Seventh Sunday of the year February 23, 2025
1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49;
Luke 6:27-38
The main character of Les Miserables is Jean Valjean. Orphaned as a boy, Valjean reaches his teens only to take on the responsibility of caring for his widowed sister and her seven children. All his work couldn’t pull his sister and her family out of poverty, and so one day a desperate Valjean steals a loaf of bread from a baker’s shop, to keep the children from starving. He is soon arrested and thrown in jail, where his young heart becomes hardened with anger and hatred. After spending half his life in prison, Valjean is released to a world that doesn’t want him. Finally, he stumbles on the house of a kindly Bishop. The Bishop treats Valjean with kindness, feeding him and allowing him to spend the night at his house. That night, Valjean is restless, still battling the anger and bitterness in his heart. He leaves the house that night, stealing all the bishop’s fine silver utensils.
The next day, soldiers come to the bishop’s house with Valjean in tow. They have found the silver, and are ready to throw him in jail. But the bishop greets Valjean with gladness and insists that he freely gave him the silver. The soldiers release their trembling prisoner and leave. Valjean, in disbelief, accepts the gift of the silver from the bishop. He cannot understand why this man would tell a lie to save someone like himself. His answer comes when the kindly bishop announces, “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to the evil, but to good. I have bought your soul for you. I withdrew it from black thoughts and the spirit of hate, and gave it to God.” And Jean Valjean leaves the bishop’s house a changed man changed by a man who treated him with favour.
In today’s gospel, continuing his Sermon on the Plain, Jesus
again turns upside down another accepted standard of Jewish morality. The
principle of “do to no one what you yourself dislike” (as articulated in Tobit
4: 15) was not enough for those who seek to be God's holy people. Jesus demands
that his disciples “love your enemies.”
In the first reading of the day - 1 Samuel, we read about a
wonderful act of compassion in the confrontation between David and King Saul.
Envy and fear possessed Saul, and he sought to kill David. Yet, when the chance
arose and David could have killed the sleeping Saul, he did not. Instead, he
expressed wonder at God’s anointed and entrusted the fate to the hands of the
Lord. This act by David depicts his great trust in God’s justice and his
unwillingness to seek vengeance.
David’s mercy foreshadows the last demonstration of love and
forgiveness by Christ. Even betrayed and mistreated, Jesus did not resort to
the use of force and responded in grace. As his followers, we are to emulate
his example—overcoming the urge to seek vengeance and having trust in God’s
justice.
In his Corinthian letter, Paul contrasts the earthy man,
Adam, and the heavenly man, Christ. Just as we bear Adam’s image in our fallen,
earthy state, so are we also to bear the image of Christ in righteousness and
love. This isn’t something to automatically occur, but something to be sought
through effort to pattern the hearts after the pattern of Christ.
The Gospel challenges us to embrace this transformation by
loving those who are difficult to love. Just as Jesus demonstrated divine love
on the cross, we too must strive to reflect His love in our daily lives.
Love Your Enemies – A Radical Command
The Gospel teaches the most demanding lesson in the entire
Bible:
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless
those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28).
This teaching counters the human desire to repay. In a world
in which everyone places himself first, Jesus calls to self-sacrifice.
What Does It Mean to Love Our Enemies?
Loving our enemies isn't about excusing wrongdoing and the
acceptance of injustices. Instead, it means to respond to evil by good. It's a
decision to be merciful, to forgive, and to look at the good in others.
Jesus provides detailed examples:
“If someone strikes you on the right, turn the other side
also to them.” This isn’t letting people push you around, but refusing to pay
back bad by bad.
“If a person stole your cloak, give them your tunic too.”
This calls for the kind of liberality that lets go of resentment and overcomes
evil through good.
“Do to others what you would wish them to do to you.” This
great principle lies at the foundation of all Christian morality, commanding to
love others, even in the most demanding situations.
Be Merciful Just Like Your Father
Jesus does not simply call us to human kindness but to
divine mercy. He reminds us:
“Be merciful, just as your heavenly Father is merciful”
(Luke 6:36)
God’s mercy has no bounds. God loves us despite all the
bad things we have done and calls to love others the same. The same standard by
which you are judging others shall be applied to you. You are required to love
others if you are to seek God’s mercy.
Living the Gospel Message
Forgiving the People Who Hurt Us
Who in our lives do we struggle to forgive? Jesus calls us
to release resentment and entrust justice to God.
Praying for Our Enemies
Instead of resenting the people who are opposed to us, we
are to pray for them. Through prayer, the hearts are purified and are seen
through God's eyes.
Practicing Kindness and Generosity
Whether through donations in kind, acts of kindness, and
forbearance, we are called to give freely expecting nothing in return.
Breaking the Retaliation Cycle
In the home, the office, and community, let's become
peacemakers who turn back to love in the face of negativity.
The Path to Holiness
The teachings in the Gospel are stern, but they are the path
to sainthood. Loving the enemy, treating the person who wounds us kindly, and
having great mercy are the signs of God's sons and daughters. By preferring mercy to vengeance, kindness to enmity, and love to indifference, we become God's image and likeness.
As we continue in our spiritual lives, let's pray to exercise
this extreme love. Let's remain aware at all times that God's mercies to us are
unlimited, and in turn, we are to extend the same mercies to the people
Happy Sunday
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