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

 

 "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 

 

Yesterday we read that it came to pass in those days 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 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 comments on verse 31 ("And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise") that this "Golden Rule" is a minimum of Christian virtue, as it places our desire for goodness (what is called "the natural law of self-love" by St. Cyril of Alexandria) as a basic standard of how to treat others.  It is but the first step on the path to the perfection of virtue.  This perfection, my study Bible says, is found in verse 36 ("Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful"), where it is God's mercy, rather than the desire of human beings, which is the standard.

"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 comments that mercy precludes human judgment.  Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over are descriptions of how an honest and generous merchant would measure bulk goods.  Flour pressed down, for example, would yield a more generous amount than flour fluffed up.  The blessings God intends to put into our hearts, my study Bible says, are more generous than we can possibly contain, yet this also depends upon the spirit in which we ourselves give and forgive.

For anyone who has had to cope with cruelty or unfairness, today's teaching by Jesus is particularly difficult and can be met with struggle.  How do we practice mercy to someone who has treated us badly?  Do we open the door to more abuse?  How often do I give someone who asks for something who has no appreciation whatsoever for the gift?  These questions can be asked incessantly.  But I think it is important to take Christ's teaching with a certain frame of mind, a perspective He's sharing with us.  My study Bible's comment that our job is not just to follow our own standard of mercy (what we'd like or how we'd like to be treated), but to aim further -- to find what God would want from us as standard.  I don't believe that the spirit of these teachings includes anything that would encourage abusive or bad behavior.  But it is a teaching which encourages ways to create good community.  One of the oldest problems in Scripture is that of envy, and slander that often goes along with it.  Some scholars suggest that both the Old and New Testaments link envy to a form of idolatry.  In this sense, to be envious (particularly with malice) is to reject the fullness of God's goodness for us, and our reliance upon God.  So envy as a malevolent desire is rooted in a lack of trusting to God's blessings.  Moreover, envy that manifests as withholding good from another is seen as a sort of gatekeeping of God's blessings, an enforced exclusivity that effectively forms a false relationship to God and the abundance of goodness described by Jesus when He says that God is  kind to the unthankful and evil.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:44-45).  If we look at the definitions for the Greek word translated as "kind" in today's passage (verse 35) perhaps the best one is "gracious."  But this is the kindness of God, so it is always fitting and useful.  We must also take note that this word (χρηστός) is pronounced the same way as the word for Christ, Χριστος,"Christos."  Moreover, God's goodness is that which provides for an ultimate good, God's eternal perspective of salvation.  So when we are kind to those who mistreat us, this isn't an invitation to continue behavior that is surely not beneficial to their salvation, but rather a refraining from doing harm, from taking revenge, a pleasantness that aims to keep peace -- or at least the open door to repentance and salvation.  Sometimes what is fitting and helpful can only come with patience.  St. Augustine comments on this passage:  " A final just vengeance is looked for, that is, the last supreme judgment, only when no chance of correction remains. But now we must be on our guard, more than anything else, not to lose patience in our eagerness to be justified, for patience is to be more highly prized than anything an enemy can take from us against our will" (Augustine, Letter 138).  We're to remember that full justice comes from God, the One upon whom we rely for vengeance.  St. Paul writes to the Romans, "Repay no one evil for evil. Have[a] regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord (Romans 12:17-19; quoting from Deuteronomy 32:35).  When Jesus speaks of refraining from judgment (or perhaps we should say, unrighteous judgment), it is with the clear understanding in mind that the ultimate judgment is God's, so so should we also keep in mind that there is an eternal aim for the highest good.   And again, that brings us back to the virtue of patience.  Ultimately, the good that we give requires reliance on God, the true source of flowing abundance, true Judge, and the source of the virtue we need, the only Giver who can assure us that "with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."