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Gospel: 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 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.
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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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It’s no secret that today is September 11th. It’s hard to believe that next year will be a quarter century since our nation was brazenly attacked and thousands of innocent lives were cut short in a matter of minutes.
When tragedies like 9/11 happen, or a senseless shooting in Utah or in Minneapolis as children are processing in for Mass, we often turn to God. We either turn to him in anger, blaming “God” for the mess, or we seek divine help to process and to understand.
Even to forgive.
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I find it no small coincidence that our readings today hit us square in the face with one of Christ’s most difficult teachings.
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you and bless those who curse you… For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?”
It seems impossible for the human heart to merge violence and forgiveness into the same sentence. But that’s precisely the point.
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There comes a time when human beings are hurt so deeply – not only by national tragedies, but also by those that affect us most intimately – that we cannot forgive. We need God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
God alone could willingly accept death – death on a cross! – and forgive those responsible for causing his pain while drawing his last breath.
If we are to genuinely pray for, even forgive, those who persecute us, then we need the heart of Jesus. It’s God’s divine love – his thirst for the salvation of souls – that burns away anger and washes away sin. For God does not create to condemn, but to save.
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On a day like this, perhaps the Gospel calls us to a few humble truths:
In order to forgive, first we must love God and recognize our own human limitations.
Then we must ask the Lord to transform our hearts, making them more and more like his.
As the prophet Ezekiel foretells, “Behold, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Come, then, Lord Jesus, refresh our hearts, for you alone can renew the face of the earth.
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Image credits: (1) DeviantArt (2) Wikimedia Commons (3) Family Foundations Institute