Word to the Wise
Monday, February 26, 2024 - 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 down together, 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]
When I was a grade school student, attending the small Catholic elementary school in my hometown, the state of Louisiana granted a number of textbooks and school supplies on a regular basis. One of the school supplies was a foot long ruler made of yellow pine with the "Golden Rule" printed on it: DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU! That rule is an ancient one and it is at the center of Jesus' words to us in today's gospel scripture, which is taken from St. Luke's version of the Sermon on the Mount (which in St. Luke is given on a plain!). Jesus' admonition is to "be merciful just as your Father is merciful."
It is not easy to think about that admonition - that Golden Rule - in daily life. Generally we may think if we are nice to other people, they will be nice to us. That's the easy part. But if we are called to discern the qualifications or skills of someone for a particular task, how do we approach that? Do we discern them as we would want to be discerned? The variety of circumstances is enormous. I have had to make decisions about other peoples' lives that were very difficult. I've been a religious superior and a formation director as well as the director of a number of Catholic student centers at universities. I have had to pray for both mercy and wisdom many a time that I am acting toward the other as I would have them judge me.
One thing that could escape our attention is that Jesus challenges us to unconditional mercy. Our generosity cannot be conditioned on reciprocity. The "I scratch your back, you scratch mine!" of political life is not Jesus' way of life. Jesus' challenge can be an uncomfortable one, but if we want to be his disciples, we have to follow his golden rules! AMEN