A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 6:27-38
(Glory to you, O Lord!)
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 Gospel of the Lord (Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ!).
Reflection: Love our enemies
For most of us, this Gospel reading can be difficult to follow. To turn the other cheek when we are struck and to love our enemies may seem impossible, however this is what our Lord Jesus wants us to do.
This reminds me of the story of a high school student who had experienced being picked on, and was always wary of the presence of the bullies at their school. One day a bully accompanied by two others decided to enter their classroom during recess, and decided to pick on the student by slapping him on the cheek. The student then asked the bully why he was slapped. Not liking to receive the question, the bully proceeded to strike the student multiple times on the face with fists. When the onslaught stopped, the student was still standing to the amazement of the onlookers and started to apologize for whatever he had done and wanted to make peace, but the onslaught of multiple fist strikes resumed from the bully to the student’s face. Again, the bully stopped as the student pushed him away with his leg, and the student tried once more to make peace. A third time the bully proceeded to strike the student multiple times on the face as student onlookers feeling helpless just watched him getting hit.
Then, something snapped within the mind of the student as he found the courage to defend himself by striking the bully once on the face, and kicking the bully away while saying “you are already being too much!”. The bully reeled back and ran away while clutching his nose as the student stood there in amazement with his classmates as to what just happened. Little did the bullies know that the student had recently taken lessons on self-defense and he finally mustered up the courage to finally defend himself.
Sometime later, the bully apologized to the student, and student smiled and forgave him. The news of how the student defended himself gained him the respect of their class, and the bullying stopped.
Brothers and sisters! Most of us are broken in some way as the injustices we received during our younger and older years may still trigger these sad and emotional memories to re-emerge. The memories will remain with us, but God can help us heal… to help us gain wisdom for protecting others… and to make us whole once again.
Ask our Lord Jesus to continue to heal us from the painful memories, and to strengthen us… to allow our authentic selves to be guided by God’s Holy Spirit to share mercy and love. We can all learn wisdom from the past, … to learn how to forgive and love our enemies. We can be whole once again, … to be a source of joy, peace and mercy for all our brothers and sisters.
Action for the Day:
In silent prayer, share our gratitude to God for the gift of a new day and for always journeying with us. Lord Jesus, you formed us in our mother’s wombs and you knew us from the day of our birth, even before time began. Please continue to heal our sad memories and strengthen us. Give us the strength and will to forgive to love and care for our enemies, as we share your love to all our neighbors. This we pray in your most Holy Name. Amen.
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