Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 81

Reading I

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

In those days, Saul went down to the desert of Ziph
with three thousand picked men of Israel,
to search for David in the desert of Ziph.
So David and Abishai went among Saul’s soldiers by night
and found Saul lying asleep within the barricade,
with his spear thrust into the ground at his head
and Abner and his men sleeping around him.

Abishai whispered to David:
“God has delivered your enemy into your grasp this day.
Let me nail him to the ground with one thrust of the spear;
I will not need a second thrust!”
But David said to Abishai, “Do not harm him,
for who can lay hands on the LORD’s anointed and remain unpunished?”
So David took the spear and the water jug from their place at Saul’s head,
and they got away without anyone’s seeing or knowing or awakening.
All remained asleep,
because the LORD had put them into a deep slumber.

Going across to an opposite slope,
David stood on a remote hilltop
at a great distance from Abner, son of Ner, and the troops.
He said: “Here is the king’s spear.
Let an attendant come over to get it.
The LORD will reward each man for his justice and faithfulness.
Today, though the LORD delivered you into my grasp,
I would not harm the LORD’s anointed.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13

R (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
            and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
            and forget not all his benefits.
R The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
            heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
            crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
            slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
            nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R The Lord is kind and merciful.
As far as the east is from the west,
            so far has he put our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
            so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
R The Lord is kind and merciful.

Reading II

1 Corinthians 15:45-49

Brothers and sisters:
It is written, The first man, Adam, became a living being,
the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
But the spiritual was not first;
rather the natural and then the spiritual.
The first man was from the earth, earthly;
the second man, from heaven.
As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly,
and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly.
Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

Alleluia

John 13:34

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

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 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.”

MY BROTHERS AND SISITERS,

 

Selective love is not Godly love. Selective mercy is not from God and is not the type that we should be seeking or giving. In the Scripture Reading today, David was given an opportunity to end the life of Saul and end the conflict between them. This was the second time David showed Saul mercy and spared his life. After the first time, when David found Saul sleeping in a cave and cut off a piece of his mantle, he said, “The Lord will judge between me and you, and the Lord will exact justice from you in my case.” Twice the strife between David and Saul could have been ended, and twice David chose mercy instead of death. Instead, he placed his faith in God to mead out justice, acquiescing to His wisdom instead of his own. As it is written in Isaiah,

 

“Yet the Lord is waiting to show you favor,

and he rises to pity you;

For the Lord is a God of justice:

blessed are all who wait for Him.”

 

When we have conflict in our lives, we have a propensity to respond with conflict. This is a natural reaction. When we are threatened, we respond in kind in opposition to the threat. Behind this is an inclination to not only oppose the threat, but to eliminate it totally. These actions bring about negative emotions that propel us forward to strengthen us when doing the task at hand. We tell ourselves that the threat must be eliminated and that we will be in a better place as a result. This is something that is expected and accepted concerning most of our conflicts. Those who do not follow these precepts are looked upon as weak and subject to failure. Consequently, failure in the eyes of man is victory when it comes to God.

 

 We cannot let trials define our lives. We cannot gauge our successes and failures based on the result of a conflict and if we are deemed winners or losers gauged by the standards of society. The vision of a athlete raising his hands in triumph when he is victorious comes to mind. He then points a finger to heaven giving all glory and credit to God. Yes, this is a faith-filled gesture and an expression of thanks, but what about those who lost? Did God love them any less? Was it Divine Intervention that brought about this victory? It is hard to know for certain, but it goes without saying that He does love all of us equally, so it really doesn’t matter. Victory in the eyes of man is not the same when it comes to God. Being created in His image means that He is a part of us, meaning that

we are victorious by just being who we are. The only questions that remains is how we react to that victory or defeat and how we conduct ourselves therein. When we feel that we lost or that we have been defeated, we are not recognizing the presence of God and that victory has already been achieved through that recognition.

 

Jesus is telling us today that love cannot be conditional. Why does God love us? Did we earn that love? Just as a mother loves it child because it is a part of them, God loves us because we are a part of Him. It was through Him that we came into being. Just because we have some sort of conflict des not mean that God has the same conflict. He wants both involved in the conflict to have a resolution that brings about a positive result. For those who may have sided with evil and whose intent was to bring about harm to another who may be walking with God, will bring about destruction upon themselves by their own actions while those who were the intended victim will be stronger as a result; forged and shaped by the suffering. Our conduct in the face of adversity does matter. It becomes an exemplification of our faith. At the core of this is love. It is easy to love those that we get along with. The challenge is to love everyone, especially those who do us harm us or hate us. In the case of enemies, this can be difficult, but necessary. Loving our enemies and those who hurt us takes power away from them. Hate breeds hate. Love defeats hatred. A negative feeling requires a negative reaction to survive. When a negative feeling encounters a positive feeling, like love, it withers on the vine. As Jesus said,

 

For the measure with which you measure

will in return be measured out to you.”

 

He offered examples of judging, giving, and condemning. With mercy comes mercy. With good works comes good graces because we are in the presence of God, doing the Corporal Works of Mercy. It is not easy, but it is required for us, if we want to live the way God wants us to. The benefits that we will receive are a joyful, fulfilling life beyond what we thought we could comprehend. The live a fulfilling life with God, we need to separate ourselves from the expectations of society and instead focus on the expectations of God. His expectation is that we treat all the way we wish to be treated, especially those whom we might perceive as enemies, forgiving them and praying for their redemption. In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, there is a section that recognizes that those who seek to do us harm are spiritually sick. It is up to us to treat them as someone who is sick and in need of mercy. It is our job to pray for them and their victory over their illness. To see the good in the world and to choose to live in that good is a decision that brings about more goodness. Good is better than bad and always triumphs over that which is evil. Victory with God is so much better than a perceived victory by the standards to this world. As Christians, we have already failed by the standards of this world but are victorious through God. To stay victorious, we must stay with God. In order to do this, we must listen to what is Jesus is saying and do what he says. Loving one’s neighbor as oneself is the foundation which all of the Law is set upon. To go against that means that we are going against the Law and God. Who are we to even consider that? Instead, we should be considering loving as God loves.

 

Deacon Tom

 JUST A POEM TO START YOUR DAY

 

 

 

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 78

Reading I

Jeremiah 17:5-8

Thus says the LORD:
            Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings,
                        who seeks his strength in flesh,
                        whose heart turns away from the LORD.
            He is like a barren bush in the desert
                        that enjoys no change of season,
            but stands in a lava waste,
                        a salt and empty earth.
            Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
                        whose hope is the LORD.
            He is like a tree planted beside the waters
                        that stretches out its roots to the stream:
            it fears not the heat when it comes;
                        its leaves stay green;
            in the year of drought it shows no distress,
                        but still bears fruit.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 & 6

R (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Blessed the man who follows not
            the counsel of the wicked,
nor walks in the way of sinners,
            nor sits in the company of the insolent,
but delights in the law of the LORD
            and meditates on his law day and night.
R Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
            planted near running water,
that yields its fruit in due season,
            and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Not so the wicked, not so;
            they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
            but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Reading II

1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20

Brothers and sisters:
If Christ is preached as raised from the dead,
how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised,
and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain;
you are still in your sins.
Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If for this life only we have hoped in Christ,
we are the most pitiable people of all.

But now Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Alleluia

Luke 6:23ab

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad;
your reward will be great in heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Luke 6:17, 20-26

Jesus came down with the Twelve
and stood on a stretch of level ground
with a great crowd of his disciples
and a large number of the people
from all Judea and Jerusalem
and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon.
And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:
            “Blessed are you who are poor,
                        for the kingdom of God is yours.
            Blessed are you who are now hungry,
                        for you will be satisfied.
            Blessed are you who are now weeping,
                        for you will laugh.
            Blessed are you when people hate you,
                        and when they exclude and insult you,
                        and denounce your name as evil
                        on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.
            But woe to you who are rich,
                        for you have received your consolation.
            Woe to you who are filled now,
                        for you will be hungry.
            Woe to you who laugh now,
                        for you will grieve and weep.
            Woe to you when all speak well of you,
                        for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

The prophet Jeremiah reminds us of where we should put our trust and the implications that will come as a result. Whatever we ultimately do, will define what we experience in this life and the next. There is a tendency for us to be attracted to people who we feel will benefit us and help us accomplish our goals. Relationships are often formed based on these criteria. Even in intimate relationships, there are factors that come into play like careers, aspirations, and mutual goals. Ultimately, there are limitations in all of these areas, for what can be accomplished, together or separate, are based on our human condition. God, by comparison, is limitless in nature. He reminds us through Jeremiah that when we put our trust in God, we will flourish as a result. Even in times of distress, we will be provided for all that we need to overcome our temporary conditions and be better as a result. The image of a tree by a stream can give us consolation that there will be constant sustenance regardless of what we are confronted with. A priest friend of mine explained it this way when describing the Love of God:

 

“Grace is like a garden hose turned on and pouring out water. The water is God’s Love, and the hose is our relationship with God. The source of the love, God, is never turned off and the water never stops flowing. We are actually the ones who control the flow. There will be times that, through our actions and thoughts, that we will cut off the flow by bending the hose. At other times we will open it up. We have full control. God never stops loving us, it is we who stops loving Him.”

 

The question that arises is, “Why would we ever want to stop loving God?” Does that actually serve any benefit? Having that thought serves no logical purpose and gives us nothing in the long run. It can only bring about misery. As God said through Jeremiah,

 

                      “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings,

                        who seeks his strength in flesh,

                        whose heart turns away from the LORD.”

 

These words might seem a little harsh, but they are true enough. Knowing what we know about God, choosing to put reliance in things that are defective in nature, indicates that a decision was made to reject what God was offering in favor of something of lesser value. “Strength of the flesh,” is descriptive of anything that comes from human origin. Embracing that which is below God indicates a rejection of God. We are constantly confronted with that choice in our lives. We will be offered choices between what God is offering us and what society offering us. Making the proper choice, between God and things of human origin, will define our experiences and successes that we will have in this life.

 

Psalm 40 also places an emphasis on a right relationship with God. It is through God that we receive all spiritual blessings. These blessings have the capability to affect the outcomes of everything that we do. It is impossible to become the best version of ourselves, live a transformative experience, and achieve what we can achieve to our fullest potential without the help of God. Thinking that we can, is the first step to failure or falling short. The result is already predetermined by the first act: letting God in or not. Keeping our trust where it belongs, with God, is the determining factor.

 

The ultimate comparison comes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain. Sitting down with the people, Jesus is speaking directly to us as equals. He is not speaking from a mountaintop, which would indicate authority, but from a place of intimacy. The Blessings He speaks of all come directly from God. In fact, the more that we struggle and keep our trust in God, the better we will become as a result. Our rewards lie in our spiritual condition and not the materialism of this world. Suffering is only for the moment, while a relationship with God is forever. This world cannot take anything away from God and cannot be victorious over us as long as God is with us. As the Apostle Paul said, “If God is with us, who can be against us?”

Paul describes Jesus as being, “The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” He is the fore bearer of all things to come. He is leading the way. This makes us his disciples and Children of the Resurrection. That fact alone makes us inheritors of all things in heaven. Those who are rich now and are satisfied have already received their reward on this earth, for what was pursued had its roots in the material, thus the reward is only material. Eternity and spirituality are what can wait for us, if that is what we embrace now. Jesus is encouraging us to look around. All that we can see will eventually amount to nothing in comparison to what awaits. Experiencing life with the understanding that there is more that awaits us, something infinitely better, will lead to a better experience in the moment and a future of promise.

 

Deacon Tom