Jesus said to his disciples: “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.”
Luke 6:36-38
When I hear this passage in Scripture the question that comes to mind is; how can I live my life to follow the Gospels when it sounds like commands. For example, Jesus explicitly gives the reader the approach of, “do this and you will receive this.” It sounds similar to a short story I read in literature class in Seminary called Girl by Jamaica Kincaid. The entire narrative is the mother giving commands to her daughter how to be a proper woman in society with only the daughter speaking two lines in the entire story. For me personally, I can relate Jesus’ message to the favorite sport I play, tennis. In a game of tennis, one person serves the ball in the serving square and then the person receives the ball and returns it back across the court until one person scores a point. Like in tennis, we either have the opportunity to let Jesus score a point in our hearts or return the grace back to Jesus’ court when we sin. Jesus will always keep on serving the ball of His love for us until He scores a point deep into our hearts.
St. Luke’s passage in sacred Scripture is anagogical because Jesus is leading us how to live our lives to receive His grace. Because of God’s abundant love and mercy for us, He give us a plethora of chances for us to receive grace. One such way is the sacrament of confession, to cleanse our souls, to receive the grace of forgiveness; especially during this season of Lent. There are plenty of times for us to love God and to follow His guidance. Early 400AD Saint and doctor of the Church, Cyril of Alexandria, states, “But that we shall receive more abundant recompense from God, who gives bountifully to those who love him, he explains as follows, Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall they give into your bosom.” As we continue through the season of Lent, let us never forget how much the Lord loves us. Jesus is not giving commands but showing us a way to live our lives and to express it to others. We as Christians already know who wins the war of sin and death. It is up to us to follow our Lord’s example to courageously live the Gospel and to speared His word to everyone we meet in our lives.
Today’s Reflection is by:
Rob Gale
Did you know...
Rob is a seminarian at St. Joseph Seminary College in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is 30 years old and his home parish is St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Clearwater. Previously, he was a small business owner doing professional photography and photo booth rentals.
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