How many people here today want to go to Heaven? (Let me see your hands) I know I do – looks like we all do – and why wouldn’t we want to go to heaven – if there was such a thing as a dumb question that may well be it.
But let me ask each of you this question though and you don’t have to raise your hands for it – how many people here today do what we hear in the Gospel – how many of us love our enemies, how many of us do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, pray for those who mistreat us?
It wouldn’t surprise me if a number of people here today could and would put their hands up because it isn’t impossible – it may well be counter culture to love our enemies – it is a radical idea to pray for those who mistreat us – it is Jesus Christ – and it is possible – as He hung dying on the cross what did Jesus ask His Father for – for mercy for each of us – “forgive them Father, for they know not what they do”.
Jesus demonstrated for us on the cross divine forgiveness and mercy – it is what each of us, as the Body of Christ, are called to do – we are called to be merciful and we are called to be forgiving – especially when the person we are dealing with doesn’t deserve (in the eyes of the world) our mercy or our forgiveness. Why – because that is how our Father in Heaven is – merciful – even though we don’t deserve it – and it is Jesus, who stands at the right hand of his Father and pleads for mercy for each of us. If Christianity is a superior religion, the way to show it is not by endless arguments and debates about the true religion but by the superior moral conduct of Christians.
Now I know you have heard it said that we are to “love our neighbor” and today Jesus says we are to “love our enemies” – and some commenting on these commandments describe them as opposite ends of a continuum – love your neighbor on one end and love your enemies on the other end, and they say that it is the cross that joins those two commandments together and makes them possible – but I say those two commandments – love your neighbors and love your enemies – are one and the same.
When Jesus said we are to love our neighbors as ourselves He didn’t say our neighbors are only those people who love us – today He qualifies for us that our neighbors are anyone and everyone – but especially those who hate us or persecute us – we are to love them, we are to forgive them and we are to pray for them. Each of us are called to be supernatural, to be radical, to be counter culture.
“If we love those who love us – what credit is that to us – even sinners love those who love them AND if we do good to those who do good to us, what credit is that to us – even sinners do the same.”
Another popular phase taken from our Gospel reading today is a fundamental moral principle found in virtually all major religions and cultures – what is commonly referred to as The Golden Rule – “do to others as you would have them do to you”. This should not be confused with the saying “an eye for an eye” because that is not what Jesus commands us to do today – we are to be merciful and not extract even our due retribution or justice on those who mistreat us – as Mahatma Gandhi once said: “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”.
Some have commented that the Golden rule should be “treat others as they expect to be treated” – but I say to them we should treat others in a manner BETTER than they expect to be treated, BETTER than we expect them to treat us” – then we can be certain that we will always be fulfilling Gods commandment to treat others as we would have them treat us.
We all know what it is that we want, we want to spend eternity in heaven with God – and we who hear the Word of God today, know what we are called to do, we are called to be Christ in this fallen world, we are called to be examples of Christian mercy and forgiveness – when the world cries out for vengeance – we are called to cry out for mercy – when the world silences and mistreats those who have no voice in our society (the poor, the immigrants, the unwanted pregnancy) – we are called to cry out for justice – we are called to be lights in the darkness – do not be afraid – let your light shine, follow Christ to the Cross – when the world practices random acts of violence we are called to random acts of kindness; when the world experiences senseless killing – we are called to senseless giving; and as the world practices materialism and self-centered living – each of us are called to self-sacrificing giving.
Love your enemies and do good to them – and your reward will be great and you will be children of God – because He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked – we too must do the same. There are three ways we can practice mercy – our actions, our words, and our prayers.
The good news today is that our God is kind and merciful and I believe each of us here today will see each other in heaven, not because we are saints now or because I know your hearts, each of us will be in heaven one day because I know His heart and it is merciful.
So as we prepare ourselves to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist today – let us remember the words we pray at every Mass – forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us – let us ask ourselves do we really want God to forgive us the way we forgive others?
But let me ask each of you this question though and you don’t have to raise your hands for it – how many people here today do what we hear in the Gospel – how many of us love our enemies, how many of us do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, pray for those who mistreat us?
It wouldn’t surprise me if a number of people here today could and would put their hands up because it isn’t impossible – it may well be counter culture to love our enemies – it is a radical idea to pray for those who mistreat us – it is Jesus Christ – and it is possible – as He hung dying on the cross what did Jesus ask His Father for – for mercy for each of us – “forgive them Father, for they know not what they do”.
Jesus demonstrated for us on the cross divine forgiveness and mercy – it is what each of us, as the Body of Christ, are called to do – we are called to be merciful and we are called to be forgiving – especially when the person we are dealing with doesn’t deserve (in the eyes of the world) our mercy or our forgiveness. Why – because that is how our Father in Heaven is – merciful – even though we don’t deserve it – and it is Jesus, who stands at the right hand of his Father and pleads for mercy for each of us. If Christianity is a superior religion, the way to show it is not by endless arguments and debates about the true religion but by the superior moral conduct of Christians.
Now I know you have heard it said that we are to “love our neighbor” and today Jesus says we are to “love our enemies” – and some commenting on these commandments describe them as opposite ends of a continuum – love your neighbor on one end and love your enemies on the other end, and they say that it is the cross that joins those two commandments together and makes them possible – but I say those two commandments – love your neighbors and love your enemies – are one and the same.
When Jesus said we are to love our neighbors as ourselves He didn’t say our neighbors are only those people who love us – today He qualifies for us that our neighbors are anyone and everyone – but especially those who hate us or persecute us – we are to love them, we are to forgive them and we are to pray for them. Each of us are called to be supernatural, to be radical, to be counter culture.
“If we love those who love us – what credit is that to us – even sinners love those who love them AND if we do good to those who do good to us, what credit is that to us – even sinners do the same.”
Another popular phase taken from our Gospel reading today is a fundamental moral principle found in virtually all major religions and cultures – what is commonly referred to as The Golden Rule – “do to others as you would have them do to you”. This should not be confused with the saying “an eye for an eye” because that is not what Jesus commands us to do today – we are to be merciful and not extract even our due retribution or justice on those who mistreat us – as Mahatma Gandhi once said: “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”.
Some have commented that the Golden rule should be “treat others as they expect to be treated” – but I say to them we should treat others in a manner BETTER than they expect to be treated, BETTER than we expect them to treat us” – then we can be certain that we will always be fulfilling Gods commandment to treat others as we would have them treat us.
We all know what it is that we want, we want to spend eternity in heaven with God – and we who hear the Word of God today, know what we are called to do, we are called to be Christ in this fallen world, we are called to be examples of Christian mercy and forgiveness – when the world cries out for vengeance – we are called to cry out for mercy – when the world silences and mistreats those who have no voice in our society (the poor, the immigrants, the unwanted pregnancy) – we are called to cry out for justice – we are called to be lights in the darkness – do not be afraid – let your light shine, follow Christ to the Cross – when the world practices random acts of violence we are called to random acts of kindness; when the world experiences senseless killing – we are called to senseless giving; and as the world practices materialism and self-centered living – each of us are called to self-sacrificing giving.
Love your enemies and do good to them – and your reward will be great and you will be children of God – because He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked – we too must do the same. There are three ways we can practice mercy – our actions, our words, and our prayers.
The good news today is that our God is kind and merciful and I believe each of us here today will see each other in heaven, not because we are saints now or because I know your hearts, each of us will be in heaven one day because I know His heart and it is merciful.
So as we prepare ourselves to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist today – let us remember the words we pray at every Mass – forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us – let us ask ourselves do we really want God to forgive us the way we forgive others?
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