Forgive and You Will Be Forgiven (Luke 6:37)

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

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.”

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.

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.”

Hard to believe, but I have conducted the Bible Study Program (BSP) at the Chinese Martyrs Catholic Church for more than sixteen years. I count each year as a wonderful blessing to me personally as the program navigator and to those who join the ministry as facilitators, partici-pants, and volunteers, each in our own different ways. Not only does the BSP help all of us to stay in touch with the Sacred Scripture on a regular basis, it also enables us to continue to grow spiritually and build our lives on the foundation of the Word of God – a Word that is “before all things” and “in him all things hold together” (Col 1:17).

This Sunday’s gospel reminds me of a BSP participant who must have asked me at least five or six times over the course of the program why Jesus asks us to “love your enemies and do good to them” (Lk 6:35). Obviously, I haven’t been very successful in giving her a convincing answer, otherwise she wouldn’t have asked the same question over and over again. But ever an opti-mist, I don’t see her lingering doubt as a failure of mine. Rather, I see the issue underlying her doubt as one of the most difficult requirements of Christianity; one that very few people have been able to come to grips with. For the precious few who have, they couldn’t have succeeded without a heart thoroughly ignited by the Holy Spirit, and a mind fully determined to embrace the love of God unreservedly. In this Sunday’s first reading, we come face to face with such a person – David.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name” (Ps. 103:1). David’s unre-served love for God is evident in this Sunday’s Responsorial Psalm. “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” (Ps. 103:8, 10). Keenly aware of his own sins, David, who has experienced time and time again God’s mercy, knows that he is in no position to claim righteousness and condemn his enemies before God. Saul in his wickedness may have be-trayed and persecuted David many times; he may have given David more than enough reasons for rebellion and vengeance. But David knows that God who is merciful to him also expects him to be merciful to other people, especially to Saul whom being the Lord’s anointed David must not harm (c.f. 1 Sm 26:23).

“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” (Lk 6:36-37). Not sure if my 16-year BSP friend would be able to read this article. If I haven’t been able to con-vince her to forgive her enemies after so many years, I don’t expect this brief reflection to be able to do the trick. But I remain hopeful – hopeful that as long as she continues to attend the BSP and build her life on the foundation of the word of God, the Lord would eventually be able to win over her heart and turn it from a heart of judgement and condemnation to a heart of mercy and forgiveness. Amen.

Edmond Lo

As a Catholic speaker, writer and RCIA Catechist, Edmond is very active in promoting and defending the Catholic faith. He has a MBA, a CPA-CMA, and a MTS (Master of Theological Studies) from U.T., St. Augustine's Seminary. Having worked many years as the CFO of a non-profit organization, he retired at 55 to follow his special vocation of evangelization. The activities he conducts include the CMCC Bible Study Program, the Catechism Revisited Program, the FLL Spiritual Formation Program, Living in the Holy Tradition, RCIA, family groups and retreats, etc. Edmond is a member of the FLL Core Team. He writes Sunday Mass reflections regularly for the weekly FLL NewSpiration. His personal blog: http://elodocuments.blogspot.com/

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