Retaliation or Mercy?

~~~ 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ Matthew 5:38-42 ~~~

 

When I first began teaching

 I was expected to administer corporal punishment

to unruly students in my third grade classroom.

I remember one day in particular standing in the Principal's office

 with a young boy who was mostly non compliant.

 I was handed the wooden paddle, told him to bend over,

hooked a finger from my left hand into one of his belt loops

and the swats commenced.

 

On this particular day after the child

was sent to sit in the foyer to wait

I was informed by the principal that I did not paddle hard enough.

 From that day forward I never brought another student

 to the office to be disciplined with the paddle.

I could never understand how such a display of power, control,

and pain belonged in our schools.

 

Physical punishment connected to education seems to send

the wrong message to the child.

Violence is not the way to get cooperation.

 

In today's gospel we have the well known verse...

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Jesus is suggesting that his followers take the complete opposite approach.

When you have been wronged do not retaliate in kind.

There is wisdom in the saying two wrongs do not make a right...it is not logical.

Certainly Jesus never reacted with violence.

 

He reached out to those who disagreed with him and later

 to those who persecuted him.

When someone wrongs you this is your opportunity to rise above

what your initial reaction of retaliation might dictate.

 

 

As a follower of Christ we know

 that we are given the sufficient grace to respond with mercy.

No one said this would be easy.

No one said this would feel right at first.

We all want justification for our actions, especially when we have been wronged.

 

Paul is such a beautiful example of what our attitude should be...

We cause no one to stumble in anything,
in order that no fault may be found with our ministry;
on the contrary, in everything we commend ourselves
as ministers of God...

 

It takes a certain amount of detachment

to control ones desire to justify our taking 'an eye for an eye'.

 

Proverbs 24:29 sums it up for us...

Do not say, “As they did to me, so will I do to them;

I will repay them according to their deeds.”

 

If we retaliate, then we are contributing

 to the continuation of the culture of wrong doing.

 

It is only possible to follow Jesus

 if we are determined to respond to our enemies with kindness and mercy.

This may never come as our natural response,

but rather our response through the intention of our heart.

 

Our commitment to Christ requires us to also be merciful.

My prayer is that I will be up to the task when I am challenged to engage mercy.

I know there will be times when I will need an extra helping of grace.

So I ask, 'which is easier; retaliation or mercy?'

A Tale of Two Women

~~~ 2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13 ~~~ Psalm 32 ~~~ Galatians 2:16, 19-21 ~~~ Luke 7:36—8:3 ~~~

 

David lusted after Uriah's wife, Bathsheba.

He became so intent on possessing her for his own

that he set up the death of her husband.

 

The sins of David were serious, but God never hesitated to forgive him.

God waited patiently until David came to an understanding

of the gravity of his sins.

 

Then David said to Nathan,
“I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan answered David:
“The LORD on his part has forgiven your sin:
you shall not die.”

 

Bathsheba was taken in the sin of adultery by her murderous King.

As a woman she had to obey when summoned by David.

Of course this does not excuse her part in their sin of adultery.

 

 

I think we are given these two serious sins, murder and adultery,

 in the same reading today so that we might better understand.

There is no sin, no matter how grave or serious,

 that God is not capable of forgiving. 

 

Paul says

...I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me...

 

The woman in today's gospel realized she was a sinful woman.

She came to pay homage to the one she believed to be the Messiah.

 

'...she stood behind him at his feet weeping...' 

 

 She did not want to interrupt his meal she just wanted to serve him.

She came in repentance for her sins.

She came bringing the finest ointment she had.

She did not leave her gift sealed in the jar.

She cracked it open revealing the fragrant ointment.

This was the fragrance of her remorse for hers sins.

Her tears fell upon the feet of Jesus.

She used her hair, symbolic of her feminine beauty, to wipe his feet.

These feet that had walked down the dusty dirty road to the house.

 

Her humility was greater than her concern for protocol.

 She proceeded to kiss his feet.

Whose feet would you kiss today?

Tiny baby feet are typically the feet I would most likely want to kiss.

 

I can only imagine this woman's joy when she heard these words form Jesus...

“Your sins are forgiven.”

 

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” 

She came to Jesus because in her heart she believed

 he would accept her as she was...

a sinful woman. 

 

Bathsheba was ordered to appear before David.

They committed their sin together.

Two women one coming for forgiveness the other coming to commit sin.

 

God forgives all sin if we seek his forgiveness.

If we do not seek this forgiveness

how can we expect to be forgiven?

 

Two women one with beauty the other with tears.

God draws us into his presence

so that we will desire his forgiveness. 

Once forgiven we too can join Paul in proclaiming...

...I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me...

Can You Let Go?

~~~ 2 Corinthians 5:14-21~~~ Psalm 103 ~~~ Matthew 5:33-37 ~~~

 

So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away...

Perhaps this is why some refer to becoming Christian as being born again.

If we live our life in and for Christ we are putting aside our old selfish ways.

If we are to be a part of this 'new creation' then we too must be changed.

 

What are the old things that must pass away?

How do we identify the old things?

How do we slough them off?

How can we leave them behind; they represent our areas of comfort.

 

Do you really want to be a new creation?

There is something soothing about the tried and true...the old.

 

...given us the ministry of reconciliation...

Part of the new creation is our ministry of reconciliation.

Reconciling our differences with another person

removes the burrs from your heart.

Reconciling differences with another does not mean that you are the patsy

 who caves in to confrontation.

Reconciling promotes progress and good will. toward others.

When we do not reconcile our differences

we cannot possibly be included in the new creation.

Instead we are part of the stagnant waters of creation.

 

Reconciliation encourages spiritual growth and development.

Christ gave us this ministry of reconciliation

because it goes against human nature.

We are firmly attached to our feelings and beliefs

about things in our life.

Reconciliation must come from a firm desire deep within our heart.

 

 

So we are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.

 

One of the best ways that we can be genuine ambassadors for Christ

may be precisely through our ability to practice

 the ministry of reconciliation.

I say practice because it does take practice

before it comes part of who we are.

 

We have a merciful God who sent his beloved son,

Jesus, to prove the importance of reconciliation.

Jesus was a living example of reconciliation right up until his last breath

hanging on the cross.

 

In our society today we give too little emphasis on reconciling our differences...

just consider our high rate of crimes and our divorce rate.

It is much easier to walk away rather than come to an agreement

on neutral or middle ground.

 

You are called to be an Ambassador for Christ.

The blessings in return are abundant.

First be Reconciled

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua

~~~ 2 Corinthians 3:15—4:1, 3-6 ~~~ Psalm 85 ~~~ Matthew 5:20-26 ~~~

 

You cannot come to the table of the Lord and harbor

anger and hatred in your heart.

The action of walking up with your gift

 does not blot out ill will towards your neighbor.

 

Jesus went to the cross without carrying the added burden

of anger, bitterness, and hatred.

He always teaches us through his own actions and attitudes.

He always gives us access to sufficient grace to put aside

our differences with another.

We have grace available, but we may not draw from

 it when we most need it.

We can become blinded by our emotions.

 

Jesus tells us, no matter how great our gift may be for the Lord

if we are not reconciled with our neighbor

we are wasting our time.

 

 

'...leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.'

 

If you carry ill feelings in your heart

eventually you will become a bitter person.

I have had experience with a bitter person; gradually they lose sight

of how to really love. It is sad to see.
 

Jesus does not want us to hold things in our heart that will act as barriers

 to loving like he taught us to love...

like he wants us to love.

Do not let evil blind your eyes to the light of the glory of God.
 

 Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.

 

 These are not just empty words...these are words of wisdom.
If you are to be reconciled with you neighbor
it will take kindness, truth, justice, and peace.

But above all it will take humility and love.
I pray that I am up to this task of being reconciled when required.
I pray for those I find difficult to love.

Afflicted in Every Way

 

~~~ 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 ~~~ Psalm 116 ~~~ Matthew 5:27-32 ~~~

 

The Gospel passage from Matthew seems a little extreme initially.

Cut off your hand, committing adultery with your eyes,

marrying someone previously divorced

also considered an act of adultery...

So what does all of this mean for us today?

 

I think we are being admonished to be vigilant;

some sinful aspects of our life are less obvious than others.

 

Cutting a hand off or choosing to walk around blindfolded

will certainly not guarantee you will be free of sin.

Most of the time our sins begin first within our own hearts.

We are damaged merchandise when it comes to sin,

but we can practice conditioning our hearts to what is good.

 

If we practice being aware to the presence of God in our heart;

we will have more strength to avoid those occasions of sin.

 

The opportunity to sin never leaves

us whether we are alone or with others.

Certainly any part of our human flesh has the potential...

the potential for either sinfulness or holiness.

What matters is the state of your heart...your mental attitude.

Because we are basically weak it is easier to sin than to avoid sin.

 

We must be strong in our resolve

 to renounce sin in whatever form it may present itself.  

Putting God first above earthly pleasures is not easy.

 

Too many times it is our tongue that gets us into closest contact with sin.

Matthew falls short of suggesting you should cut off your tongue

 if it causes you to sin.

This is where we must remain cognizant of the words

we are using and the tone of our voice. 

 

 

St. Paul says we are but earthen vessels;

implying that we are fragile...

capable of being broken.

He says we carry within this earthen vessel the very death of Jesus.

For if we carry the death of Jesus we also carry his life.

 

Which will it be?

We are afflicted in every way...

 

What will dominate within our soul?

...always carrying about in the Body the dying of Jesus...

 

Do we truly want life to flourish in our heart or

will we tolerate the stench of death.

...so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.

 

Sin decays the soul.

The foul odor will permeate your entire being....

if you let it remain unchecked.

 

O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son (daughter) of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.

 

Bestow your grace upon me O Lord, so that I may care for the holiness of my soul.

Help me, O Lord to make your presence a reality in all parts of my life.

 

I am ready to receive your blessing and you grace.

Back to Basics

~~~ 2 Corinthians 3:4-11 ~~~ Psalm 99 ~~~ Matthew 5:17-19 ~~~

 

  Holy is the Lord our God.

Jesus sees that the elders at the time had decided to impose
more and more laws on the people...
in effect oppressing them.

In those days the people
could not pull up an app on their smart phone
 to remind them of each individual law.
We can only imagine how easily it was to unintentionally
violate one of the laws.

Jesus said, look I do value the law...
the law from God.
You know the ones written on the stone tablets given to Moses...
the Ten Commandments.

 Let's get back to the basics...let's focus on how well we are observing just those ten.
They are the laws given to us by God himself.
Who has more authority than God?

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

 

 

Jesus makes the laws even more perfect and in doing so makes them simple.

He sums up the laws in just a few words.

A few words easy enough for anyone to easily remember...

First, Love God with your whole heart, mind, body, and soul.

Second, Love your neighbor as yourself.

 

If you faithfully keep these two basic 'laws' the ones written

on stone will naturally follow.

You will be able to keep the laws given to the prophets.

 

 Jesus was not trying to criticize the current elders
as much as he was trying to show them a better way.

 

Jesus has always been about showing us a better way to live our lives.
He modeled it for us by so many real concrete examples...
just open up the New Testament to any page.
The examples of how to live a holy life jump off the pages.

As Paul says, the 'ministry of the Spirit' will be 'glorious'.

 

 The laws of God are meant to give life...
eternal life in heaven.
 

If you love God and love your neighbor all else will fall into place.

We thank you Lord for coming to show us the Way...
for coming to fulfill the law in your perfect example.

Be a Blessing for someone today.

Seasoned and Shining

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 11:21b-26; 12:1-3 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ Matthew 5:13-16 ~~~

 

It is curious that Jesus would speak of salt and light in these few short verses.

He could have easily spent more time elaborating on either topic.

 

As humans we cannot live without salt or light.

They are both equally important.

For the early followers they were very important.

Salt was a commodity.

It was used in many different ways including to seal deals between individuals.

Once their salt was mixed the deal was finalized.

Having no refrigeration, salt preserved foods from spoilage.

 

'...You are the salt of the earth...'

Today we really like the taste of salt on our foods.

Most of the snack foods on the market have a heavy dousing of salt.

We miss salt when it is omitted from a recipe.

Just a pinch of salt can bring balance to a recipe, even a dessert recipe.

 

'...You are the light of the world...'

 

Light; what can we possibly say about light

except that without light there would be no life.

One tiny match or a dying ember can ignite and entire forest.

In recent years we have seen countless forest fires

devouring our trees and homes as if they were a consumable product.

 

The power of light from any source can be harnessed for life or death.

Today Jesus is bringing to our attention that we are light in this world of so much darkness.

We can be that tiny match or even the barely glowing ember.

It takes very little for light to crack the darkness.

In the darkness our eyes search for the least little glimmer of light.

We are attracted to light.

 

 

If you truly love Jesus; it will be impossible to hide your light from others.

Not a bushel or any other object can keep the light from escaping.

Your eyes themselves shine with the love and joy you have for the Lord.

 

'...your light must shine before others...'

 

 Jesus is inviting us to be both salt and light to this world we live in now...today.

We can spread the gospel message.

For some it may be just the right sprinkling of salt,

for others it may be the light they have been searching for in their life.

 

You can be salt and or light to others in your life.

God is at work in you!

In a world full of darkness, should we not be part of the light?