Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Sunday Reflections

The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading: 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23 “The Lord will reward each man for his justice and faithfulness.”

Psalm: 103  “The Lord is kind and merciful.”

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:45-49  “Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the Heavenly One.”

Gospel: Luke 6:27-38  “The measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

Today the prophet Samuel relates the encounter of David and Saul. King Saul was seeking David’s life – he wanted to kill him. David took refuge in the desert, but Saul followed him there with his soldiers. David was able to steal Saul’s spear and water jug as Saul and his soldiers slept deeply. David had been close enough to Saul to slay him! King Saul had been anointed as king, and David would not harm the Lord’s anointed one, even though he certainly could have killed him. Had David murdered him, he would have immediately been declared king since he, too, had been anointed as king by the prophet Samuel. Here is a lesson for us: do we take advantage of people for our own gain, or do we allow God to mete out justice? When someone hurts us, or seeks to hurt us, do we seek revenge or harbor a grudge? Or do we pray for the conversion of that person, as we should? Praying for our enemies is a key element in Catholic doctrine, as we will see in today’s Gospel.

Today’s Psalm encourages us to “bless the Lord, o my soul, and all my being, bless His holy Name.” God has given us everything, beginning with the gift of life. We owe everything we have to God. He is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in kindness.” God loves us so deeply that we cannot fathom the depths of His love for us. “Not according to our sins does He deal with us, nor does He requite us according to our crimes. As far as the East is from the West, so far has He put our transgressions from us.” This forgiveness presupposes contrition on our part and a firm purpose of amendment not to sin again. Yet “as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.” To fear God is to recognize the yawning chasm between Creator and created; to acknowledge that He is God, the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God, and we are not. We are not God. We cannot make up our own commandments; we must abide by the Ten Commandments. “The Lord is kind and merciful” indeed, but we need to be sorry for our sins and recognize the surpassing greatness of God.

The Second Reading comes from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. St. Paul discusses the first Adam, a man made from the dust of the Earth into whom was blown the breath of God – the Holy Spirit, who gave life to the man. The second Adam, Jesus Christ, is from Heaven – He who was incorporeal took on human flesh, with a human mind, a human intellect, a human soul, and a human will. St. Paul tells us that “the natural and then the spiritual” came, in that order. First, man was formed from the dust; then the Spirit of life was blown into his nostrils. The first Adam was earthly; the second Adam was heavenly. This means that our life is lived primarily on Earth for a time; then, God willing, we will go to heaven. Here on Earth, we image the earthly Adam, with sins and foibles. When we go to heaven, we will image Jesus Christ, the second Adam, the Adam who obeyed the Father in all things. While we are here on Earth, we ought to strive to conform ourselves to Jesus; the better we image Him here and now, the holier we will be, and the more ready we will be when our time comes to see Him in His glory. Bear His image now by obeying the Father in all things and by loving God above all else. God must be first in our lives, beyond our personal peccadillos and preferences. We must strive for the prize of eternal life by being as holy as we can be. Stretch yourself out of your comfort zone and strike out into the deep waters of faith. Your reward will be great both here on Earth and in Heaven.

St. Luke shares Jesus’ teaching on radical love and self-giving. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” This is a high standard, but it is one which comes from the mouth of our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. These are not suggestions, but are commandments: actually, the one commandment of “Love your neighbor as I have loved you.” We need God’s help to love so radically, to put ourselves, our desires, or our hurt feelings aside in order to love others as Jesus loves us. Jesus lays down the Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Confucius had the rule: “Do not to others what you would not have done to you.”  Jesus takes that further in His Golden Rule, which we can apply to the seven Commandments which deal with how we relate to others: honor your father and mother; you shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor; you shall not covet your neighbor’s spouse or goods. Meditate on these seven commandments which help us to love our neighbor in the light of Jesus’ Golden Rule, which ratchets up the standard for each Commandment. Examine your conscience with these Commandments and then come to Confession, where Jesus waits to forgive you. Be truly contrite for your sins and have an interior disposition to avoid sinning again; lovingly and gratefully accept those beautiful words of absolution as healing balm to your wounded soul. Then do your penance and start afresh with your newly-restored relationship with God. Jesus reminds us to “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful…forgive, and you will be forgiven…for the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” Let’s give until it hurts, let’s love with abandon, all within the confines of the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ Golden Rule. Let’s conform ourselves to Jesus Christ as fully as we can now, so that we will have a rewarding relationship with God now and forever more.