Key
Bold
= verse commented upon
Blue = comment
Highlight = direct
command
Comments
1. There are a lot of direct commands in today’s readings, but most have a
common essence: love as God loves. That love is to be extended to fellow
believers and all people.
2. Another common theme among the direct
commands is to focus on Jesus and be controlled/directed by, motivated by,
appreciative of, and infused with Him. That will help us follow the otherwise
difficult direct commands summarized in paragraph 1 above.
3. The last paragraph of the gospel
reading lays out a principle that displays God’s great wisdom and great beneficence:
He provides positive, and related, reinforcements for behaviors He
wants us to pursue. Although this principle is most often discussed in
connection with giving, note that it is also applied here to other types of conduct (various forms of grace to others). We
see that dynamic elsewhere in scripture, again in contexts other than giving. See e.g. Proverbs
15:1 (re gentleness); Sirach
3:17-18 (re humility); Sirach
5:1 (re friendly conduct). That is one way “his love is brought to perfection in us,”
as discussed in 1 John 4:12.
Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones,
holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and
patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has
a grievance against another; as
the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control
your hearts,
the
peace into which you were also called in one Body. And be
thankful. Let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and
spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in
deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through him.
Praise
the LORD in his sanctuary, praise him in
the firmament of his strength.
Praise
him for his mighty deeds, praise him
for his sovereign majesty.
Praise him with the blast of the trumpet,
praise him with lyre and harp,
Praise him with timbrel and dance, praise
him with strings and pipe.
Praise him with sounding cymbals, praise
him with clanging cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the
LORD! Alleluia.
If we
love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in
us.
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 also 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.”
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