1 Sam 26:2,7-9,11-13,22-23; Ps 102 (103); 1 Cor 15:45-49; Lk 6:27-38
The Measure of Goodness
Dear friends, today is the seventh Sunday in Ordinary time. We have one more Sunday before we begin Lenten Time. Today the readings remind us that we should treat others not as good or bad as they are but as good as we say we are. We cannot boast that we are good if our goodness only lasts as long as others are good. The true measure of your goodness is how you treat those who are not good to you.
In the first reading, King Saul hated David because of pure jealousy. This is because David had God’s favor. After all, he trusted in Him. He sought to do harm to him and even pursued him to kill him. When David found Saul asleep and defenseless, his friend Abishai told him it was a God-given chance to finish his enemy. That was not true, and David knew better. God does not give us opportunities to finish our enemies but rather a chance to measure our goodness. David refused to be turned into a killer by his friends. We too must neither delight in the predicaments of our enemies nor take advantage of their weakness. It is sad to hear people inviting others for prayer meetings to finish their enemies. This is not Christian at all. How many times our friends have instigated us to revenge? How many times have you capitalized on the weakness of the people you do not like?
The Psalmist reminds us that the Lord is compassionate and loving always. God’s goodness does not depend on what we do or do not do but on his loving nature. That is why we say God is good all the time but we are sometimes good and sometimes we are bad.
The Gospel presents us with very clear guidelines on how we are supposed to treat others if we are true followers of Jesus. The measure of our goodness is how we treat those who hate us. If we treat others the same way they treat us, whether good or bad, then we have nothing to boast about it. A faithful Christian will always face opposition because he or she stands in the way of the evil one. A real Christian must not expect honor and praise from the world. If everyone praises you, probably you might be doing what they want or telling them what they want to hear and not what you believe to be true. Jesus himself faced a lot of opposition for refusing to be like the other teachers (the Pharisees and the Scribes). Are you facing any opposition because you have chosen to do the right thing in your position?
“Do not judge and you will not be judged”. Every time you speak ill of someone, you have already passed judgment on them. If you think about it, you will realize that many things we know about people that make us hate them are secondhand information that we cannot even verify. If you know stuff (mostly bad ones) about someone that is not from him or her and that you cannot verify, then you are a gossip. How many bad things (including secrets) do you know about your neighbours, your colleagues at work, and your community members? How did you come to know them? Are you, not a gossip and a rumour monger?
The same amount we measure for others will be measured for us. In simple terms, it means that we cannot treat others badly and expect the Lord to bless us. If you sow seeds of love, you will reap love. If you sow hatred, you will reap the same. As we struggle to live according to the Gospel values, we will always have the world opposed to us. This is not something that we can stop unless we join the world. Are you tired of doing the right thing?
It is always difficult to speak well or even forgive those who treat us badly when we regard ourselves beyond reproach. However, if we consider ourselves also in need of mercy, it becomes easier to forgive. The people who do bad things have been sick in the soul, they need healing and not hating them back. Compassion can change the hardest of all hearts, but we need to be very patient about it. Jesus prayed for his killers, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do” (Lk 23:34).
Dear friends, today I would like to invite us to evaluate ourselves and see if our goodness is like that of God or if we are only good to those who are good to us. We can only be true followers of Christ if we imitate him in his goodness to all including those who hate us.
Have a blessed Sunday.
Fr. Lawrence Muthee, SVD
SVD JAMBO KENTAN 