Readings: 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9; 11-13, 22-23; Psalm 103; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49; Luke 6:27-38
Greetings dear brothers and sisters in the Lord.
The readings of today hardly need a homily. It is enough to just read, then sit down and allow the words to sink into us.
Let me summarise the message of the Gospel:
I. God wants us to be like Him in the way we treat others – He is good, loving, merciful and fair.
A simpler version of this is to at least:
II. Do to others, as we want to be done to us.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Remember that Jesus was talking here to a group of Jews who were under the oppression of the Romans and who believed that it was virtuous to hate the Romans. Remember that Jesus was talking to people who had lived by Exodus 21:24: eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.
These were people who thought that Jesus had come to teach them how to take revenge on the Romans and would lead them to freedom. I am very sure many people stopped following Jesus after this teaching.
Let us pause and think about what Jesus asks us to do.
•Love your enemies
•Do good to those who hate you
•Bless those who curse you
•Pray for those who abuse you
WHY SHOULD I DO THIS?
•Because this is how God treats us (Psalm 103:10-14).
•Because we are called to transform relationships and break the cycle of hatred, evil and revenge and not to perpetuate it. We are called to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21)
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good
•Because this makes us different from the world and identifies us as children of God who reflect and witness to His unconditional love and mercy.
•Because God says so and He is infinitely wiser than us.
OBJECTIONS TO THIS
You may want to object that this is impossible. You would be right to say so.
The Second Reading talks about our Adamic nature. Our nature can’t do this; it is contrary to our wounded instinct.
How, then, can this be possible?
It is only possible by the power of God’s Spirit living in us (Romans 5:5), if we allow Him to direct our lives. He is the Spirit of God, and He enables us to become like God and to do the things that God requires of us (Zechariah 4:6; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Philippians 4:13).
In today’s First Reading, we see David as a perfect example of a man who lived beyond his instinct and allowed God’s Spirit to influence him in the way he treated his worst enemy, who was the obstacle to David’s ascension.
Do you now see why David is called a man after God’s heart? Because that kind of heart is nothing but the heart of God. That is what we are called to have today – the heart of God. It is the heart of gold.
LET’S LOWER THE STANDARD
Let us even say this standard is so far from us; it is too divine. Let’s bring it down to what is fair. How fair are we to others?
I will state five canons that we can use to evaluate ourselves on this.
How do we treat those who trust us? Do we justify their trust or break it and make them look foolish for trusting us?
How do we repay those who are kind to us? Do we repay with kindness, appreciation and being kind to others in furtherance of how people have been kind to us or do we repay by ingratitude, forgetfulness or betrayal?
How do we treat people who are not like us? People who are of different colour, belief, language, ideas or status? Do we treat them with love, respect and acceptance or hatred, rejection, disrespect and injustice?
How do we treat those who are better than us? Do we acknowledge, celebrate, support and encourage them or do we envy, oppose, dislike or even conspire against them?
How do we treat those who need our help? Are we merciful, or do we ignore, disrespect, make them feel small or even help them, but not without first insulting them and their condition?
Finally, Jesus says we should do to others, as we want them to do to us. This is called the Golden Rule. Do we do to others, as we want them to do to us?
Again, let’s use five canons to assess ourselves on this.
Do you like to be forgiven and not judged when you make mistakes? Then forgive and refrain from hastily judging others.
Do you like to be respected? Do you want people to speak kindly to you and be kind in relating with you? Then respect others.
Does it disturb you when you are maligned – when people gossip about you, blackmail you, condemn you without a fair hearing, backstab you, and say horrible things about you behind your back? Then stop doing it to others.
How do you feel when you discover someone has been dishonest, unfaithful and lying to you? I know you would be mad. Are you honest, faithful, truthful and true to your words?
When you need help, how do you feel when people are not there for you? Are you there for people when they need help?
Jesus says the measure we give out is the measure we deserve to get back.
If we uphold this Golden Rule, our world, society, Church and families will all be better places than they are now and our lives will be richer, fuller and better, more peaceful, joyful and meaningful.
May this Word of God stir us to a resolution and begin a revolution within us. May we become more committed to building a better world by becoming better persons, by becoming who we are created to be – children of God or put better, children like God.
Sermon Preached by Fr Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on February 23, 2025