Gospel Reflection for Sunday February 20th, 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time By Brian Maher OMI
How often have I watched the TV News or glanced at newspaper headlines and become despondent by the images of war, hunger, disease and terror displayed there?
And how often have I gone to bed at night bemoaning some act of selfishness, or some words of anger or jealousy I have used during the day which hurt a loved one or a friend? Even as I use the words, I know they come from a negative place within me, a place where I will never find happiness or peace, yet I still use them and sometimes even delight in the hurt I see in the other person’s eyes.
I always feel that what Shakespeare is to English literature, St. Paul is to biblical wisdom. His letters display, not just an able and brilliant mind, but also an understanding of human psychology which is profound and accurate. In his letter to the first Roman Christians, he so wonderfully sums up the contradiction I find within myself, and indeed the contradiction which leads to wars and violence in our world. In his own words: I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. (Romans 7:15,18-19)
He says it so simply and so honestly. I can imagine him furrowing his brow and thumping the table in disgust and disappointment with himself.
For Paul, the reason for this contradiction is the ‘sin’ which lives within him. In our modern world ‘sin’ has become, for some, a somewhat outdated word and concept. It is often associated in our minds with the fear of Hell we grew up with and which we have now rejected as too negative.
What we call it doesn’t really matter – evil, wickedness, depravity, vice, malevolence, whatever – the reality is the same, a battle within us to do good which is so easily thwarted by pride, selfishness, jealousy, anger and all the other negative emotions we know are part of us.
This week’s gospel speaks to me of this contradiction. Continuing from last week, Luke presents us with a further collection of the ‘sayings of Jesus’. Once again, they are counter-cultural, going against everything society tells us. It is difficult to read them without saying “Impossible!”.
And for us, I suppose, they are impossible, presented by Jesus as ideals, things for which we strive. Jesus tells us they will lead to happiness and joy and peace, and somewhere within our hearts, we know this is true and we do want to forgive, and love, and be tolerant and compassionate, ..…. but then, as St. Paul says, “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”
Striving for something is good, even when we know we can never fully attain it. We strive for health, for fitness, for promotion, for wealth, for achievement of so many things we would like to have.
Striving to forgive, be tolerant, be compassionate, be generous, as we are called to by Jesus, is no different. We may not always achieve what we want, and we will let ourselves down over and over again, but maybe God is satisfied by our efforts rather than by our results.
Almost hidden in the Gospel today is this lovely sentence: “…you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.”
He is “kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” How wonderful to know this. When we fail to live up to the ideals presented to us by Jesus, we need not fear because God is still kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
When Jesus speaks to us, he is always revealing the love the Father has for us, letting us be called his children.
You see, We may find ourselves unable to live up to the ideals of the Gospel, because within us there is that sin St. Paul talks about, but within God there is no sin or evil or wickedness. God does not strive to love us; God IS love! – nothing else, no contradictions, just love.
When Jesus tells us in this Gospel to “love your enemies and do good to those who hate you”, he is telling us that this is what God does – always and without any reservations.
When he says, “bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly” he is saying to us, “I came to show you what the love of God is like and look, this is what God does.”
Let me offer a suggestion: Read for yourself each call Jesus gives us today and pause after each one. Then quietly say to yourself, “This is how God treats me…..This is how much God loves me.”
When you have done that, and when you have allowed it to sink into your heart, I promise that you will never fear God again. How could you fear a God who loves us without ever asking anything in return; who loves us even when we are “wicked and ungrateful”?
“Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.” In this verse Jesus says it plainly to us. We must strive to be compassionate; we are called to be compassionate, though we know we will never fully succeed. But that is NOT God. God does not strive to be compassionate; God IS compassion itself – always and without contradiction.
It is the same when he says, “Do not judge….Do not condemn….. Grant pardon…….give….”. No matter how hard we try we do make judgements, we do condemn, we do not forgive and we are selfish.
But not God. In ‘love’ there is no judgement, no condemnation, no selfishness, and there is always forgiveness.
What is more, when I meet Jesus in the Gospels, in all of his encounters with others, never once does he judge or condemn, and no matter what a person has done, he always forgives. Jesus tells us what God is like, and he shows us what God is like.
As we journey towards Lent this year, why not consider striving a little harder, or striving consciously, to forgive, love, be generous, tolerant and compassionate, knowing that even when we fail – and we will fail – God will continue to love us and give to us: “a full measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over……”
Truly, we have nothing to fear in approaching our God.
Many thanks,
Brian.
If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection you would like to share, I would be delighted to hear from you – please feel free to email me at b.maher@oblates.ie
| Gospel | Luke 6:27-38 © |
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