Just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise

 "But I say to you who hear:  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.  To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.  And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.  Give to everyone who asks of you.  And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.  And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

"But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For 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?  For even sinners do the same.  And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.   But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

"Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

- Luke 6:27-38

In yesterday's reading, we were told that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom he also named apostles:  Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.  And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits.  And they were healed.  And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.  Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:  "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.  Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.  Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.  Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!  For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.  But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.  Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets."

 "But I say to you who hear:  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.  To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.  And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.  Give to everyone who asks of you.  And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.  And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.  But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For 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?  For even sinners do the same.  And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.   But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."   My study bible tells us that the "Golden Rule" stated here is a minimum for Christian virtue.  It places what Cyril of Alexandria calls "the natural law of self-love" (man's desire for goodness), as a basic standard of how to treat others.  This is the first step on the path to the perfection of virtue.   In the final verse here, it is God's mercy -- rather than man's desire -- that is the standard of perfection.  In Romans 12, St. Paul quotes from Proverbs 25, further illuminating and affirming Christ's teachings here (Romans 12:20-21).

"Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."  My study bible notes that mercy precludes human judgment.  Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over is a description of how an honest and generous merchant might measure bulk goods.  Flower pressed down and shaken will fully fill a measure indeed.  My study bible says, "The blessings God intends to put into our hearts are more generous than we can possibly contain, yet this also depends on the spirit in which we ourselves give and forgive."

Jesus offers us a system of measure by which the gold standard is mercy.  He offers us an exchange -- but the exchange is always tempered by mercy.   Consistent with the Sermon on the Mount, revenge hasn't a place in the life of a disciple.  He's not teaching us to lack good judgment nor discernment, but He is teaching us about a system of exchange in which mercy becomes the medium (see John 7:24).   Neither is He telling us to be unaware of the things that others have done, or that it's our job to pretend to ourselves we have no enemies.  We have to look clearly at what mercy teaches to understand Him and His teaching.  Mercy does not look at what has been done and then repay in kind.  Mercy looks at a situation prayerfully; that is, seeking God's way and the discernment God would offer.  The ultimate standard, my study bible points out, is the perfection of God's mercy.  To look at any circumstance prayerfully, then, is inviting God's way into our own "equation" of how we respond to people.  In this it is a very similar teaching to forgiveness, which also is a way of allowing God's judgment into a situation or circumstances.  To prayerfully make one's way through life means giving up decisions to God so that God or Christ is intermediary in our affairs.   This is a way to walk in mercy, to temper life circumstances with "righteous judgment."  Jesus tells us that our cup is filled in response to such discipleship, with the same measure.  It is important to know that we are not expected to go through life as innocents with no knowledge of evil or of enemies.  But everything is guided by discipleship in our response to what we find in the world.  Returning cruelty for cruelty does little to remove a problem; it keeps us engaged with the enemy.  On the other hand, praying for an enemy helps to create detachment and also at the same time seek God's way through a problem.  Jesus' teachings do not preclude detachment, nor do they teach us that we must love all the things an enemy does.  On the contrary, to truly love a person is to want what's good for them; that is, for their own life to reflect God's teachings and love as well.  We're not to approve of cruel behavior and ill-treatment, nor are we to embrace it.  But we do need to learn what love is, just as a parent doesn't truly love a child by approving of everything they do.  There are times when Christ Himself avoids His accusers, and other times in which He confronts them.   A correction or rebuke from Christ is also a loving and merciful choice!  And there are times when He ceases to speak, as well.   Let us remember that in all things, we seek what mercy asks us.  Jesus gives us a system of living by grace, where this becomes the standard of all things.  Let us learn what grace is, let us study the Lord to know that truth is inseparable from love in all things.  Don't be deceived to believe that justice is not served in Christ's way.  On the contrary, it is in the true interest of justice that we seek His way.  He's the same Teacher that teaches that we'll give an account for every idle word.  His teachings give us a way to do that, to think, to discern, to seek God's way which is the better way for our lives -- for true righteousness and good measure.