Tools of Transformation

Monday of the Second Week of Lent

Daily Reading: Luke 6:36 – 38

Focus Passage:
“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." (Lk. 6:36 – 38)


Those who dismiss Jesus as Messiah but glibly call him a good teacher are either extremely naïve or terribly misinformed. Those who put forth Jesus’ teachings as a way to get ahead in the world haven’t listened deeply to his teachings.

Try taking his words in this passage into your workplace, school, politics, or neighborhood group. You won’t get you very far in our culture’s framework. Mercy, non-judgment, forgiveness, generosity, and a refusal to condemn are not recipes for success, corporately or personally. If your goal is a promotion, more prestige, influence in the social arena, or a lot of power, Jesus’ counsel won’t get you there.

But Jesus has no interest in helping you or me succeed by the world’s standards. He is not interested in how you look at work, how you defend your image, or what it takes for you to get ahead.

He is interested in a different kind of kingdom than the ones we busily build, manage, and defend. He is interested in transformation, in the way the inner landscape of our lives is shaped. He is interested in how our lives are surrendered in God’s name for the peace and well-being of the world.

Generally speaking, keeping your company mission statement won’t get you there. Deeply weaving the life of Jesus into your soul, however, will.

So the tools of this personal and global transformation are as simple as they are understated: mercy, non-judgment, forgiveness, generosity, and a refusal to condemn. Track them in this passage. They are not tools we grab ahold of and use to get ahead in life. There is no worldly power in these words, no political weight.

Rather, these tools are qualities of God’s life, intended for the fullness of life. They characterize the kingdom of God, the way God has intended the world be ordered.

Our lives become increasingly God-like as we receive God’s infusion of mercy, non-judgment, forgiveness, generosity, and a refusal to condemn . . . and as we give them away.


For Reflection:
Give some meditation time to the “tools of transformation” Jesus mentions in this passage . . . mercy, non-judgment, forgiveness, generosity, and a refusal to condemn. Bounce each of them off your life. Which are you most drawn toward? Which seem most challenging for you? Is there an invitation from God to you in these words?


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