September 10th. Thursday, Week 23

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1st Reading: Colossians 3:12-17

As God’s chosen ones, clothe yourselves with mercy, meekness and patience

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Gospel: Luke 6:27-38

Be compassionate, like your Father in heaven

Jesus said to them: “I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. RuleDo to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged;do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 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.”

bible

Exalted ideal of generosity

The ideals set for us in the Bible often seem beyond all realistic achievement. The list of goals set by St Paul in Colossians relies on his opening statement of who we really are, “God’s chosen ones.” If that is who we are, our core identity, then we must act accordingly. The generosity of love is not beyond our power as “holy and beloved.” God has drawn us into the life of Jesus, as members of his body, so that inspiration and grace can infuse us like breath or blood. We inhale our Lord’s responses to life since in all circumstances Christ is already alive within us. This is Paul’s great vision, on which he bases all his appeals for love, kindness, patience and generosity.

This is the spirit of today’s Gospel too, where Jesus asks his followers to “bless those who curse you,”  “turn the other cheek,” and — most difficult of all — “love your enemy.” These statements reflect the supreme goal of Christian life. These Gospel ideals are grounded in the idea that because we are formed in the image of God, our responses to life should mirror those of God our Maker. Hence Jesus says, “Be merciful, as your Father is merciful.” He insists that this is the high road to sharing in the life of God: “Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High.”

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God-like behaviour

Today’s text from Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount includes some of the most radical ideals in all of Jesus’ teaching. At the heart of it is the call to love our enemies and to give to those who do not deserve our love and will never be in a position to pay us back or to give us anything in return. In the culture of the time, people who were in a position to give generously expected some kind of return. Giving to others put them in debt to you; there was a cultural expectation of some kind of return. Perhaps our own culture is not all that different, because we are not all that different. We struggle to be completely selfless in our giving. Jesus cuts across that culture of giving with a view to receiving. The love he calls for which has no trace of self-seeking in it is a divine kind of love; it is the way God loves. God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked; God does not give with a view to receiving. God does not love his enemies less than his friends. Jesus is calling on us to be God-like in our loving and in our giving. The world would consider this kind of giving a folly; we will be left with nothing. Jesus, however, promises that if we give in this God-like way, a full measure, running over, will be poured into our lap. This morning, we are invited, in the words of the first reading, to let this message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with us. [Martin Hogan]

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