forgive brought closure to me, he said. Forgiveness is at the very core of Christianity and is the most divine thing anyone can do. Forgiving frees we who are victims of wounds to go on with our lives. Forgiving does not mean that the wound will disappear, but it will allow you to be able to live with that wound. My deacon friend said that while he was consumed with his anger, he was unable to perform his duties at work or church with any degree of efficiency. But when he freed himself by forgiveness, he regained his sense of humor and became more of himself.
Jesus means for us to struggle through our feelings of righteous anger and resentment until we find the thread of mercy and forgiveness that breaks the cycle of hatred and anger, or resentment and revenge. The virtue of forgiving can be the result of a long process of recalling the hurtful incident and then letting it go. Another's actions may have been wrong and destructive. But that dies not make that person an unforgivable person, no matter what the wrong. We must make the choice to forgive another despite our feelings to the contrary. That choice truly leads us to freedom.
The virtue of forgiveness finds its fullest expression in the challenge of Jesus to love our enemies. His very life is an example to us of forgiveness from the very start of his public ministry to his forgiveness of the thief on the cross. We are all the recipients of that divine forgiveness. No matter how far any of us has strayed from God, He always gives us a way back to Him and is ready to forgive us. God touches us in our sinfulness, which is part of our very humanity, and is there to forgive us. God's forgiveness is the love He has for us that reaches into the dark spaces of our failings and brokenness, raises us up, and holds us in the palm of His hand until we are healed. The love of God and His willingness to forgive us gradually leads us from our sinful ways to a life of grace and purpose.
Jesus calls us to be forgiving people. He calls us to ask for forgiveness from those we have wounded and to forgive those who have wounded us. This is our call today as followers of Christ. "Pardon and you will be pardoned - Forgive and you will be forgiven". Is there someone you need to ask for forgiveness today for some wound you inflicted? Is there someone you need to forgive today for something they did to you? DO IT! In doing it, forgiveness will make you free.
To forgive one’s enemies seems more than idealism: it sounds like extremism, folly or absurdity.
It was the extreme forgiveness of Jesus manifested most fully on the Tree of torture which changed the course of human history. It is human commonsense which is folly in the light of the wisdom of the Cross. True forgiveness seeks out with a passion what commonsense and justice cannot see: it focuses its gaze with penetrating desire upon the hidden beauty, worth and dignity of the other and seeks to call it forth, like Lazarus from the tomb. It wades through the filth and the thickets of sin and complexes, of defense mechanisms and of all forms of evasiveness and elusiveness, and with unyielding tenacity it seeks communion of love with the other. Forgiveness is the divine battle-cry against all that is the enemy of the communion of love between God and mankind, between each person and his neighbor and between a man and his own inner self. Forgiveness cares nothing for the rights, privileges and protections of the one who wields it, since it has already convinced him that all he has and is, is worth nothing if he cannot be in deep and everlasting communion with the other. What dignity can mine be if it prevents me from finding its fulfillment in oneness of love with the other? What integrity can mine be if I fear it being broken in seeking wholeness in my neighbor? What reputation is worth having if I keep it at the price of alienation from my brethren? What riches have a value if they stop me from seeking to enrich the souls of others with mercy, forgiveness and compassion? And if I myself seek understanding, acceptance and freedom from my failures, am I not more likely to find all these in giving them to others?
Forgiveness does not eliminate the difference between right and wrong: it gives a heart to the right and hope to the wrong. Before exerting itself, forgiveness recognizes the difference between good and bad; but afterwards, if accepted, it eliminates that difference by overcoming bad with good. Forgiveness is not moral blindness; it sees in the moral darkness and turns on the light of goodness and truth.
At the time of King David, the rule of morality and justice was often reduced to the famous dictum: ”an eye for an eye”. Yet David did not apply it when Saul was in his power because David recognized in Saul the Lord’s anointed. But we are all anointed, if not with sacred chrism, then with our identity as created sons and daughters of God. We may and must judge certain actions to be wrong or right according to the law of God, but we are in no position to judge the innermost conscience of another human being. When someone does something contrary to the law of God, we must recognize it as wrong and, speaking the truth in love, do what we can to help our neighbor examine his or her own conscience in the light of God’s law. But the ultimate goal of any such dialogue must be forgiveness and reconciliation. The Church only imposes penalties on members who knowingly and obstinately do what is wrong, in part, yes, to discipline them, but ultimately as a remedial measure to help make them stop and realize the spiritual danger in which they have placed themselves. No-one is happier than the Church herself when someone under such a penalty repents and returns in reconciliation to the community. Discipline, sanctions and penalties are but tools of forgiveness seeking to achieve its ultimate goal of restored communion between believers. The Church would fail in Her ministry of forgiveness if She simply overlooked the plight of someone in grave spiritual danger, even although that individual might refuse to accept that he is in such danger. Later, however, as a result of the pedagogy of grace working through discipline and reconciliation, he will hopefully come to himself and realize his situation. Then he will give thanks for what the Church has done for him. In all this, the Church merely serves the Crucified Lord in seeking to elicit from believers the inner dispositions to welcome and receive the saving mercy of God.
It is false to say that a forgiving Church would not condemn evil. Evil crucified Christ precisely because He denounced it uncompromisingly. Many would crucify the Church for doing the same. People misunderstand that the condemnation of evil ideas, evil behavior, evil laws and any other form of evil, never, never, never means condemnation of the human person who might promote or even live such evil. As Christ, so the Church condemns no-one; as Christ, so the Church by the authority of Christ calls evil by its name so as to call the sinner to repentance and say to the sinner “neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” If and when members of the Church turn a blind eye to evil or cover it up, they connive with Lucifer who himself is the master of manipulation in making evil look good. What can remedy these ills which will assuredly accelerate the disintegration of society? Forgiveness, yes, but a forgiveness which, by proclaiming God’s truth, has effected the return of hearts and minds, behaviors and understandings to the ways of the Creator and Redeemer.
It is not true to the spirit of the Gospel of forgiveness to fail to point out what is wrong according to Christ’s truth, whether it be welcome or unwelcome, a source of applause or of disdain. What is, however, true to the Gospel is to speak that truth with great love and hope that those whose sinful behavior alienates them from God will, by the courageous witness of the Church to His truth and love, feel their hearts moved to return to the Lord. This is a most difficult task. People are deeply sensitive and can feel that condemnation of their actions is condemnation of their persons. That is what evil wants any sinner to feel, but it is simply not true. It is precisely because they are loved that the waywardness of sinners (all of us!) is pointed out to them, because those who love them in Christ do not want to see them suffer more or run the risk of being lost altogether. We are all sinners; Christ alone is our judge, but He will judge us upon our willingness to live according to His truth, not only to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, but to liberate from the prison of falsity those who are enchained by the fascination of evil. May He have mercy upon us all and break open our hearts to measure out to one another, with noble generosity, the saving wisdom of His Holy Cross!


Jesus concludes these instructions with a description of what the final product will look like if we form ourselves into beings with these heavenly attitudes. We will be gifted in good measure, so good that the gifts will be overflowing.
What Goes Around Comes Around. How hard it is to be magnanimous and generous of heart with everyone around us. How hard it is to rise above the pettiness and squabbles in which we often find ourselves. But how different is the figure of the true disciple, the follower of Christ, who moves through this world spreading mercy and forgiveness, reconciliation and joy. Such a disciple enjoys the deepest peace of soul, knowing that he or she is truly walking in the footsteps of Christ. He or she brings the same love Christ had for us to others in need of love and mercy. We need to be that kind of disciple, starting today.
And the final warning to listen and build according to the directions, is that the way we measure others will be the measure used by God (the Master Builder) to measure us.
We Americans are easily distracted from these building instructions. We are used to doing things our way. We are “free”, we have “rights”. People have to watch out if they cross us, threaten us, cheat us, or harm us. We have the power. With police, the courts, money, and even the military to make sure we get what we want and deserve. Let us not forget to use the heavenly standards given by Jesus to measure if we are on the right track or not. What kind of ATTITUDES have we built in our hearts.
Can we expect to be forgiven as individuals or even as a nation, if we have not forgiven. Can we expect to continue being gifted in good measure if we continue to judge, condemn, hate, and refuse to share with others, especially with those in greatest need whether they are our friends our not?
Remember the last Beatitude? “Blessed are you when people hate you, and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice, your reward will be great in heaven.” Our reward for building the “Right Attitudes of Being” is in heaven not here on earth.
As we struggle to implement these clear, concise, and unambiguous instructions to transform ourselves into heavenly beings, let us not forget the presence of Jesus Christ who is with us.
How do we rise above ourselves to complete these instructions from Jesus? I believe that we can do this with the Eucharist and personal prayer. We have the opportunity at every Eucharist to receive the Lord Jesus. The Lord lives within us. The Lord can transform us. We have to be like the clay in the potter’s hand. To be pliable clay we must be open to the will of God in our lives. We must give up some of the control that we enjoy and seem to want to have in our lives. To open our lives to the Lord and His will is an act of faith and trust. It is to let the Lord be in control and we to submit to His control. How often do fight change in our lives? How often do fall into old habits?
Thus when we are in a situation and we know that our emotions want to rule us; it is a time to pray and lift this up to the Lord. This may be the most difficult time to make decisions for us because it demands a lot of control on our part. It a time to find strength, wisdom and patience beyond ourselves. This is the time for prayer. A time for us to be present to the Lord and His grace. We can make the right decision and be like Jesus. The Lord can work through us. Let us pray for each other that we might let Christ rule in our hearts and our lives.


In our daily lives, we have so many opportunities to be compassionate as our Father in heaven is compassionate to all those we meet - in our homes with family, at work and wherever we may be.

We shall receive what we have given to others. When we act with mercy and compassion, God will act similarly toward us. Going beyond what is required will inspire God to be equally generous.

We humans are simply unable to comprehend the lavish generosity of God. When we learn to offer compassion, love and forgiveness to others, we will learn to trust what God is offering to us.

To be a Christian then is to accept that each person is chosen by God. Each is deserving of love. Each needs to be heard. No one is beyond the mercy of God, and if people need proof of that, then maybe it is to be found in the way we react to them. We need to be open enough to listen, to offer a word of hope, a word of peace, a word of forgiveness. If we wish to perfect our witness to gospel values, we could begin by showing mercy to ourselves and others, and to love and pardon those who wrong us.

The gospel today challenges all of us who hear it!
Today's Gospel is truly a challenge to almost everybody. After all, it is not easy to love your enemies, is it? Jesus calls those who follow him to a higher standard. The love he calls us to is to be pro-active. It is not the kind of love that says, "I love humanity. It is just my neighbor that I cannot stand". Here is a cute little story that may illustrate the pro-active love that Jesus calls us to. We know it by another name-The Golden Rule.
The way the world looks at things it makes sense to most people to take revenge on their perceived enemies and to love only those who love you. The world is also quick to judge those with whom they disagree. The world lives as if God does not exist at all or, if God does exist, he does not particularly care about what we do or do not do.
Jesus calls us to a much higher standard. We are to live in such a way that our lives would make no sense at all, if God did not exist. That, my friends, is a real challenge. To live a 'normal' life, all we have to do are the things that the world does. We, however, are personally called by Jesus, not to live 'normal' lives, but to live 'supernormal' lives-lives that bring us closer to God-lives that the world cannot understand.
The words of Jesus cannot become mere slogans that we put on the bumpers of our cars or have framed to hang up on the walls of our homes. Jesus prefers that we speak and live his words in our everyday lives. The love that Jesus calls us to is not a noun-it is a verb-something done. That is the way Jesus lived and he wants us to do the same. We are to live every minute of our lives as if God truly exists.
To truly live as Christ wants us to live is not easy. The writer, G. K. Chesterton, said this about Christianity. "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried".
Acting as if God does exist does not necessarily mean that we have to perform miracles. It means simply doing, from the eyes of God, what ought to be done, regardless of the consequences. Look, I realize that we cannot do everything for everybody. Nobody can. But, it still did not deter Jesus from healing some people, even though he could not cure everybody. Jesus did not stop forgiving people just because they would sin again. He raised people from the dead, even though he knew that they would die again. He did what he could do and presumed that his heavenly father would make something good out of it. Jesus lived as God lived and he wants us to do the same.
And, we can do that! We can forgive someone even if they do not want to be forgiven. We can work hard even if no one notices. We can give others credit. Instead of yelling at our children when they do something wrong, we can tell them that we, too, made (and make) many mistakes too and that we love them regardless of their mistakes. These, and many other ideas, are good things and usually unexpected. After all, if we do only what is expected, how can we or anybody else, for that matter, know that there is a God in heaven, who calls us to a higher standard?
So, with Lent beginning next week, let us raise the bar regarding the Golden Rule. Instead of just doing unto others as we would like them to do to us, let us do what Jesus wants us to do. Let us "Do unto others as God would do unto them". So, this Lent, do something 'unreasonable', in the eyes of the world. Show them that God really exists.

posted by Mike Young @ 8:56 AM