Seventh Sunday In Ordinary Time

1.  "There's no rest of the wicked" - how often have we heard that phrase? However there is even less rest for the Christian according to this Sunday's gospel. St. Ignatius of Loyola in his spiritual Exercises speaks of a meditation on The Two Standards or Two Flags. The Standard of Satan and the Standard of Christ. Those who follow Christ were described in the Beatitudes in Last Sunday's liturgy.  Blessed are the poor and the hungry, and those who mourn, those who are persecuted for the sake of Christ.  St. Ignatius wrote using military terminology: The Gospel today is the Battle plan for the Kingdom of God. It spells out in detail the "modus operandi" the way of behaving of those who continue to be Blessed, those who continue to follow Christ. It involves a Radical generosity a Radical way of loving a Radical way of forgiving.

2.  A radical generosity is seen in our first reading when David spares the life of King Saul. At first sight it seems to be a story of forgiveness. This is the second of two stories in which David spares the life of Saul. God had already reject Saul as King as we real in Ch.16 of 1. Samuel. There we find the priest Samuel anointing David as King. However Saul has not been deposed. Saul is not dead. Saul is still the King. There is an animosity between David and Saul like between Jean Chretien and Paul Martin (or between Al Gore and George Bush). The comparison stops there. Although there will be a public reconciliation between David and Saul, and even a blessing of Saul on David, there is no friendship, no trust.

2a. When David spares Saul's life it is not a question of forgiveness but of generosity. David does not make a moral decision whether it is right or wrong to kill. Our present day hawks would say it is self defence or casualty of war. David does not make a moral decision, but a faith decision. The decision not to kill Saul on two occasions is because Saul was the anointed of God. It was not a forgiveness of Paul, but a reverence of God that prevents David from using the sword, or raising the spear. Henceforth David will obey God. Hence forth he will trust in God whose generosity knows no limit.

3.  A radical way of loving is the second picture giving in the following of Christ. There was and is, three types of love. Eros, Philos and Agape.

 - Eros is the passionate, physical love. Very beautiful, but it has received a bad rap from pornography and from the Hollywood type of loving.

 - Philos is the tender, caring love between couples, parents an children, brothers and sisters, deaf friends. As the Latin phrase goes: "Dimidium animae meae" The one who is half of my very heart, half of my soul.

 - Agape. This is both of the above and then some. It is a selfless love that seeks only the joy, the happiness and wellbeing of the love one. It is a benevolent not patronizing love. It seeks good of the loved one, regardless of whether they deserve or merit the love. Jesus sets this third love as the measuring stick of those who follow his standard.  There is no way we can love like this except and unless we learn it from Jesus himself. And the school of this love is at the foot of the cross. It is a love that can be seen in excruciating pain of crucifixion:

In apparent despair:    "My God, my God why have you abandoned me."

In forgiveness:     "Father forgive them, they know not what they do."

In care of the marginalized:    "this day you will be with me in Paradise."

In thinking of others:  "Woman, behold your son. Behold your mother."

That is the standard of love, a radical love to which we are invited. There are no loopholes in radical love. A wise person once said, "we often say, I will love everyone, even those who harmed me, but do not expect me to like them." Ah, but that is the challenge. If the love of agape, love of wishing well for the other, wanting the well being of the one who is to be love - then we will have to take that extra step to find what is likeable in them. As John Veltri would say, "Fake it until you make it." That is why it is called radical love. There are no loopholes, no escape clauses.

4.  And then there is Radical Forgiveness. This is lifestyle is either a prelude to radical generosity and radical love - or it follows on as a fruit of being loving and generous. Forgiveness is tough because we remember the hurt and pain. That memory is a natural defence mechanism to prevent us from being hurt again. How can I love my enemy if they are going to stab me in the back when I embrace them? Furthermore we might even excuse ourselves in saying Jesus did not have in his time the horrors of our day:

     gang rape to control the conquered

     paedophiles whose destruction through sexual abuse - are too

     horrid to imagine ethnic cleansing and genocide.

4a.  Yes even this radical forgiveness is possible. No human words or logic can entice us or coax us to forgive in this manner, only the example of others. Jesus forgave, but then Jesus was God and that was 2000 years ago. However Jesus does not leave us without prophets today: like

Corrie Ten Boom (1892-1983), who saved the lives of so many Jews during the Nazi persecution - even to the extent of her family being in prison,

Maximilian Kolbe - who gave his life for one of his fellow prisoners.

Bud Welch: who did not seek the death penalty of Timothy McVeigh of the Oklahoma Bombing - even though Welch's daughter was killed in the bombing.

 "When my daughter, Julie, was killed, I joined a "club" that I wish had no members: The price of admission is too high. I know the pain of losing a loved one because of a senseless act of violence.   I will stand with other families who have lost loved ones to unnecessary violence, and I will be with Tim McVeigh's family as they prepare to be victimized in a political event, staged by the Government of these United States."

Any person can seek revenge; it takes a person of royal blood to grant a pardon.  And that is the seal with which we were anointed at our baptism.

From my own personal experience I have found that forgiveness heals me more than the person that has caused me hurt. "To say I forgive you if someone has not asked forgiveness is arrogance." - but I can start that process in my heart whether the hurt is real or imagined. This is the beginning of healing.

It helps in a love that seeks to be benevolent, that seeks the good of the other whoever they may be.

     It is a love that is radical.

     It is a love that is Christlike.

And when we do that Blessed are we.