|
Dear Preachers:
A friend once told me that as a child, she
heard today’s Gospel and thought, “That’s awfully hard! But no one in my church
does it, so I don’t have to.” If I were ever tempted to switch the Gospel
reading, this would be one of those Sundays. (Though, truthfully, none of the
readings are “easy,” some feel less gut-wrenching for the preacher.)
When I was a child, this Gospel went against everything we learned. Suggesting
we “love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us,
and pray for those who mistreat us” would have been laughable. No one seriously
considered “turn the other cheek.” Even if someone pointed out, “Jesus said it,”
the response would likely be, “That was back then – this is now,” or, “Well, He
was God; He can’t expect us to do the same.”
You can see why this reading might make a preacher squirm. It’s particularly
hard to accept when so many innocent people suffer at the hands of tyrants. Yet,
considering the state of our world, perhaps we shouldn’t dismiss this passage so
quickly. It may hold the very key to transformation.
Jesus isn’t asking for minor improvements or a slightly higher ethical standard.
This isn’t about being “a little kinder” or forgiving “one more time.” If it
were, we wouldn’t need Him – we could manage it ourselves. Instead, Jesus
introduces something radical: a new way of living, grounded in the reign of God.
Those who embrace this new way are transformed by the Spirit. They see life
through a different lens. What once seemed impossible – loving enemies,
forgiving offenses – becomes second nature. This isn’t about earning merit or
pleasing God; it’s about responding to the profound change Jesus brings to our
lives. Because of this new life within us, we interpret the world differently
and respond in ways that reflect Christ’s presence.
If I continued to act as everyone else does, it would mean Jesus is dead, His
resurrection never happened, and His Spirit isn’t alive in the world. But
because of Him, what once seemed impossible is now possible. His life becomes
our life, making it possible to love and forgive as He did.
A particularly challenging aspect of this teaching involves victims of abuse or
injustice. Some might misinterpret Jesus’ words as a call to remain victims. He
is not saying that. As Fred Craddock and Robert Schreiter insightfully explain,
Jesus’ teachings empower the oppressed to take charge of their lives.
Craddock notes that Jesus speaks to the poor, the victims of Roman oppression
and wealthy landowners. His message is about refusing to be defined by
victim-hood. In verses 27–31, Jesus urges us to take the initiative by loving,
caring, and giving. In verses 32–36, He challenges us to live beyond
reciprocity, whether dealing with enemies or friends. Our behavior is rooted not
in others’ actions but in the God we worship. “Be merciful as your Father is
merciful.”
God forgives even those who have not loved Him and is generous beyond measure.
As Jesus says, “A good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.” This abundance of grace transforms us, enabling
us to reflect God’s mercy to others. Jesus breaks through our narrow categories
of who “deserves” love and calls us to a divine standard of generosity and
compassion.
Schreiter emphasizes that reconciliation begins with the victim, not the
wrongdoer. Wrongdoers rarely acknowledge their actions or seek to make amends.
If reconciliation depended solely on them, it would rarely happen. Instead, God
restores the victim’s humanity—what the wrongdoer sought to destroy. This
restoration is the heart of reconciliation, a grace-filled process that brings
us into communion with God.
Throughout history, God has taken the side of the oppressed, the poor, and the
marginalized. In Jesus, the ultimate victim, God begins the work of reconciling
the world. His life, death, and resurrection show us that transformation is
possible, not through retaliation but through the life-giving power of love and
forgiveness.
Click here for a
link to this Sunday’s readings:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022325.cfm
ONE GOOD BOOK FOR THE PREACHER:
Robert J. Schrieter, C.PP.S.
THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION: SPIRITUALITY & STRATEGIES. Orbis Books:
Maryknoll, New York, 1998 (paper, 136 pages).
Schrieter presents a spirituality of both
individual and social reconciliation based on Jesus’ resurrection. He shows how,
with a spirituality of reconciliation, we can then create an environment for
reconciliation to help us deal with violence in society, our neighborhoods and
families.
QUOTABLE:
I am certain that Jesus understood the
difficulty inherent in the act of loving one’s enemy. He never joined the ranks
of those who talk glibly about the easiness of the moral life. He realized that
every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender
to God. So when Jesus said, “Love your enemy,” he was not unmindful of its
stringent qualities. Yet he meant every word of it. Our responsibility as
Christians is to discover the meaning of this command and seek passionately to
live it our in our daily lives.
Let us be practical and ask the question, How do we love our enemies?
First, we must develop and maintain the
capacity to forgive. He [sic] who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of
the power to love. It is impossible even to begin the act of loving one’s
enemies without the prior acceptance of the necessity, over and over again, of
forgiving those who inflict evil and injury upon us. It is also necessary to
realize that the forgiving act must always be initiated by the person who has
been wronged, the victim of some great hurt, the recipient of some tortuous
injustice, the absorber of some terrible act of oppression. The wrongdoer may
request forgiveness. He may come to himself, and , like the prodigal son, move
up some dusty road, his heart palpitating with the desire for forgiveness. But
only the injured neighbor, the loving father back home, can really pour out the
warm water of forgiveness.
----Martin Luther King, Jr.,
quoted in RICHER FARE: REFLECTION ON THE SUNDAY READINGS, Gail Ramshaw, pages
161-2.
JUSTICE BULLETIN BOARD
God has
delivered your enemy into your grasp this day.
1 Samuel 26: 8
Sometimes the need for revenge gets the better
of our higher angels but not in today’s first reading. Saul had tried to kill
David on several occasions. However, David, perhaps sensing Saul’s change of
personality over the years to something we would call today, psychotic, refuses
to put him to death. It is in this light, that we examine the revision to the
Church’s teaching on the death penalty and human dignity.
On August 1, 2018, Pope Francis approved a new revision of paragraph number 2267
of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, according to which “a new understanding
has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state, thus
“the death penalty is inadmissible.” On many occasions, Pope John Paul II
intervened for the elimination of capital punishment describing it as “cruel and
unnecessary” and Pope Benedict XVI appealed for “the attention of society’s
leaders to the need to make every effort to eliminate the death penalty.”
The Catechism text as revised reads as follows:
2267. Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority,
following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the
gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of
safeguarding the common good.
Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person
is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new
understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the
state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which
ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively
deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.
Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that “the death
penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity
of the person” [1] and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.
([1] FRANCIS, Address to Participants in the Meeting organized by the Pontifical
Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, 11 October 2017:
L’Osservatore Romano, 13 October 2017.)
As today’s responsorial psalm states, “God redeems life from destruction.”
Advocate to end the death penalty, join Catholics for Abolition in North
Carolina.
Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS,
Director
Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice
Ministries
Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral,
Raleigh, NC
FAITH BOOK
Mini-reflections on the Sunday
scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also
brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.
From today’s Gospel reading:
Jesus said to his
disciples: “To you who hear I say, Love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.”
Reflection:
Living the Christian life as Jesus teaches in
his sermon would make no sense if God did not exist. To live a normal human life
would be doing what most people do. But Christians are recognized because there
is no earthly reason for doing what we do.
So, we ask ourselves:
- Who is the enemy I am being called to
love?
- What help do I need from God to do that?
POSTCARDS TO DEATH ROW INMATES
“One has to strongly affirm that condemnation to the death penalty is an
inhuman measure that humiliates personal dignity, in whatever form it is
carried out."
---Pope
Francis
Inmates on death row are the most forgotten
people in the prison system. Each week I am posting in this space several
inmates’ names and locations. I invite you to write a postcard to one or more of
them to let them know that: we have not forgotten them; are praying for them and
their families; or, whatever personal encouragement you might like to give them.
If the inmate responds, you might consider becoming pen pals.
Please write to:
- Terrance Campbell #0064125 (On death row
since 3/28/2002)
- Toby W. Smith #0765397 (5/29/2002)
- John H. Thompson #0406487 (11/14/2002)
----Central Prison, P.O. 247,
Phoenix, MD 21131
Please note: Central Prison is in
Raleigh, NC., but for security purposes, mail to inmates is processed through a
clearing house at the above address in Maryland.
For more information on the Catholic position
on the death penalty go to the Catholic Mobilizing Network:
http://catholicsmobilizing.org/resources/cacp/
On this page you can sign “The National
Catholic Pledge to End the Death Penalty.” Also, check the interfaith page for
People of Faith Against the Death Penalty: http://www.pfadp.org/
DONATIONS
“First Impressions” is a service to
preachers and those wishing to prepare for Sunday worship. It is sponsored
by the Dominican Friars. If you would like “First Impressions” sent weekly
to a friend, send a note to fr. John Boll, OP at
jboll@opsouth.org.
If you would like to support this ministry,
please send tax deductible contributions to fr. Jude Siciliano, O.P.:
St. Albert
Priory
3150 Vince Hagan Drive
Irving, Texas 75062-4736
Make checks payable to: Dominican Friars.
Or, go to our webpage to make an online donation:
https://www.PreacherExchange.com/donations.htm
RESOURCES
ORDERING OUR CDs:
We have compiled Four CDs for sale:
- Individual CDs for each Liturgical Year,
A, B or C.
- One combined CD for “Liturgical Years A, B
and C.
If you are a preacher, lead a Lectionary-based
scripture group, or are a member of a liturgical team, these CDs will be helpful
in your preparation process. Individual worshipers report they also use these
reflections as they prepare for Sunday liturgy.
You can order the CDs by going to our webpage:
https://www.PreacherExchange.com
and clicking on the “First Impressions” CD
link on the left.
OTHER
PUBLICATIONS BY EMAIL:
1. "HOMILÍAS DOMINICALES" ---These Spanish
reflections on the Sunday and daily scriptures are written by Dominican sisters
and friars. If you or a friend would like to receive these reflections drop a
note to "Fr. John J. Boll, O.P." <preacherexchange@att.net>
2. "VOLUME 2" is an opportunity for you to hear
from the readers of First Impressions. To subscribe or Send your own
reflections: Send them to "Fr. John J. Boll, O.P." <preacherexchange@att.net > Your
contributions to Volume 2 are welcome.
OUR WEBSITE:
http://www.PreacherExchange.com
Where you will find Preachers Exchange, which includes "First Impressions,"
"Homilías Dominicales," and "Volume 2" as well as articles, book reviews, daily
homilies and other material pertinent to preaching and Scripture reflection.
FOR EMAIL HELP OR TO UNSUBSCRIBE, SUBSCRIBE, OR CHANGE:
Email "Fr. John J. Boll, O.P." <preacherexchange@att.net>
FIRST IMPRESSIONS Archive
(The latest are always listed first.)
• 7th SUNDAY •
• 6th SUNDAY •
• 5th SUNDAY •
• PRESENTATION •
• 3rd SUNDAY •
• 2nd SUNDAY •
|
