Dear Friends,
Our readings this weekend offer some strong “marching orders” for us, who are disciples, brought into the family of God through the Blood of Jesus on the Cross. Perhaps for some they appear impossible.
Jesus says, “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. …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? …love your enemies and do good to them, …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.”
And that is only a part of the Gospel for this weekend. This is humanly speaking a pretty tall order as we are weighed down by our sins and self-interest. Evil turned this world upside down. Jesus turned it right side up by His total obedience to the Father, and He gives us the power to live His way rather than the world’s ways. But we must be willing to struggle against temptation and humbly seek God’s grace and power to succeed in accord with God’s holy will.
David provides a great example in our first reading. In this instance, he is free of guilt and yet King Saul is trying to kill him. He easily could have taken Saul’s life as an enemy an yet David’s respect for God’s anointed one would not allow him to do so. He knew and realized that to God alone belongs vengeance. We need to remain humble and submissive to God’s will to allow God to work things out I our personal lives.
We live in strange times and a very difficult world; a world becoming more difficult as the days go on. What are we to do is probably a question we face almost daily? While some thigs are passing and temporary, others are of ternal value. Discernment is integral to knowing how to live by and with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’ final exhortation is key. “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, an overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.
While life in this world is challenging and sometimes wild, we have a rock, a still point Who never fails us. Jesus, the Christ, Whose life, death, resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of the Father offers the only “way, and the truth, and the life” through this world. Never lose hope, always live by faith, and always let the joy of the Holy Spirit lead and guide you, day by day.
God bless you, God love you,
Monsignor McCulken