http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/091009.shtml
September 10, 2009
Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. Colossians 3:12-15
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful. Luke 6:35-36
Piety
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Psalm 150:6
Study
At the Easter Vigil, our choir has an antiphon that they lead after each baptism: “You have put on Christ. In Him you have been baptized. Alleluia! Alleluia!”
Today, the readings from Paul’s letter and Luke’s gospel teach us more about what it means to “put on Christ.” It is not just a symbolic white tunic worn for baptism. It is the tunic which can not be removed.
However, our actions may not be congruent with our sacramental life. We can wear the white tunic of Baptism yet act as if we do not really know the Lord. If we know the Lord and act accordingly, then we will display what St. Paul tries to bring out in the people of Colossae: “heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another.”
Luke goes on step further. If we have to change anything, we have to change our judgmental attitudes toward each other. “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” (Luke 6:37-38) Our humility and patience will be rewarded with forgiveness and generosity.
The notes in the NAB explain that of particular concern is not to pass judgment in a spirit of arrogance, forgetful of one's own faults. Luke goes so far as to use the term “hypocrite” (the designation previously given to the scribes and Pharisees) to the Christian disciple who is concerned with the faults of another and ignores his own more serious offenses. Or as the line in Godspell/Matthew/Luke challenges, “Why do you look at the speck of dust (splinter) that is in your brother's eye and never notice the plank (wooden beam) that is in your own eye?”
Probably the most often quoted scripture passage is the famous John 3:16. Yet how many also remember what follows that quote about God’s love of the world? “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn (judge) the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:17
In his homily last Sunday (September 6), Fr. Ephrem Houndje explained that “God does not come to take revenge on human beings, but he comes to save human beings from their sin by the vengeance of his love, which is manifested in human flesh.”
We should leave our judging and turn instead to Jesus and his “vengeance of love.” Perhaps with all the judging that happens in the world, John 3:17 may be the most forgotten or overlooked passage. When we put on Christ but do not act like Christ, we turn away from the light and retreat back into the darkness.
Action
What is our wooden beam that makes us blind? Jesus can make the blind see but only we can remove our own wooden beams. Loving our enemies is the action is what will separate us from the rest of the world…
Think of our political enemies from the past.
The British: Now our closest ally.
The Germans: Now sitting at our side in the Security Council and quencher of or thirst for the Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes Benz.
The Italians: The proud supplier of music, art and food to enhance our culture and recipient of our traveling dollars.
The Japanese: Provider of high quality products and services and huge trading partner.
What role will our enemies of today play in our future? The Cubans. The Iranians. The Iraqis’. The North Koreans. Can we imagine loving all of our enemies as a way that people will know that we are Christians by our love?
