Monday of the Second Week of Lent - February 25, 2013
Monday of the Second Week of Lent
Luke 6:36 – 38
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Do not judge, 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. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Be merciful . . .
Do not judge . . .
Do not condemn . . .
Forgive . . .
Give . . .
Before these five qualities are actions, they are ways of being, or stances toward life. Of course, it is possible to engage in an act of mercy or to forgive, for example, or to do any of these things once in a while . . . or even once or twice or several times.
In other words, you can give without being a generous person . . . you can forgive someone without being a forgiving person . . . .
At one level, Jesus is encouraging this behavior. It truly makes a difference. But even more, Jesus is encouraging a way of being in the world.
Maybe it is something like being a fish, surrounded by an ocean of mercy/compassion, non-judgment, non-condemnation, forgiveness, and generosity. You swim in these things. You receive them. You give them. You do so without effort, without making a conscious effort to swim in them, because they surround you and are a part of your natural habitat.
This happens in a heart, a life that is being transformed. We are more and more able to forgive, for instance, or to resist judging. These traits seem to grow organically within us. And because we are swimming in this ocean, not only do we offer these things to others, but we also recognize when they come back to us.
Luke 6:36 – 38
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Do not judge, 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. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Be merciful . . .
Do not judge . . .
Do not condemn . . .
Forgive . . .
Give . . .
Before these five qualities are actions, they are ways of being, or stances toward life. Of course, it is possible to engage in an act of mercy or to forgive, for example, or to do any of these things once in a while . . . or even once or twice or several times.
In other words, you can give without being a generous person . . . you can forgive someone without being a forgiving person . . . .
At one level, Jesus is encouraging this behavior. It truly makes a difference. But even more, Jesus is encouraging a way of being in the world.
Maybe it is something like being a fish, surrounded by an ocean of mercy/compassion, non-judgment, non-condemnation, forgiveness, and generosity. You swim in these things. You receive them. You give them. You do so without effort, without making a conscious effort to swim in them, because they surround you and are a part of your natural habitat.
This happens in a heart, a life that is being transformed. We are more and more able to forgive, for instance, or to resist judging. These traits seem to grow organically within us. And because we are swimming in this ocean, not only do we offer these things to others, but we also recognize when they come back to us.
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