Gospel, Readings and reflection 20.2.22

In those days, Saul went down to the desert of Ziph
with three thousand picked men of Israel,
to search for David in the desert of Ziph.
So David and Abishai went among Saul’s soldiers by night
and found Saul lying asleep within the barricade,
with his spear thrust into the ground at his head
and Abner and his men sleeping around him.

Abishai whispered to David:
“God has delivered your enemy into your grasp this day.
Let me nail him to the ground with one thrust of the spear;
I will not need a second thrust!”
But David said to Abishai, “Do not harm him,
for who can lay hands on the LORD’s anointed and remain unpunished?”
So David took the spear and the water jug from their place at Saul’s head,
and they got away without anyone’s seeing or knowing or awakening.
All remained asleep,
because the LORD had put them into a deep slumber.

Going across to an opposite slope,
David stood on a remote hilltop
at a great distance from Abner, son of Ner, and the troops.
He said: “Here is the king’s spear.
Let an attendant come over to get it.
The LORD will reward each man for his justice and faithfulness.
Today, though the LORD delivered you into my grasp,
I would not harm the LORD’s anointed.”

R (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R The Lord is kind and merciful.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
R The Lord is kind and merciful.

Brothers and sisters:
It is written, The first man, Adam, became a living being,
the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
But the spiritual was not first;
rather the natural and then the spiritual.
The first man was from the earth, earthly;
the second man, from heaven.
As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly,
and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly.
Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

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.

REFLECTION

Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.”  Luke 6:37

Do you judge others?  Judging another is an easy thing to do.  Sometimes we can meet a person and immediately arrive at some form of judgment.  Perhaps they are not as friendly as we think they should be at first and, as a result, we offer a judgment of them right away.  Of course this can happen at times, even before we meet the person.  Or, it can also happen in relationships that we’ve had for a long time.

Do you condemn others?  Condemnation comes in two forms.  First, either we have formed a false judgment of another and this results in a false condemnation.  Second, we can judge a situation correctly, that this person is guilty of some sin, and we act as though we have a right to condemn.  We act as if we have a right to issue a sentence upon them.

Both judging and condemning are far from Christian virtues.  They are not healthy or holy in any way. So, the way they are overcome is through mercy and forgiveness.

Do you forgive?  Forgiveness is hard to do most of the time.  It must be offered in the light of our tendencies to both judge and condemn another.  First of all, forgiveness cures the tendency to condemn because it acknowledges a fault and forgives it anyway without requiring the imposition of a “punishment,” so to speak, upon the offender.  Forgiveness does not mean that the offense was OK or nonexistent.  On the contrary, forgiveness in this case clearly sees a sin for what it is.  But once acknowledged, it forgives that sin. This is very important when it comes to forgiving in a close relationship.  It’s never healthy to pretend that some hurt or sin never happened, but it’s always healthy to forgive the sin that is present.

When it comes to judgment, forgiveness goes even further than forgiving a sin.  Forgiveness must also move us to a point where we do not even form a judgment as to another’s fault.  We suspend judgment.  This is especially seen in the statement of Jesus on the Cross when He said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”  He didn’t even allow Himself to arrive at the judgment of those who were condemning Him to death.  He did not hold anything against them and presumed the best in regard to their intentions.  “They know not what they do.”  This requires a great depth of love and mercy.

Reflect, today, upon your own ability to forgive completely.  Start by letting go of the condemnation of another’s sin.  Then try to let our Lord bring you one step closer to His perfect merciful heart by letting go even of judgment.  Let God be the judge.  For your part, seek only to forgive.

Most merciful Lord, help me to forgive all who have offended me and all with whom I am angry.  Free me from the burdens of condemnation and judgment and replace these tendencies with Your merciful heart.  May I imitate Your perfect forgiveness in my life.  Jesus, I trust in You.