Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful

 

 "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 one 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. The n 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 one 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."  This last verse here is called the "Golden Rule."  My study Bible calls it a minimum of Christian virtue, as it places a person's desire for goodness (which St. Cyril of Alexandria references as "the natural law of self-love") as a basic standard of how to treat others.  It's the first step on the path of perfection of virtue.  

 

 "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."  If the Golden Rule (see verse 31, above) is the "first step" in the perfection of virtue, then here in this last verse ("Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful") Jesus gives us the image of perfection -- where God's mercy, rather than our human desire, 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 here 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, it says, would yield a more generous amount than flour fluffed up.  The blessings which God intends to put into our hearts are more generous than you and I could possibly contain, but this also depends upon the spirit in which we ourselves give and forgive.  

Jesus continues His Sermon on the Plain, found here in Luke's Gospel.  The contents are similar to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7), but here in Luke the sermon is less extensive.  My study Bible has commented that, indeed, Jesus no doubt taught many similar things on many varied occasions.  In today's reading, Jesus moves from speaking of the beatitudes (or blessings) of the Kingdom, and the woes of those who reject it, to today's focus on the practice of virtue, what it means, and how we do this.  All of this counts as part of the gospel message that Christ's newly-appointed apostles will carry out to the world.  While the blessings and woes of the beginning of the sermon give us distinctive characteristics of the life of the Kingdom, here Jesus' focus shifts to behavior, and a sense of the "rules" by which this Kingdom operates, even for we who seek to live it here in this world.  Jesus teaches, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you."  In terms of worldly values of the use of coercive and manipulative power, this rule of loving your enemies might seem far from reasonable or efficient.  And yet, we are taught to live this way.  Because God's kingdom exists even in our midst, we might be surprised at the quality of life we receive when we seek to live by God's laws.  As Jesus noted in His "blessings," we might even be persecuted for this Kingdom's sake, or suffer some sort of hostile response from the worldly, but to live in this way has surprising benefits and blessings that accrue to it nonetheless.  It might not jibe with many popular beliefs, but having observed a great deal of life, one might be surprised at just how much benefit seems to amass by following Christ's teachings.  Often it is the extremely selfish who wind up suffering from their own inward directedness, and limited perspective in life.  Short-term gain often does not equal long-term benefit.  Even in purely business relationships, one might be surprised at how much generosity pays off in terms of the capacity to come to terms, and gain agreements.  Moreover, as we're told to love our enemies, it prompts us to consider precisely what love it.  If we make the mistake of thinking that love is merely the coddling or indulgence of our every whim, then we're on the wrong track about practicing love.  Love is desiring the good for others, not helping them along on the road to self-indulgence or destructive personal behaviors.  The practice of love does not compatible with forms of nihilism.  Christ asks us to practice love and mercy in concert with the values of the Kingdom, for life, and for the goodness of life, for the fullness of health of human beings in all dimensions.  To practice kindness is in an important sense to build peace, and to make a space for the truly good and creative to thrive even at times in the midst of enemies.  Perhaps there will always be those who reject this way of life, who resent the joy of the Kingdom, and do not understand the love that Christ preaches.  But let us, at any rate, draw closer to God and to follow Christ's way, as we learn better how to put into practice what He teaches us.  Yes, there will be those from whom we need to withdraw, even to practice virtue when such circumstances arise (for even Christ withdrew from His persecutors in the times this was necessary; see this reading, for example).  Jesus invites us into the generosity of the Kingdom, a different way of living and of perceiving life, but He does not leave us alone in this endeavor, for He is with us, and the Holy Spirit does not leave us.  How we negotiate life in this world, even amongst people who don't share such values, and how we live nevertheless the values of the Kingdom even in this world, is always going to be our mission.  The myriad of saints and of believers over the centuries confirms that there is a wide, wide, ever-expanding array of ways to live His life of the Kingdom even as we live in this world.  For this is our mission, and our gospel to bear into the world. 

 

 

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."

 

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 

 

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 cast your 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."   Possibly the theme of these verses is summed up in the last one, which is also understood as the "Golden Rule."  My study Bible calls the Golden Rule a minimum of Christian virtue, as it places humanity's desire for goodness (which St. Cyril of Alexandria calls "the natural law of self-love") as a basic standard of how to treat others.  It says this is but the first step on the path to the perfection of virtue.  The perfection is found in verse 36 of today's reading ("Therefore be merciful, just as your Father is also merciful"), where it is God's mercy, rather than the desire of human beings, which is the standard.  

"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."  Jesus is asking us to break out of the rules of tit-for-tat.  As He does in the Sermon on the Mount, there is built into these statements at minimum a prohibition against revenge, but its main gist is that we are not simply slaves to the social order, to the ways in which others treat us.  He asks us to follow a different agenda, to observe the mercy of God and model ourselves upon that instead.

 

 "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 here 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 which is pressed down, for example, will give a more generous amount than flour which is fluffed up with pockets of air.  My study Bible adds that the blessings which God intends to put into our hearts are more generous than we can possibly contain, yet this also depends upon the spirit in which we ourselves give and forgive.

In pondering the words in today's reading, I'm wondering how they must have sounded to Christ's listeners.  He seems to be asking people to come out of their ordinary suppositions about life and how to conduct it, and to come to some new conclusion about the power in seeking to be more "like God."  Jesus invites us to consider the mercy of the Most High:  "For He is kind to the unthankful and evil."  God doesn't judge using a worldly standard, but God instead asserts God's own standard, and He asks us to be "sons of the Most High" by being "like" God.  If we consider this ultimately merciful God in the light of the standards of the world at the time, what would we find?  Rulers and leaders of nations used power fairly ruthlessly.  The family of Herod the Great, who ruled Israel during Christ's lifetime, was particularly known for ruthlessness even among the other powerful rulers of the world.  If we look at the contemporary pagan gods and myths, we find a harsh world indeed, and one populated by gods who could be swayed by their own passions and desires.  Taking a look at the plays of classical Greek literature, we would find that justice worked itself out in a kind of "measure for measure" way, so to speak.  Every action resulted in a reaction that worked itself through time:  curses came back to curse, violence came back to the descendants of those who began the cycle, everything worked out in a way that reflected a sort of justice in which acts of hubris would somehow result in requisite "payment" down the line.  There are times when we see glimpses of mercy in the evolution of justice within that body of literature as well, but nothing comes close to this standard that Christ sets.  While it may seem quite a tall order even today, we might want to think about Christ's teachings as those which facilitate God's justice and judgment in the world.  As those who seek to participate in God's kingdom, we are asked to seek to live through guidelines that differ from a worldly standard; we are asked to be gracious and merciful as God is gracious and merciful.  One can simply imagine, then, what God's judgment would mean for those who respond with cruelty; we're not meant to believe that judgment never comes.  But we are asked to consciously cede that judgment to God, and to be aware of what God's judgment is like.  In John's Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples (at the Last Supper), "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:19).  In chapter 17, He prays to the Father, "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" (John 17:14-16).  The emphasis is that those whom He has kept in His name, and in the word of God, are not "of" the world, although they are "in" the world.  His teachings in today's reading, about the practice of mercy -- even that which seems unmerited -- becomes a key way one is not "of" the world.  He takes us out of the world in this sense, and asks us to become detached, independent, dispassionate, in order to follow Him, to be more "like God," and so children of God.  In John's chapter 16, Jesus explains to the disciples, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:7-8).  We are asked to be "like God," even as the Holy Spirit is at work in the world doing the work of judgment, and our righteousness is to shine like a light within this process.  For how else might judgment take place?  (In this context, see also Romans 12:19-20.)   Let us think about His words and what He asks of us, for so much may be dependent on how we understand discipleship and the mission He proclaims.  This is His new covenant, the way that God must be at work among us -- not so that we are "like" the world, but so that we might be a different kind of light to see by, a different kind of measure.  In gospel of the Kingdom, we become responsible for that which we desire for ourselves -- to live mercy even if it gains contempt or hatred from others.   "For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

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 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."  Here, Jesus teaches what is called the "Golden Rule."  My study bible calls it a minimum of Christian virtue, as it places one's desire for goodness (which St. Cyril of Alexandria calls "the natural law of self-love") as a basic standard of how to treat others.  It is a first step on the perfection of virtue.  That perfection is found in the verses that follow.

"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."  Here, Jesus explains "perfection" -- that we learn the mercy of God, beyond natural human law.  God's mercy, rather than human desire, 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 says 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.  For example, if one "pressed down" on flour in a measuring cup, it would give far more as the measure than otherwise, fluffed up with air.  The blessings which God intends to put into our hearts, my study bible says, are far more generous than we can possibly contain.  But this also depends on the spirit in which we ourselves give and forgive.

In today's reading, which is a continuation of Jesus' Sermon on the Plain begun in yesterday's reading (above), Jesus calls upon us for what we might term a very tall order in our behavior with others.  We might wonder how we can possibly fulfill these teachings.  But my own understanding is that Jesus is not telling us to go put ourselves in harm's way nor appease abusive people.  He is, rather, teaching us a principle about our own behavior.  It cannot be based upon tit-for-tat worldly rules that we learn from the society around us, or which are based on some sort of material understanding of gain and loss, or trade.  Our goal is to be "like God."  What that means, as is so often the case with Jesus, is that we are to learn to think outside of the worldly box, to seek what is proper in prayer, and through love and mercy.  In all cases we are to use discernment, but the foundation of Christian witness is not to conform to the world.   It is to live as God asks us to live.  In various places in the Gospels, Jesus speaks of "treasure in heaven," which is the result of sharing or giving our worldly goods as alms (Luke 12:33).  See, for example, Jesus' words to the rich young ruler:  "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Luke 18:18-23).  In this understanding, the good that we do, especially where not "merited" in some sense, becomes a kind of exchange with the heavenly reality, where what we give becomes part of a heavenly treasure stored up for us.  It is as if we must view our lives as a kind of commerce or exchange but where God is the President and Regulator of that exchange.  Forgiveness works in this same framework.  Our sense of evening up the score becomes transcendent of a worldly perspective, and instead it is God who is the One who oversees our negotiations.  We give up a debt and forgive in the imagery of the Lord's Prayer ("Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" - Matthew 6:12), but it is God who has the central bank where ultimately everything is collected and accounts are reconciled.  Jesus asks us to conduct our lives with an awareness that is not limited simply to a materialist, worldly perspective, but rather one in which God is present, watching, and participating in our lives -- and we are to understand our choices in this divine economy.  It's really the ultimate Judge who keeps the score, and that is what we are to keep in mind.  So our commerce with others, of all kinds, becomes much more than an exchange between ourselves and other persons.  It becomes a way of expressing our faith, our love of God, and our understanding that there is a much bigger picture that defines our conduct.  We just might also find that following Christ's teachings gets us much further even in this earthly life than if we are constantly seeking to even the score, or angle for something we think we can get.  To think outside of that worldly box is to begin to give up selfish habits; to engage in the worldly direction is to follow the road of self-centeredness and selfishness, a destination that doesn't lead to great happiness or peace in the long run, I have observed.  These guidelines by Christ form the basis for what we understand to be gracious living, good manners.  Those are the intangible goods that separate us out from the crowd, and do not depend upon material wealth but give substance and value to a person nevertheless.  In our present day, and especially with the advent of social media (it seems) we might lose sight of those intangible things that make us gracious.  But one would be surprised how far this behavior carries us in life, and even in the social media world.  Let us follow our Lord in the true spirit of His teachings, and grow in them!  For there is where our joy and peace are found.  

 

 

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

 "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 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 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."  We continue to read what is known as the Sermon on the Plain (as Jesus stood on a level place to preach, as we read in yesterday's reading, above).  Here my study bible reminds us that the "Golden Rule" of doing to others as we'd wish them to do to us is the minimum of Christian virtue.  It places humankind's desire for goodness (what Cyril of Alexandria calls "the natural law of self-love") as a basic standard of how to treat others.  It's the first step on the path to perfection of virtue; our ultimate desire as Christians is union with Christ.  What that means is that God's mercy and judgment is the standard, rather than the desire of human beings.

 "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 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."  We have to understand what Jesus is aiming at here.  Our behavior toward others is not merely conditioned by theirs toward us.  Our behavior, rather, is conditioned by our love of Christ, our relationship to God, our own choices.  Everything is negotiated through our relationship to God, which is our primary relationship.  To show mercy is to be "God-like."  Jesus teaches us a kind of dispassion, which in the ensuing years and centuries of the Church, will be the hallmark of monastic ascesis.

"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 tells us that mercy precludes human judgment.  Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over describes how an honest and generous merchant would measure bulk goods.  For instance, if one presses down a on a measure of flour, it yields a more generous amount than flower fluffed up with a lot of air remaining inside the measure.  My study bible says that the blessings God intends to put into our hearts are more generous than we can possibly contain, but that also depends on the spirit in which we ourselves give and forgive.

In yesterday's reading and commentary, we wrote that nothing Jesus says or does should be taken out of context and magnified, one passage over another.  His sayings in today's reading in the Sermon on the Plain are no exception to that.  They fit within a particular understanding and a particular goal of Christian life.  They are not abstract ways of living life, separate from a relationship to Christ, to God.  Rather, they are part and parcel of a way of living life and of seeing our place in the cosmos.  Our real goal, as Christians, is union with Christ, and all that we do -- every practice and every form of worship -- is a component of that goal and contributes to it.  With this in mind, we come to see Jesus' words as those which are teaching us to choose to be "like Him."  That is, to choose to participate in the Kingdom, to be a part of this spiritual realm.  In that context, how we treat others becomes negotiated by our participation in this Kingdom -- and not merely some form of reciprocal action based on emotions or sentimentality.  To be merciful is to seek to find His way through a situation.  It is to leave Judgment to Him.  It is to find in our love of God the help to know what it is to live the life He calls out of us, leads us into, blesses us with.  We look closely at Jesus' words, "Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom," and we see a promise of virtue.  What can God put into our bosom?  This isn't necessarily a promise of return of material goods, nor is it a promise that all people are going to treat us well in return for our mercy.  It is, rather, a promise about the gifts of the Spirit and the life that becomes a part of our own lives.  Jesus promises that our reward will be great, that we will be sons of the Most High.   His words and teachings are not about creating a kind of utopia in the world, nor does His mercy preclude justice.  Rather, He is teaching us to carry the Kingdom into the world, to participate in that Kingdom even while we are in the world, to live and grow the Kingdom of heaven within ourselves.  He is talking about what kind of human beings we can be and become on His path, His way, and through participation in His life.  This is what He offers us, what the Church understood from its most ancient inception.  We can't use abstract notions about His words to understand the aim and the goal here, which is nothing less than our own transformation.  It's interesting to compare verses in today's passage with St. Paul's quotation from Proverbs 25 in a passage in the Epistle to the Romans.  St. Paul writes, "Therefore 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.'  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:20-21).  We participate not in a Kingdom of our own making or invention, but rather in a spiritual Kingdom in which Christ is Judge.  If we would be sons of the Most High, we live to Him, and our relationships with others become negotiated through our relationship to Him.  In this sense, we ask that our debts be forgiven as we forgive those who in some sense are indebted to or who have trespassed against us (see Matthew 6:9-14).  Life's riches are those blessings of the Kingdom which help us, even to our greatest surprise, to become those who are patient and merciful, who may ask for discernment in all circumstances -- or even whose greatest hurts can be given up to God for reconciliation.  This is where He leads us.  It is not a road that makes us "perfect" in some worldly sense.  Rather, it is a road of holiness, in which God's work and Spirit can work in us, even with our struggles and flaws, which is quite something else all together.

Is it not written in your law, "I said, 'You are gods'?"

Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?" The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God." Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"?' If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him." Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.

And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true." And many believed in Him there.

- John 10:31-42

In yesterday's reading, we continued to read about the disputes in Jerusalem, between Jesus and the temple leadership. The leadership is divided about Jesus. Recent readings have been taking place at the autumn festival of the Feast of Tabernacles. Now the scene shifts three months ahead, to winter. It is the time of the Feast of Dedication, or Hannukah, the festival of lights. This is the commemoration of the rededication of the temple to the God of Israel, my study bible says, "after the Seleucid king, Antiochus Epiphanes, desecrated the temple in 167 B.C. The leaders of Israel's past are commemorated, many of whom were literal shepherds." Jesus has just given the illustration of Himself as the Good Shepherd. In yesterday's reading, He continued. At the Feast of Dedication, the leadership asks Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." He again referred to Himself as the Shepherd, and the sheep who are of His flock know Him. They know His voice. His works bear witness of Him, but they do not believe Him, because they are not of His flock. He said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."

Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?" As He is condemned by the leadership for His teaching that "I and My Father are one," Jesus refers back to the "witness" to His identity, the good works or signs He has done. The emphasis on witnessing is important to understand in terms of the theology that Jesus teaches. It is as if He is saying to us that we are responsible for understanding the revelation of God in our midst, the signs of God or of God's grace and presence. The leadership fails to discern this; it is a kind of rejection of grace, of the evidence of the presence or shining forth of God in our world.

The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God." Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"?' If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?" Jesus refers to the Scripture which tells of becoming "sons of God." In some sense, that is a sonship given by adoption, by the word of God. Jesus is referring to Psalm 82, verse 6, in which the Lord says, "I have said, 'You are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.'" Ironically, the psalm tells of the failure of the holy assembly of the God of Israel (those to whom the God's word has been given) to recognize this fact about themselves, to live up to it in righteousness and good judgment, and the resulting outcome -- that they will die like mere men, they will fall like any other ruler. Jesus compares the "gods" of the psalm to Himself, and to the witness of His good works to His Sonship. The Scripture calls them gods -- why is He therefore blaspheming?

"If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him." Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand. Again, Jesus refers to the "testimony" of His works, the signs of the Gospel. These good works are witness to the Father's presence with Him in all He does. But the time has come when the leadership wish to condemn Him. Jesus escapes.

And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true." And many believed in Him there. Though the leadership condemns Him for blasphemy, Jesus continues to find many believers among the Jewish people. Here, those who were followers of John the Baptist now follow Jesus. This is another testimony offered in the Gospel, that of John the Baptist, whose testimony, it tells us, is true.

There is a lot in today's reading about witnessing and testimony. We also come to understand concepts of God's "showing forth" -- the presence of God the Father manifest in Jesus' good works. This is also testimony, a kind of witnessing to God's presence. John the Baptist also was a witness, a true witness in spirit, who came as a holy man, testifying to the One who was to come, and identifying Jesus as that one. When we think of witnessing and testimony, can we come to terms with what this means in our own lives in a spiritual sense? What "bears witness" in your life to the work of God, the work of the Spirit in the world -- the Gift for which Christ was sent into the world and which He left with us? Do you bear witness to that gift in your own life? Do you recognize that witness or showing of the presence of God? I would invite each reader to think about this today. If the presence of the word of God conveyed sonship on those in the assembly, what does its presence do in your life? How do you witness to that? What signs have been in your life (no doubt less spectacular than those of Jesus!) that bear witness to God's presence, to the grace we have been given? Faith itself can be a sign of grace, a depth of prayer, an extraordinary gift of understanding. How do you receive testimony of sonship? Jesus has also taught, "By their fruits you shall know them." His signs are the fruits of who He is, His identity. By what fruits do you recognize the work of the Spirit in your life? What testifies to sonship?