Scripture Scribbles: February 20, 2022
the Gospel
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.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
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 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.”
the devotion
If you’re anything like me, you may have read today’s Gospel and thought “Wow Jesus, this is heavy. It sounds amazing to live like this, but it’s hard and I’m not sure I can do it.”
It can be so easy for me to let my pride and ego take over and run the show rather than opening myself up to the work of the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ gentle voice speaking in my heart. I so quickly become angry if someone cuts me off on the I-495, impatient when someone is taking too long at the Market Basket checkout, cheap when opportunities arise to give of my time, treasure or talent, etc. If I’m not careful I find myself playing the comparison game and even harboring feelings of judgment and resentment. I feel embarrassed to share this, but my hope is that you can relate in some way and, instead of despair, gain hope and join me in this journey to live and love as Jesus does.
What I notice when I compare my own actions to this loving way of life that Jesus illustrates is that my way is focused on self and Jesus’ way is centered on others. This is the heart of it.
To love is to will the good of the other. A quote that immediately came to mind upon reading this Gospel is from Pope Paul VI in Gaudium et spes: “Man cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself.” Jesus shares this challenging teaching with his disciples because it is in selfless, unconditional love that we become fully alive. Living in this way, or even simply striving to live in this way, allows us to live the Gospel message and experience the heart of Jesus. In this way we become “children of the Most High” and “our reward will be great.” So let us today choose one verse from Jesus’ teaching and, with His help, strive to live it out.
Today’s devotion was written by Kaitlin Gilday.
