C: 7th Sun of OrdTime (24 Feb 2019) - BECAUSE WE ARE BLESSED - Lk 6:27-38

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly” (Lk 6:27-28).

This is truly a very tall order. How in the world can one continue to be tolerant, forgiving and loving of the enemies? Isn’t it a debasement of one’s dignity, especially when the evil is incorrigibly repeated? But these are Jesus’ words, who went on to explicate this teaching even more intensely: “To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic (v. 29).” Jesus’ message, hence, is straightforward, without any sugar-coating: we should all love our enemies.

This message is even supported by our first reading where we encounter David, who, instead of killing Saul for having sought his death with a long chase, showed him mercy. In revealing this noble act, David presented back to Saul his very own water jug and spear (1 Sam 26:12, 22). Actually, this is the second time that this scenario happened. On the first one David was able to cut a small portion off the robe of Saul while he was taking a rest alone in a cave (24:5, 12). In both cases, David showed mercy, and also, in both cases, Saul became repentant (26:21-25 and 24:17-23, respectively). The remark of Saul to David’s kindness is noteworthy: “Blessed are you, my son David!” (26:25).

Last Sunday we heard of the well-renowned narrative on the Beatitudes (Lk 6:17-26). Therein Jesus identified four blesseds in the kingdom of God: the poor (v. 20), the hungry (v. 21), those weeping now (v. 22) and those hated by people (v. 22). Our usual reading of the Beatitudes is that it is a separate maxim preached by Jesus ala the Ten Commandments. However, if we look closely at the structure of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, it is a long speech that is marked by a change of geographical locations. Particularly, it starts with Lk 6:17 (“And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground”) and ends in Lk 7:1 (“When he had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum”). Henceforth, our gospel today is part of the sermon on the Beatitudes and should be understood not in isolation from them.

Indeed, the commandment of loving the enemies should be viewed in close contact with the Beatitudes. It is the knowledge that we are blessed by God now—no matter what our present state of life is—that gives us the confidence in believing that nothing can ever dampen our dignity… not even persecution and trials. Accordingly, St. Paul beautifully expressed his steadfast faith in God: “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?... No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us” (Rom 8:35, 37).

It is the fact that we are blessed by God that gives us the inner strength to forgive others. In effect, the treatment of others on us is immaterial since we are fully convinced in our own selves that we are God’s beloved no matter what happens. Henceforth, forgiveness is simply extending the fullness of grace that we have received from God. Appropriately, David in forgiving Saul twice was coming from a disposition that he was blessed by God, having been anointed by Samuel to be God’s new king to replace Saul (1 Sam 16:12-13).

Needless to say, when we meet our enemies an act of kindness and a sweet smile are our own greetings to them. Because no matter what they do to us, we are confident that we are blessed by God… we are simply reflecting our own blessedness to them.

- Rex Fortes, CM