Sunday Gospel Reflection
Do good to those who hate you, pray for those who abuse you

Introduction

A Simple Rule

Have you ever seen the Golden Rule applied? How did it change the situation? The people involved?

What would happen if the Golden Rule were always applied? In our culture obsessed with rights denied and litigation, this guide to life seems to attract little more than lip service. But the idea behind it is universal. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. This thought has been found in almost all the world religions in one form or another. The import of the rule remains universal simply because it can be so radical, so life-changing. What would happen if the Golden Rule were always applied? Everything!

Jesus presented the Golden Rule, but gave it two interesting twists. Use the rule as an invitation to everyone (including enemies) to become followers of Jesus. And rephrase the rule. Pretend the Other is God himself.

First Reading
1 Samuel 26:2,7-9,12-13,22-23

2 So Saul went down to the Desert of Ziph, with his three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search there for David.
..
7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him.
8 Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear; I won't strike him twice."
9 But David said to Abishai, "Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD's anointed and be guiltless?
...
12 So David took the spear and water jug near Saul's head, and they left. No one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up. They were all sleeping, because the LORD had put them into a deep sleep.
13 Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away; there was a wide space between them.
...
22 "Here is the king's spear," David answered. "Let one of your young men come over and get it.
23 The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness. The LORD delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the LORD's anointed.

Second Reading
1 Corinthians 15:45-49

45 So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"[1] ; the last Adam, a lifegiving spirit.
46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.
47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.
48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.
49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we[2] bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

Gospel Reading
Luke 6:27-38

27 "But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
29 To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
30 Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again.
31 And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.
32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish.
36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
37 "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;
38 give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

Bible Study/Meditation

In this world of chaos, where murder and mayhem against the innocent is becoming increasingly commonplace I suppose that we should not be surprised that revenge and retribution in many forms are also becoming increasingly commonplace. Occasionally though, a ray of light penetrates the darkness and chaos of our world and shines forth as a beacon of light, though seemingly unnatural and unexplainable to many.

This awe inspiring ray of light is seen when a father visits the formerly deranged, now imprisoned, murderer of his middle son who was killed while working; or when a mother arranges a three hour encounter with the murderer of her young daughter, who finally after 15 years of imprisonment admits to the crime; or when
parents confront the drunken driver who was responsible for taking the lives of their son and daughter-in-law, leaving their grandchild parentless. The ray of light which astonishes us is that these visits and confrontations were not to berate and blame the ones responsible for the chaos but to say, "I forgive you," and to tell them how they too can know Christ's forgiveness and experience a changed life.

What would cause the pain, anger and loss these parents experienced, to evolve not into revenge and retribution, but into mercy and forgiveness?

Mercy, not giving people what they deserve, is what this week's Scripture readings are all about. In the First Reading we see Saul, in a fit of pride take the love and loyalty given by David and return it in jealousy and with the threat of death. David was pursued and dispossessed of his home and loved ones. Humanly speaking he could have sought revenge and retribution and killed Saul when he discovered him defenseless. This "justified" act would have freed him from a life of persecution by Saul. Fortunately for Saul, David's attitude and actions were ruled not by his passions, or even by what would be accepted as normal reactions, but by consciousness of God and by God's definition of righteousness. So Saul was mercifully spared.

The people mentioned above, who found it in their hearts to forgive those guilty of taking their loved ones from them, who humanly speaking they should despise, have a similar consciousness of God and God's love and mercy. Having themselves experienced God's mercy they became merciful. They were propelled forward on these missions of mercy because they knew and appreciated God's mercy.

When getting to know these Christians who found it in their hearts to forgive the killers of their children, we discover that this propensity toward mercy was not something that miraculously appeared over night. Rather it was the natural, or should we say supernatural, culmination of a life-time of mercy, where forgiveness and grace were regularly extended on a daily basis to people who perpetrated little and big offenses against them. Their everyday faithfulness to be merciful with ordinary offenses prepared them to handle this extraordinary occasion with extraordinary mercy.

Reflections:

· Please re-read the phrase(s)/sentence(s) that move(s)/touche(s) you and what inner message of the heart is the Spirit whispering to you?

. The Golden Rule guides the formation and use of conscience. The ability to see others the same way we see ourselves changes the way we think and act. Both are intertwined. A conscience cannot grow without the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule cannot be exercised without an act of conscience. But, can a conscience be wrong? Yes, someone's conscience can be wrong if the person did not use their mind to think about the reason they did the act, the means they would use, and the consequences of their act. A conscience can also be wrong if the person did not seek God's will by: 1) praying to God, 2) studying about the issue, and 3) talking to other moral people about the issue.
  ---How have you used the Golden Rule? What happened?

. When we treat others with the respect we desire, we treat them as if God were present in them. The Golden Rule allows Christians to make others sacrament, vessels of God's presence. The Golden Rule allows us to experience the Kingdom in action. Let's not delay applying the rule.
  ----How can you use the Golden Rule this week?

. Don't you think Jesus' message of love (offering the other cheek) is passive? Did you ever take this approach to solve your conflict? What were the end results?

. Do you have an enemy? How did this person become your enemy? Whose fault was that? What are your real enemies? Can you make peace and pray for this person?

.Which of these admonitions do you find the easiest to do? Which is the hardest to do?

.How would you define the mercy of the Father?

.What influence should reward (verses 35 and 38) play in our being merciful?

Prayer

Lord, your love brings freedom and pardon.  Fill me with your Holy Spirit and set my heart free that nothing may make me lose my temper, ruffle my peace, take away my joy, nor make me bitter towards anyone.