Luke 6:27-38

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23

Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13

1 Corinthians 15:45-49

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I struggle to be forgiving toward those who have sinned against me. I easily judge the hearts and intentions of those around me. Help me to refrain from judgment, leave judgment of the heart to you, and be merciful like you.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Love Your Enemies: In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus has just pronounced the paradoxical blessings and curses of the New Covenant (Luke 6:20-26) in the Sermon on the Plain. The poor, the hungry, the weeping, the hated are paradoxically called blessed. Those who are rich, filled, laughing, and spoken well of are given a warning. In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain and paradoxes continue. He gives a series of exhortations and commands his disciples to love their enemies, do good to those who hate them, bless those who curse them, pray for those who mistreat them. This is the exact opposite of an earthly or worldly approach. Jesus commands his disciples to not retaliate when harmed and to be generous to those in need. Jesus summarizes these exhortations with the golden rule, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31), and “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). 

2. Do Not Harm Him: The First Reading, from the First Book of Samuel, was chosen because it gives a concrete example of loving your enemies and doing good to those who hate you. It tells the story of King Saul and his search to kill David. David snuck into Saul’s camp at night and had the opportunity to kill Saul in his sleep. When he refrains from killing the king who sought to kill him, David shows tremendous patience and trust in God’s plans for him. “Instead of asserting any sort of privileged claim for the throne, David waits for God to fulfill his promise, though this waiting almost costs David his life and forces him into refugee status. Even when David is twice given the opportunity to kill Saul and end both his exile and his wait for the throne, he refuses to do so out of respect for the Lord and his anointed one” (Cavins and Gray, Walking with God, p. 156).

3. The First Adam and the Ultimate Adam: In the Second Reading, Paul is continuing to argue that Christ has truly risen from the dead. He draws attention to the fact that death came through Adam, but that the resurrection of the dead and new life come through Jesus Christ. He continues the argument and continues to contrast the first Adam with Jesus, the ultimate Adam. Genesis tells us how the first Adam was created by God and given life. Adam was a natural being and was formed from the earth. By contrast, Jesus, the new Adam or ultimate Adam, is more than a living being. The first Adam transmitted earthly, natural life. The ultimate Adam gives supernatural life and heavenly life through the Spirit. The first Adam was human and lost the gift of divine life through sin. Jesus, the ultimate Adam, was fully human and fully divine, and bestows the gift of divine life on those who have been baptized and incorporated into his body, the Church.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, New and Ultimate Adam, teach me to love and pray for my enemies as you did. I will do my best to refrain from judging the hearts of others and leave judgment to you, the King of the Universe.

Living the Word of God: How can I more perfectly imitate the mercy of God the Father? Is there anyone in my life that I am resisting to forgive and offer mercy? How can I better imitate the example of David’s patience and trust in God’s plan? How can I overcome evil with good?