20250223 BE MODELLED ON THE HEAVENLY MAN
23 February 2025, Sunday, 7th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Samuel 26:2,7-9,11-13,22-23 |
Do not lift your hand against the Lord's anointed
Saul set off and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, accompanied by three thousand men chosen from Israel to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph.
In the dark David and Abishai made their way towards the force, where they found Saul lying asleep inside the camp, his spear stuck in the ground beside his head, with Abner and the troops lying round him.
Then Abishai said to David, ‘Today God has put your enemy in your power; so now let me pin him to the ground with his own spear. Just one stroke! I will not need to strike him twice.’ David answered Abishai, ‘Do not kill him, for who can lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt? The Lord forbid that I should raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed! But now take the spear beside his head and the pitcher of water and let us go away.’ David took the spear and the pitcher of water from beside Saul’s head, and they made off. No one saw, no one knew, no one woke up; they were all asleep, for a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.
David crossed to the other side and halted on the top of the mountain a long way off; there was a wide space between them. He called out, ‘Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the soldiers come across and take it. The Lord repays everyone for his uprightness and loyalty. Today the Lord put you in my power, but I would not raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 102(103):1-4,8,10,12-13 |
The Lord is compassion and love.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
The Lord is compassion and love.
It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.
The Lord is compassion and love.
The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.
The Lord is compassion and love.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.
As a father has compassion on his sons,
the Lord has pity on those who fear him.
The Lord is compassion and love.
Second reading |
1 Corinthians 15:45-49 |
The first Adam became a living soul; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit
The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, first the one with the soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit. The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we in heaven. And we, who have been modelled on the earthly man, will be modelled on the heavenly man.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ac16:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn13:34 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I give you a new commandment:
love one another just as I have loved you,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 6:27-38 |
Love your enemies
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’
BE MODELLED ON THE HEAVENLY MAN
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 SM 26: 2,7-9,11-13, 22-23; 1 COR 15:45-49; LK 6:27-38]
In the second reading of the letter of St Paul to the Corinthians, St Paul speaks of the resurrected life that we are called to share with our Risen Lord. What is this resurrected life? It is indescribable but one thing is clear, our body would be transformed but more importantly, we will be infused by the Holy Spirit and not merely by our soul which belongs to the human person. Sharing the life of Christ and being transformed in His likeness, we are to anticipate this final destiny by modelling our life on the heavenly man and not the earthly man. In other words, we must already live the resurrected life and not merely the earthly, or even worse, the worldly life.
So, what does this life consist of? The fundamental principle is compassion. In the gospel, Luke sums up Jesus’ teaching on giving and forgiveness in these words, “Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.” So, to live the heavenly life presupposes that we are compassionate in our dealing with others and with ourselves. A life of compassion is the life of God. In the history of salvation, again and again, in spite of God’s love for His people, they would betray Him and turned against Him. But God would forgive them and bring them back. His love for His people is faithful.
What is compassion? It is a heart that shares the passion of God for our brothers and sisters. It is a heart that beats with passion for the aspirations and sufferings of our brothers and sisters. This is why God sent His Son into the world so that no one can say that God does not feel with us or does not understand the struggles of humanity, especially against sin and temptation of the flesh. Jesus who assumed our humanity as the letter of Hebrews tells us, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” (Heb 5:7-9)
The most basic form of compassion is to give to those who are in need. “Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount.” We are called to feel the sufferings of those who are poor and those in need, especially strangers, as our Lord said to us in the Parable of the Last Judgement.
But it is not enough to give to anyone in need beyond the circle of our loved ones. The Lord even exhorts us to give to our enemies as well, and those who have caused us injustice. “Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you.” So those who have done us injustice, we are called to understand what led them to steal or cheat us. The truth is that beyond what they did, they are people who may have been led astray, are confused and wounded because of their upbringing and the hostile environment they came from. They too need mercy.
This demands that we love our enemies. This is the second level of compassion. It goes beyond giving to forgiving. The Lord said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic.” But we can love our enemies, tolerate their ignorance, greed, vindictiveness and dishonesty only when we are our strong in love. In other words, without the love and compassion of God in us, we cannot act in such a manner because the way of the world is to render human justice, which is simply a just repayment or penalty for the sufferings we have caused to others. It is the old principle of “an eye for an eye”, which seems “just”, because such a law prevents one from over-retaliation for the wrong done to one.
But this is not the way, God loves us. He loves us unconditionally and forgives us. We might suffer the consequences of our sins but God does not punish us as such. Rather, we punish ourselves. God’s mercy and forgiveness is greater than our sins. God continues to have hope for so-called incorrigible sinners to repent. Of course, this might take the death of an innocent person or martyr to awaken the conscience of many. This has been the case of our Lord who suffered an unjust death on the cross to bring about the forgiveness of sins and inspire us to do likewise when dealing with our enemies.
This compassion of God is what the psalmist proclaims for all generations. “My soul, give thanks to the Lord and never forget all his blessings. It is he who forgives all your guilt, who heals every one of your ills, who redeems your life from the grave, who crowns you with love and compassion. The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy. He does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our faults. As far as the east is from the west so far does he remove our sins. As a father has compassion on his sons, the Lord has pity on those who fear him.”
What is the reward for those who do not judge or condemn? We will receive mercy and consolation ourselves. The Lord says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned.” Jesus taught at the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” (Mt 5:7) St James says,” So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” (Jms 2:12f) St Paul wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God.” (1 Cor 1:3f)
Secondly, what we give out, we will receive much more than what we expect. “Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.” This gift might not be seen in material or monetary terms, but the joy of giving, of transforming lives, and of knowing that we are instruments in giving hope and meaning to others is a joy beyond what this world can offer. It is the joy of God in our hearts.
Today, we are called to imitate the compassion and fidelity of David to Saul. Even when he was misunderstood and persecuted by Saul, he never overstepped his boundary. In spite of Saul’s insecurity and jealousy, David respected him as the Anointed One of God. He would not raise his hands against him even though he had the opportunity. He chose the way of magnanimity, forgiveness and faithfulness to God and to His Anointed One. By returning back the spear to King Saul, it was a very significant gesture because he was giving Saul back the very spear that he sought to kill him earlier on because he felt threatened by David’s success. David was a righteous man and remained loyal to Saul.
We who have received the Spirit of Jesus, the Heavenly man are also called to do likewise. We must put on Christ by living as we are, the sons of the Most High, since God Himself is “kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” By so doing, we would have a great reward, because we can claim ourselves to be truly bearing the likeness of Christ, the Son of God. When we do so, we are already anticipating the life that we will have when we die and rise with Him. What more blessed life can one have than to live the life of Christ already!
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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