Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jan 08 2025

Scripture Study for

Much of Leviticus focuses on God’s formative intentions for Israel by repeating often the phrase, “Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” These words punctuate a section of ethical and cultic laws scholars call the Holiness Code (chapters 17–26). The command put forward in the reading this week is exemplary of the ethical commands, and it highlights that these commands are meant to form one’s “heart.” One is not to hate even secretly, or to “cherish” a grudge. Instead, Israelites are called to love one another as much as they love themselves. Thus, they will become as holy as their God.

Paul comes back to an earlier concern, which is the divisions among the Corinthians (1:10–17), the fruit of “the wisdom of this world.” Paul, Apollos, and Cephas (Peter) are not leaders of factions, but coworkers and instruments of God’s construction of a temple, the Corinthians as a whole (the “you” here is plural). Divisions form when one considers oneself part of an “in-group” and derives self

worth from that membership (“boasting about human beings”). Paul reminds the Corinthians that their worth comes not from “belonging” to human beings, but to Christ, who himself belongs to God. By virtue of this fact, everything belongs to them. So they can stop trying to gain their worth through posturing and division.

Jesus has been instructing his disciples how the Law is intended to form a certain kind of person. Now he turns to the theme of retaliation. The ancient lex talionis is meant to limit vengeance (Exodus 21:23–24; Leviticus 24:19–20). Jesus deepens this point by commanding his followers to reject vengeance altogether, and further, to respond to demands with generosity. Jesus’ command to love enemies is founded on the observable fact that God also shows kindness to the unjust and the bad (who might be considered God’s “enemies”). Just as Israel was commanded to be holy as God is holy, so Jesus’ followers are commanded to be “perfect” as God is perfect.

Dec 10 2024

Scripture Study for

Although Saul had been chosen by God to lead Israel, he is eventually rejected because of his disobedience. God replaces him with David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). The transfer of power is protracted, however, as Saul refuses to cede to David. In their struggle, David is shown to be both clever and righteous. Despite the fact that he has Saul in his power and can easily kill him, David refuses to do so, recognizing that despite everything Saul is in fact “the Lord’s anointed.” This is one of several scenes illustrating that David, for all his failings and sins, is nevertheless ultimately a man of “justice and faithfulness.”

Having affirmed for the Corinthians that the resurrection of Christ and eventually their own resurrections are real, Paul now turns to the peculiar nature of this resurrection, which involves simultaneously a restoration and a transformation of the “natural” body into a “spiritual” body, which is nevertheless a real “body.” Adam had a natural body and so all his descendants do as well. But Christians also bear the heavenly or spiritual image of Christ, the new Adam. Thus, while we now possess merely natural bodies, we have within us the image of the heavenly Adam, and this image is the “seed,” so to speak, and assurance of the spiritual body we will possess one day.

In his teaching on “doing to others as you would have them do to you,” Jesus challenges his listeners not only to reimagine their response to unreasonable demands, but also (and especially) to reimagine their own self-images. The logic of his teaching demands that they place themselves in the place of those who make such demands, which begins to erode any notion of moral superiority. He pursues this line of thought by pointing out that very often we are only generous with others when we can expect something in return. Our own generosity is often, perhaps rarely, as selfless as we might think. This in turn challenges our comfort in judging others. The ultimate point is that in the end, we are all more or less undeserving of God’s mercy or forgiveness, and yet we all receive it.

Dec 10 2024

Looking Your Enemy in the Eye

I will never forget the child-soldier stories from moral theology class. Our professor had worked with children in Uganda. He talked about how the Ugandan Resistance Army (LRA) would intentionally malform the conscience of their eight-year-old abductees. They made them sit on the bodies of their dead parents. Their friends were shot in front of them. When they trained the new boys to kill, most importantly they told them, “Do not look your enemy in the eye.”

You and I might not live in the horrible world of a Ugandan child soldier. Our enemies might not be so obvious. But what happens to our conscience if we do not look our enemy in the eye? They become inconsequential, of no importance. We can justify doing anything to them.

In today’s story of David and Saul, the young shepherd wrestles with his conscience. He’s got the king in his grasp. Saul has been horrible to him, hunted him down as an enemy. Now, David has the chance to kill him. But he doesn’t. The key line of the story is actually the line that comes after today’s reading ends. David says, “I regarded your life as precious today.” He sees Saul’s value through God’s eyes. He cannot kill him.

Twice in today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” Why? Because the Most High is “kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” God looks the most wayward in the eye and sees his/her value.

God looks at you and me as precious. God has looked us in the eye and seen our worth. No matter how far we fall short, we are loved. That is the mercy that we have received. That is the mercy that Jesus asks us to extend: Look your enemy in the eye; see their value and do good to them.

Is that easy? No. Is it right? Yes.

Consider/Discuss

Experts in conscience formation tell us that there are five (or more) ways to harden a conscience: excuse, justify, rationalize, avoid, and blame. On our own power, we cannot see our enemies charitably. We are tempted to lessen their value as a human being. How can we permit the Holy Spirit to soften our conscience today so that we see our enemy’s value through God’s eyes and not our own?
Today’s psalmist says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits . . . [He] redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with kindness and compassion.” We can best extend kindness and compassion when we have reflected on the kindness and compassion shown to us. In this upcoming week, look back upon your life and write down the many kindnesses that God has shown to you. From what “destruction” has God redeemed your life?

Living and Praying with the Word

Lord, how can we be kind to the ungrateful? That’s a lot to ask! It is so much easier to love the child who draws us hearts, the aunt who bakes us pie, the student who smiles and nods, the co-worker who has our back in tough situations. Those others? Ha! We’d like to write them off. They are worthless and never helpful. What’s that? You see things differently? Aargh . . . Okay. Help us to see them as you see them. Change my heart, Lord! Help me to start today, by your grace to take one little step toward loving my enemy. Only in you can it be done. Oh, please, help!