To the one who strikes you on the cheek, turn the other cheek; from the one who takes your
coat, do not keep back your shirt. Give to the one who asks, and if anyone has taken
something from you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have others do to you.
If you love only those who love you, what kind of grace is yours? Even sinners love those who
love them. If you do favors to those who are good to you, what kind of grace is yours? Even
sinners do the same. If you lend only when you expect to receive, what kind of grace is yours?
For sinners also lend to sinners, expecting to receive something in return. But love your
enemies and do good to them, and lend when there is nothing to expect in return. Then will
your reward be great, and you will be sons and daughters of the Most High. For he is kind
toward the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Don’t be a
judge of others and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned;
forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you, and you will receive in your
sack good measure, pressed down, full and running over. For the measure you give will be
the measure you receive back.”

Reflect

“Be merciful.” While Matthew has his Sermon on the Mount (cf. Mt 5–7), Luke has his
Sermon on the Plain (cf. Lk 6:20-49). The Sermon in Mathew indicates that Jesus is the
new Moses (cf. Ex 19–20, Moses received the Law on Mt. Sinai) while the one in Luke
seems to suggest that Jesus teaches his followers on level ground. Today’s Gospel is
about the Sermon on the Plain. At the center of this Sermon (cf. Lk 6:36), Jesus exhorts
us to be merciful as the Father is merciful (cf. Mt 5:48, “be perfect as the heavenly
Father is perfect”). On the one hand, we can reflect on the point that the challenge to
take the path toward perfection emphasizes each of our individual efforts to respond
to the call to righteousness. On the other hand, Jesus’ invitation to be merciful
accentuates the fact that we are all recipients of God’s mercy. We may ponder on the
point that in God’s eyes we are all equal. Hence, the challenge is to look at each other
with a pair of eyes akin to God’s eyes. It is only through the divine pair of eyes that we
can show mercy to one another.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2024