BE MERCIFUL AS YOUR FATHER IS MERCIFUL

VII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 6:27-38

Being created in the image of God, we should reflect His inner qualities in our lives and behaviour.

In the Holy Scripture, three passages set forward the ideal proposed to us by God:

• “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” (Lev 19:2)
• “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).
• “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36)

According to the letter to Ephesians, God “chose us in him (Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ep 1;4). Holiness is the goal God established for us. Once we achieve that, we will be perfect, as the Father is perfect. We may think that God is aiming too high, proposing to us something unachievable. Indeed, by our means, we will not get there. However, he will grant us the perfection in Christ. For that, we must become one with Christ, and the image of Christ must be present in us. It is a long way that demands effort and continuous conversion, only possible by God’s grace. Having received mercy from God, we must be merciful to others. God’s compassion and mercifulness are the clearest signs of his holiness.

In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus presents the path of mercy to his disciples: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly.” It is a difficult path because our hearts, moved by a false sense of pride, are set on vengeance. Inside our hearts, we carry Cain, allowing ourselves to be dominated by jealousy and envy that lead us to violence.

In the first reading, we are presented with David as a role model for the greatness of exercising mercy within the political realm. David had done nothing to provoke Saul’s wrath. On the contrary, he had been a faithful servant. He was on the run to escape from Saul’s pursuit. Then, he had the opportunity to avenge himself and kill his enemies, However, with gracefulness, David chose to leave revenge in the hands of God. Vengeance belongs to God:

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Ro 12:19)

Let us learn with Jesus to be merciful, thus imitating the Father who as been merciful to us.