But I say to you that listen

The 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C 

Collect 

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, always pondering spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and deed that which is pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

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

Though the Lord delivered you into my grasp, I would not harm you.

A reading from the first Book of Samuel

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.”

The word of the Lord.

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

R. :

℟. (8) 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.

℟. 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.

℟. 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.

℟. 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.

℟. The Lord is kind and merciful.

Second Reading
1 Cor 15:45-49

Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

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.

The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Jn 13

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

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

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.


Lk 6:27-38

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

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.”

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection 

Jesus doesn’t mince words but speaks directly without hesitation, even when he knows He will irritate others. Overcoming any human respect, He spoke freely about what one must do to obtain true joy. He provides the recipe and the roadmap to reach the destination that any rational person wants to arrive at: eternal joy that does not pass or end! 

Jesus surprises us and makes us uncomfortable and unsettled. Jesus will not allow anyone to remain where they are—you need to get out of your comfort zone and take action—usually it’s something which only a few manage to accomplish. Jesus asks difficult things of us! But. when you think about it, nothing worthwhile is easy! 

Jesus asks us to forgive our enemies—and those who have wronged us, ridiculed and deceived us—those that have tried to tarnish our reputation with the aim of getting what they want, and also those that have denied us our rights. Jesus tells us to forgive them and not to hold anything against them in our hearts. He asks us to let go of our anger and thus obtain a renewed peace of heart. 

One might reasonably ask why Jesus tells us to turn our cheek to be struck again or why we should give away not only our coat but our shirt also! Jesus says these things so that we can become detached from everything—from every pretension and every bond that keeps us enslaved and constrained.  
 
Jesus reveals to us that we can find true joy not by following the crowd or what the world dictates, but by sharing and giving of ourselves without expecting anything in return, by forgiving and loving our enemies so that we may be set free from the concerns that control us and overcome evil by good, hatred with love, and war with peace. 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, we ask you to help us continue searching for our greater good and how to truly find that peace that no one can take from us. Remind us to invest in what is eternal by not judging or condemning, by forgiving and loving without limit. When we do these things, we will receive in abundance, because the measure we give is the measure we will get back! 

 

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