Monday of the Second Week of Lent
Today’s Gospel is the middle section of what has been called Luke’s “Discipleship Manual.” Here Jesus lays out (similar to Matthew 5-7) “how to be a disciple.”
Disciples? It has been said that churches around the world are full of disciples in name only. “I like your Christ,” Gandhi said. “But I don’t much like your Christians.”
Brushing up on the “Lucan Discipleship Manual,” as we hear today, is desperately needed. In sum: If we do not judge, we will not be judged. If we pardon, we will be pardoned. If we are merciful, not condemning others for their faults, others will likewise be gracious. If we are generous, others will be generous in turn. On the other hand, if we condemn, if we refuse to forgive, if we are judgmental, it will come back to us.
The opposite of judgement is mercy. A distraught mother went to General Grant after the Battle of Shiloh to beg him to spare her son who had been a deserter. “He doesn't deserve it,” the General said. “Sir, if he deserved it it wouldn’t be mercy.”
This is further illustrated by an incident in the childhood of Louis Mayer, the founder of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio. He had a fight with another boy and lost. While his mother was bathing his black eye, he told her how the fight was the other boy’s fault. His mother said nothing, but after dressing his eye, she took Louis to the back door of their home. Nearby were hills that created a fine echo. She told him to call those hills all the bad names he could think of. He did so and the bad names all came back to him. “Now,” she said, “call out, ‘God bless you.’” He did so and back came “God bless you.” Mayer said he never forgot that lesson. How you treat others comes back to you.
Pope Francis reminded us, “Merciful love is the only way. We all need to be more merciful, to not speak ill of others, to not judge, to not ‘sting’ others with criticism, with envy and jealousy.”
As our Lent began last week Pope Leo XIV challenged us, “Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves,” he said. “Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities.”
Here’s some inspiration to assist in applying Luke‘s “Discipleship Manual” to our day-to-day:
+ The mercy we give is not ours — it has been given to us by God.
+ God grants us mercy because the name of God is mercy, not because we did anything to deserve it.
+ This divine mercy is given to us in excess, so that we can give it away.
+ Being merciful to all, without judgment, is a sharing in the very work of God, illuminating the spark of divinity within us.
As Mrs. Mayer reminds us today, “How you treat others comes back to you.”
—Timothy J. Cronin