Word to the Wise
Monday, March 1, 2021 - 2nd Week of Lent - Mon
[Dan 9:4b-10 and Luke 6:36-38]"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed togetherm shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you." [Luke]
The biblical "measure" was a large amount and Luke adds the image of shaking down and packing more in! When I think of this image, I remember when an uncle shipped a hundred pound sack to pecans to me in the seminary. I was sitting in a chair when two brothers came up behind me and then laid that huge sack of pecans in my lap! Thank goodness they didn't open it! Luke wants us to get the right idea of generosity in mercy! The gospel passage is not about belongings but about being merciful "as your Father is merciful!"
Do we find it easier to be generous with things like money, time, and talent but not with mercy and forgivness? Those "interior" aspects do seem to be harder to share or sometimes even to find! But Jesus promises us that being generous with mercy and stingy with judgment will bring great rewards. Maybe this Lent we can try that and even make a habit of it! AMEN