SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
23 FEBRUARY 2025
David’s
victory over the Philistine Goliath made him very popular. However, King Saul resented David and became
convinced that David was trying to replace him as king. Even though his son Jonathan told him that it
was not true, Saul was blinded by jealousy and paranoia. Saul pursued David
with the intent to kill him. In today’s
first reading, David has a chance for revenge.
Finding Saul in a kind of sleep deliberately induced by God, David can
end the king’s unfair treatment of him.
But, instead, he takes the king’s spear that is thrust in the ground at
his head and waves it from a nearby hill.
Even if the law would have allowed his justifiable taking of an eye for
an eye, David does not kill the king. He
recognizes the king as the Lord’s anointed, and he will not harm him.
Many
centuries later, David becomes an example of how a disciple of Jesus Christ
should act. He is compassionate,
forgiving, and humbly respectful of God’s dominion. As the son of David, Jesus teaches his
disciples to follow his ancestor’s example.
He teaches them to do what he will do at the end of his life. From his agony on the cross, he will forgive
his enemies who have treated him unjustly.
He will sacrifice his life for sinners, who do not deserve such a gift
of love and who cannot repay him for his total gift of self. After being raised from the dead, he will
expect his disciples to do the same thing.
Today, he outlines the pattern of behavior for all who call themselves
his disciples.
He tells us
that we must love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who
curse us, and pray for those who mistreat us.
Although this teaching seems impossible, disciples like Martin Luther
King and Nelson Mandela have shown us that it is possible to love in this
manner. Along with martyrs through
history, they have known that loving enemies does not involve warm feelings
toward those who hate them. Rather,
authentic love involves wanting the best for a person, leaving what is best for
that person to God’s justice.
Mercy and
forgiveness are part of the love of the Father of Jesus and made visible by his
death on the cross. All of us have been
hurt, and some more deeply than others.
Forgiving someone who has hurt us deeply does not mean that the
offending person did no wrong. Instead,
true forgiveness means that we are willing to move beyond our feelings of
revenge and anger and rage to accept the peace that only God can give.
Years ago,
another priest hurt me very deeply.
Knowing the demands of today’s Gospel, I decided to forgive him and let
it go. But, it was much more difficult
than expected. Just when I thought that
I had truly forgiven him, I would see him at a priests’ meeting and wanted to
put my hands around his neck and strangle him!
It took a long time to let go, and I often brought my desire to forgive to
the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As I
brought that desire to the Sacrament, I began to understand that the Lord’s
forgiveness of my own sins gave me the grace to extend that mercy to the one who
had betrayed me. It took time, but it
finally happened.
If you have
been deeply hurt, don’t be afraid to bring your pain to the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. If you have suffered
abuse in any way, please be humble enough to seek the help of a professional
therapist. What Jesus did on the cross
in an instant can take a long time for us to heal. But, we need to realize that the anger and
resentment that builds up in us has no effect on an enemy who has offended
us. Instead, we become angry and resentful
people in a world already infected by so many negative and poisonous
emotions. We are disciples of Jesus
Christ, who trust that he will be with us as we try to love our enemies. We can make imitate his sacrifice of love by
extending to others the gift the Lord has given to us.
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