Loving as God loves requires a transformation of heart and mind

Luke 6:27–38

“But 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 compassionate, just as [also] your Father is compassionate.

“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.”

Music Meditations

Prayer of St. Francis
10000 Reasons—Matt Redman
Hosea—John Michael Talbot
Love Goes On—Bernadette Farrell
Christ Be Our Light—Chris Brunelle
When It’s All Been Said and Done—Robin Mark
Prayer of St Francis—Susan Boyle
Psalm 51—Steve Angrisano (Journeysongs)
Psalm 51—Marty Haugen

Opening Prayer

Adapted from Sacred Space:

Lord, my poor heart is very small, and it can also be very hard. Your heart is tender and compassionate. When I try to forgive others, my heart becomes a bit more like yours, and you swamp me with your overwhelming generosity. Help me to be more compassionate toward those in my life.

Lord, your words today challenge me more than anything else in my life. Help me to LISTEN help me to HEAR, and help me to LIVE these words.

Companions for the Journey

The following Homily is by Jude Siciliano, O.P., in “First Impressions” 2022

When I lived in West Virginia I knew women who made beautiful quilts and embroidered biblical quotes which they framed. They hung them on the walls of their homes. Quotes, like the lines from today’s gospel, made lovely hangings: “Love your enemies,” “Pray for those who mistreat you,” “To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other as well.” We have to keep the words of Jesus from becoming mere slogans hung in frames on walls, or stamped on T-shirts. Followers of Jesus have to take those framed quotes down from the walls, cut them out of their frames and speak and live them in the center of their lives, at their workplace, around the family dinner table, in their dorm rooms and workplaces.

Contrary to some people’s opinions, Jesus does not want us to be doormats, for example, to put up with domestic violence, or any other kind of abuse. Tyrants and armies of oppression have violated and enslaved people throughout history. For the Romans their Jewish victims were like throw-away rugs. As today’s gospel suggests, they could take their cloaks at any time; or slap their cheek at will. Jesus’ message to these enslaved people was one of liberation. They may not have had dignity before the Romans, the high priests and the rich who colluded with them, but they were valuable treasures in God’s eyes. Though they may have felt like and been treated like trash, that was not their condition before God. God loved them, not for what they had achieved, but because God has always loved the least.

So, if someone heard Jesus’ message and believed they were loved and precious to God then, when a Roman, or rich land owner, forcibly took their cloak, imagine their embarrassment when the violated person took off their tunic and handed it to them as well. When a Roman brute slapped them on the cheek and if the victim turned the other cheek as Jesus teaches, who is the stronger of the two, the brute, or the one who claimed his or her dignity before God and put aside hatred and ill will? Such behavior would eventually attract people who might formerly have been aggressive towards the Christian community.

Archbishop Romero, the martyred bishop of San Salvador, who lived in a similar world of an oppressive military that victimized its citizens said, “The counsel of the gospel to turn the other cheek to an unjust aggressor shows great moral force that leaves the aggressor morally overcome and humiliated.” Jesus goes on to speak of forgiving enemies. Stories of forgiveness are heroic. Forgiveness is so uncommon in our world that when it happens it can stun and befuddle people. There is a famous picture taken of St. Pope John Paul II visiting the cell and forgiving the man who shot him. He forgave his would-be assassin. Not just as Pope, but with the authority of that example, he could speak and call for the end of the death penalty.

The setting of a gospel story is important for understanding its meaning. Another clue to interpreting today’s gospel is to note Jesus’ audience. Luke says Jesus is speaking to his disciples. He is talking to those already committed to him who, like us, have faith and a predisposition that is open to grace. A disciple is literally one who sits at the feet of a teacher. That is where Jesus’ disciples heard his teachings about God: that we do not obey his teachings to earn God’s love. Rather, we already have that love. In fact, Jesus taught them in this sermon, “The Most High is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” Therefore, already having God’s love the disciple strives to imitate God. We do not act this way so God will be merciful. We love and forgive because God is already merciful towards us and so we can be merciful with others. A French Cardinal suggested living the Christian life in such a way that it would make no sense if God did not exist. To live a normal human life would be doing what most people do. But Christians are recognized because there is no earthly reason for doing what we do. Nobody expects us to live the way Jesus describes in this sermon. But if we just do what others expect how will they know there is a God? We do what people would call “unreasonable” so that others will know God exists and loves them.

Here let us quote extensively the great witness to nonviolence and love of enemies, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior in RICHER FARE: REFLECTION ON THE SUNDAY READINGS, Gail Ramshaw, pages 161-2.:

I am certain that Jesus understood the difficulty inherent in the act of loving one’s enemy. He never joined the ranks of those who talk glibly about the easiness of the moral life. He realized that every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God. So when Jesus said, “Love your enemy,” he was not unmindful of its stringent qualities. Yet he meant every word of it. Our responsibility as Christians is to discover the meaning of this command and seek passionately to live it in our daily lives.

Let us be practical and ask the question, How do we love our enemies? First, we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He [sic] who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. It is impossible even to begin the act of loving one’s enemies without the prior acceptance of the necessity, over and over again, of forgiving those who inflict evil and injury upon us. It is also necessary to realize that the forgiving act must always be initiated by the person who has been wronged, the victim of some great hurt, the recipient of some tortuous injustice, the absorber of some terrible act of oppression. The wrongdoer may request forgiveness. He may come to himself, and , like the prodigal son, move up some dusty road, his heart palpitating with the desire for forgiveness. But only the injured neighbor, the loving father back home, can really pour out the warm water of forgiveness.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

This gospel section, found in both Luke and Matthew (5:39-42, 48) is one of the most difficult in all of scripture. Which part is the hardest for me?
Which part is the easiest for me?
Is there any part I just do not agree with?
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.
How counter-cultural was this in Jesus time?
How counter-cultural is it in the era I am living in?
Have I ever prayed for someone who hurt me?
Did it change my feelings about that person?
How hard is for me to forgive others?
Do I carry grudges?
Have I ever viewed forgiveness as a way of accepting bad behavior?
Have I ever weaponized forgiveness?
What is the connection between my forgiveness of others and God’s forgiveness of me?
Does this connection make me uncomfortable?
Do see the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a place where in my most broken and hopeless moments I can hear Jesus say: “I forgive you. You are mine.”, and “In the place of all those who cannot forgive, I forgive”?
Does this give me hope or comfort?
Do I believe God forgives the unforgivable?
Does this bother me?
To him who strikes you on one cheek, give him the other
And from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt
Have I ever allowed someone to do something to me without retaliating or answering in kind?
How hard was it?
Did Jesus?
How hard was it for him?
When is it NOT healthy to take this section about suffering abuse from another literally?
Give to everyone who begs from you
What are the limits of my generosity?
Are they too narrow?
How do I balance my needs and those of my loved ones against the needs of others?
How big is my closet, my car, my house, my portfolio?
How much is enough?
Generosity to another could include personal time and attention as well as something of material value. Over the past 24 hours have I given less of myself than I could have?
For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?
Do I consider love a feeling or an action?
What is the difference?
Is there anybody in my life whom I find it hard to love?
Is there anyone in my life whom love, but do not like very much?
Am I more certain to give “behavioral waivers” to certain people but not to others?
Do I have favorites among my family members, friends, co-workers?
Is it because they have treated me better, or because I need something from them?
Have I ever given a gift or performed a favor for someone with unspoken “strings attached”?
Have I even given a gift to someone or done a favor for someone, and then been hurt or angry when they did not reciprocate?
Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate:
From Father Walter Burghardt S.J.:

Compassion means not a weak, embarrassed sympathy but a fellowship of feeling, to be compassionate is literally to “suffer with” another… it asks us to go where it hurts, enter into places of pain, to share in brokenness and confusion, fear and anguish…
Where am I challenged by this description of compassion?
When have I needed such compassion?
Did I receive it?
Have I ever been tested or worn out by someone else’s need for compassion or by a societal need?
Did respite and prayer figure into my coping skills?
What are the risks in being compassionate or in receiving compassion?
Where does compassion fit into our political landscape?
Where does compassion fit into the spirit of competition that underscores our American economic system?
Where does compassion fit into our healthcare system and educational system with their limited resources?
When are my compassionate instincts exploited by the media, advertising, friends or family members?
Have I ever felt I was the subject of God’s compassion?
From “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
Have you ever succeeded in loving an enemy? Why did you do it? How was it possible?
Have you ever tried to break off a cycle of violence and retaliation? What were the circumstances? How did it turn out?
Adapted from the Carmelites:
Am I as literal as Jesus in love and mercy, or do I rationalize it away and compartmentalize it so it doesn’t apply to situations in my life?

  Catholic Community at Stanford’s Encounter Christ small group faith sharing offers the opportunity to meet and reflect with others on questions like these as well as other aspects of the journey of faith.

Learn more or sign up for small groups

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

There are several different translations for the Latin word misericors in verse 36: pity, sympathy, compassion, mercy, for starters. However, each has a slightly different meaning. When Luke has Jesus saying “Be _______________as your father is ____________,” which English meaning resonates most clearly with you? For example, what is the difference between pity and sympathy, between compassion and mercy? In your own experience, have you been the recipient of another’s misericors? How did this manifest itself? Were you made to feel comforted, inferior to the donor of the mercy or pity, or did you feel like you and (s)he had some experience in common that you shared?

When you have found yourself in a position to extend mercy, pity, sympathy or compassion to another, what were the circumstances? How did the other person react? What would be the English word for your behavior? Speak to God about all the ways misericors can manifest itself and pray for the grace to make it an equal sharing of loss, sorrow, confusion, grief or solidarity.

A Reflection in the Franciscan Style/Action:

A very famous Catholic preacher once made the point that this gospel is not about what you believe, but what you do. He said that in Jesus’ time, some felt that the only criterion for discipleship was orthodoxy, that is, correct beliefs. This is what we affirm when we say the Creed. But he also said that this gospel teaches us not to rest there; we must not forget that orthopraxis--right action--is equally important. The Creed, he says, is an affirmation that is excellent, but can cost us very little, and allies us to family and friends who believe like us. This “Gospel Creed” calls us to go beyond our comfortable circle and embrace the larger, messy world. It requires us to DO as well as BELIEVE. Here is the Gospel Creed:

Love enemies Do good to those who hate you Bless those who curse you Pray for those who mistreat you Give to all who beg from you, even more than they ask for Lend without repayment Be compassionate Do not condemn Forgive.

Pick one (perhaps the one which challenges you the most) and try to practice it once a day all week, make a note in your journal about the experience and its effect on you as a person. Hard, no?

A Reflection in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Adapted from The Hidden Jesus, by Donald Spoto:

The offering of forgiveness, which does not mean saying that a crime is all right or can be forgotten, is not among the doubtful elements of Christian life; it is absolutely at the root of it. We Christians forgive and do not extract vengeance—punishment in kind—precisely because we ourselves have known forgiveness from God; because we know that God offers, again and again, a chance for repentance. As Jesus forgave his own executioners, so must his followers forgive the same (or even lesser offenses against us). Forgiveness is not something one can take or leave, not something that can sometimes be offered and sometimes not. Forgiveness breaks the cycle of hatred, of revenge, of precisely the attitude that led to the murderous rime in the first place.

One of the most powerful examples of forgiveness emerged from an experience of such horror that it is difficult for us to imagine. During the Holocaust, countless children were exterminated at the Ravensbruck concentration camp. When the place was at last liberated, a piece of paper was found, placed with the body of a dead child; on the paper were words written by an unknown dead prisoner:

“O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember the suffering they have inflicted on us—instead remember the fruits we have bought, thanks to this suffering: our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, our generosity, our courage, the greatness of heart which has grown out of all of this. And when those who have inflicted suffering on us come to judgement, let all the fruits we have bone be their forgiveness.”

I think of the ways in which my personal forgiveness of someone liberated me from bitterness, from anger, from depression. I think, too, of those who have forgiven me out of a heart much larger than mine. I thank you for the courage and the insight to pray “You forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us”. Can I pray that prayer? Who must I forgive?

A Reflection in the Franciscan Style/Action:

Adapted from Word Among Us:

“Give, and it will be given to you. A 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.”—Luke 6:38

How important is it for us to give? So important, that Thomas Merton said, “Love can only live by giving.” In truth, one way that Christ’s love is kept alive in our world today is through our daily acts of giving. Whether we are making tiny hidden sacrifices or larger public ones, we are advancing the kingdom of God and the cause of love. The culture of materialism and abundance in which we live constantly challenges us to maintain our focus. Over time, what we possess can begin to possess us. The more things we acquire, the more we seem to want or think we need. We are constantly bombarded by images of the newest, biggest, best item that the retail world has to offer. Love can get lost as we begin to define ourselves by the material things that surround us. This climate of greed and insecurity can choke off the life of love, sacrifice, and service that is so vital to the human spirit. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells us that the more we give to others, the more we will receive from God. Of course, he wasn’t referring just to material things (although people sometimes report that their businesses improve after they give more than they thought they were able to). What we get from God in return for our giving to others is the peace, love, joy, and restoration for which our souls long. God offers us his eternal security, which is far more valuable and enduring than anything we can accumulate or cling to here on earth. We can give in spite of our tendencies toward selfishness, and we can overcome the temptation to hoard what we have. By God’s grace, we can bring love to life in our world today with one generous and unselfish act of giving. So go ahead. Give a little bit, and see what “good measure” your heavenly Father returns to you!

Lord, give me the courage and conviction to let go of the things that are blocking the flow of love in my life, so that I can receive a generous helping from you.

Just for Today: I will “clean house” and give away something I have been clinging to, whether it be something tangible or an attitude.

Music Meditation:

Listen to “In 1915 in No Man’s Land” by Celtic Thunder (on you tube) a song about the trenches in WWI, a true story of German and Irish enemies on Christmas day…

Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Read Psalm 103. What does this tell you about God’s compassion and Mercy? Rewrite this as if you were talking to God, (I bless you Lord, I bless your holy name, etc) then pray for a heart that is compassionate like God’s:

Praise for the Lord’s Mercies

Bless the Lord, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
The Lord performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed.
He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.
As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer.
But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children, To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts to do them.
The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all.
Bless the Lord, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word!
Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will.
Bless the Lord, all you works of His, In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Poetic Reflection:

The following poem by Stanley Kunitz illustrates that we are always adapting and changing. We need to ask if those changes are ones which reinforce our worst selves or are changes Jesus is calling us to.

“The Layers”

I have walked through many lives, some of them my own, and I am not who I was, though some principle of being abides, from which I struggle not to stray. When I look behind, as I am compelled to look before I can gather strength and proceed on my journey, I see the milestones dwindling toward the horizon and the slow fires trailing from abandoned camp-sites over which scavenger angels wheel on heavy wings. Oh, I have made myself a tribe out of my true affections, and my tribe is scattered! How shall the heart be reconciled to its feast of losses? In a rising wind the manic dust of my friends, those who fell along the way, bitterly stings my face. Yet I turn, I turn, exulting somewhat, with my will intact to go, and every stone on the road precious to me, In my darkest night, when the moon was covered and I roamed through the wreckage, a nimbus-clouded voice directed me: “Live in the layers, not in the litter.” Though I lack the art to decipher it, no doubt the next chapter in my book of transformations is already written. I am not done with my changes.

Closing Prayer

Prayer of Mary, Queen of Scots:

Keep us, O God, from all pettiness. Let us be large in thought, in word, in deed. Let us be done with fault-finding and leave off all self-seeking. May we put away all pretense and meet each other face-to-face, Without self-pity and without prejudice. May we never be hasty in judgment, always generous. Let us take time for all things, and make us grow calm, serene, and gentle. Teach us to put into action our better impulses, to be straight-forward and unafraid. Grant that we may realize that it is the little things of life that create differences, That in the big things of life we are one. And, Lord, God, let us not forget to be Kind.

Weekly Reflections

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 20, 2022

Loving as God loves requires a transformation of heart and mind

Luke 6:27–38

Music Meditations

Opening Prayer

Companions for the Journey

Weekly Memorization

Living the Good News

Reflection Questions

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

A Reflection in the Franciscan Style/Action:

A Reflection in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

A Reflection in the Franciscan Style/Action:

Music Meditation:

Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Praise for the Lord’s Mercies

Poetic Reflection:

“The Layers”

Further Reading:

Closing Prayer

CC@S