Monday, March 14, 2022

 Monday of the Second Week of Lent

(Daniel 9:4b-10; Luke 6:36-38)

Just before he was assassinated, Abraham Lincoln traveled to Ulysses Grant’s headquarters near Richmond.  After visiting wounded Union soldiers, he walked to a tent separated from the rest.  A doctor told him that he didn’t want to go there.  Asking why, Lincoln was told that it housed injured Confederates.  Lincoln responded that there is where he wanted to go.

Inside the tent Lincoln offered his hand to a sick rebel.  The soldier asked the president if he knew to whom he extended his hand.  The president replied that he didn’t.  The man said, “…you offer to a Confederate colonel, who has fought you as hard as he could for four years.”  Lincoln replied, “Well, I hope a Confederate colonel will not refuse me his hand.”  The colonel clasped Lincoln’s hand in both of his.  Afterwards he said, “I tell you, sir, he had the most magnificent face and eye that I have ever gazed into.  He had me whipped from the time he first opened his mouth.”

Abraham Lincoln radiated the mercy Jesus exhorts his disciples to practice.  We are not to judge another’s character by the color of his skin or by the brand name of her clothing.  If we find ourselves on opposing sides, we are to seek reconciliation.  We must be ready to forgive any offense committed against us.  Living in these ways, we can hope that God will show us mercy.

Monday, March 9, 2020

Monday of the Second Week of Lent

(Daniel 9:4b-10; Luke 6:36-38)

The man gives God thanks every day.  When he was young, he was always in trouble.  He couldn’t stay out of fights.  He was convicted of assault and battery as well as using drugs.  After doing a couple of prison terms, he was facing a thirty-five year sentence.  Then he was shown mercy.  He credits God, but certainly a judge had something to do with his being given another chance.  In this case any risk the judge took proved imminently worthwhile.  The man has turned his life around.  He is married and raising a family.  He owns a prosperous small business.  He is also the youth minister of his parish.  In today’s gospel Jesus recommends that his disciples show mercy as the wise judge in this story.

When Jesus says that his disciples should not judge, he does not mean that they put on rose-colored glasses.  No, they are to distinguish right from wrong, but they are not to condemn others.  Quite the opposite, they should be ready to forgive with any good reason.   Jesus then promises that their mercy will be returned in good measure.

It is sometimes difficult to forgive because we see it as a betrayal of justice.  Jesus would agree that mercy without justice leads to problems.  But mercy tempers justice in that it allows those who have shown genuine remorse for their crimes to move on.  If everyone were to give strict repayment make up strictly for every offense tallied, many persons’ development would be stifled.  Worse yet, our society would become paralyzed. 

Monday, February 26, 2018

Monday of the Second Week of Lent

(Daniel 9:4b-10; Luke 6:36-38)

It is said that a cynic is someone who has given up but has not shut up.  The number of such people seems to continually grow.  They troll Internet postings and follow one of the notoriously slanted news stations.  Their opinion is often directed ad hominem – that is, more to personal characteristics than to ideas.  In today’s gospel Jesus commands his followers to avoid such behavior.

Luke’s gospel mercy emphasizes God’s mercy quality.  At its beginning Zacharias praises God for the “tender mercies” to be showered on the people when the Savior is born.  In today’s passage Jesus tells his disciples to be as merciful as their heavenly Father.  Mercy means slow to judge and ready to forgive.  It provides others the same kind of understanding that most people have for themselves.

Since we live in a socially polluted atmosphere, we need to take special care.  Finding an objective news source and reading responsible commentators will help avoid the dual traps of cynicism and condemnation.  Analyzing the ideas without judging the individuals who hold them will sharpen our intellects while avoiding needless criticism of individuals.  But most of all we have to strive to be kinder and gentler in what we say.

Monday, March 13, 2017

Monday of the Second Week of Lent

(Daniel 9:4b-10; Luke 6:36-38)

The Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator has been used for decades to help us better understand ourselves.  It operates by people taking a test which measures their different personality types in terms of opposites.  One is evaluated as introvert or extrovert, thinking or feeling, sensate or intuitive, and judging or perceiving.  We may want to ask whether a judging person can abide by Jesus’ commands in today’s gospel.

In a sense no one can stop judging.  People have to make decisions which require an assessment or judgment of the reality which they confront.  When Jesus says to his disciples that they are to “be merciful” and to “stop judging,” he wants them to take good care before criticizing others.  Judging types should become more perceptive and perceiving types should consider the numerous factors which limit perfection.  Most importantly, Jesus wants his followers to forgive one another so that they may work together on behalf of God’s kingdom.  Brewing resentment will impede the pursuit of justice and peace.

We all want due consideration for ourselves when we are being judged.  We should not deny it to others.  If we are to live in a society where all can develop their potential, then we must allow people to learn by recovering from their mistakes.  When we do so, we not only allow ourselves some slack when needed, but we also imitate our merciful Father.

Monday, March 2, 2015

Monday of the Second Week of Lent

(Daniel 9:4b-10; Luke 6:36-38)

The man gives God thanks every day.  When he was a youth, he was always in trouble.  He couldn’t stay out of fights.  He was convicted of assault and battery as well as using drugs.  He did a couple of prison terms and was facing a thirty-five year sentence.  Then he was shown mercy.  He credits God, but certainly a judge had something to do with his being given another chance.  In this case the risk proved imminently worthwhile.  The man has turned his life around, married and is raising a family, has a small prosperous business, and is giving back to God as a youth minister.  Jesus recommends such mercy in today’s gospel.

When Jesus says that his disciples should not judge, he does not mean that they wear rose-colored glasses.  No, they are to determine right from wrong, but they are not to condemn others unduly.  Quite the opposite, they should be ready to forgive for any good reason.   Jesus then promises that their mercy will be rewarded not just in kind but with greater abundance.

It is sometimes difficult to forgive because we see it as a betrayal of justice.  Jesus would certainly agree that mercy without justice leads to dissolution just as strictness without justice can end in despotism.  As responsible people, we must promote and model righteous living.  We do that by forgiving whenever we sense a reasonable possibility for reform and renewal.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Monday of the Second Week of Lent

(Daniel 9:4b-10; Luke 6:36-38)

Father Gilbert Hartke directed the famous drama program at Catholic University of America in Washington for decades. He was genuinely loved by his students. At his funeral the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was filled with admirers. Besides his accomplishments as a director, Fr. Hartke was notable for the admirable quality of never saying a bad word about anyone. He practiced what Jesus preaches in the gospel today.

More than laying down the New Law, Jesus is describing the new creation which his followers will become given the grace of his resurrection. They will stop condemning others but stand ready to forgive their sins. They will practice generosity not so that they may receive in return although in fact they will experience more benefits than they imagined.

One of the characteristics of post-modernity is criticism. As a way of avoiding commitment, people today criticize just about every social institution. Only the loosest associations -- perhaps the list of friends on Facebook -- escape this tendency to disparage and dismiss. But this is not the way of Jesus' community of faith. Although we do not close our eyes to others' faults and much less to our own, we try to understand and forgive them.

Homilette for Monday, March 9, 2009

Monday of the Second Week in Lent

(Luke 6:36-38)

Three years ago a gunman entered an Amish school near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and took a number of young girls as hostages. He bound them with plastic ties and half an hour later murdered five of them. He then took his own life.

The violence, of course, disturbed the whole country. But much more remarkable was what happened afterwards. The Amish community, true to their arduous compliance with Scripture, extended forgiveness to the family of the assassin. The widow of the murderer, deeply touched by the community’s charity, later wrote them in open letter, "Your love for our family has helped to provide the healing we so desperately need.”

In the gospel today Jesus calls us to be merciful. It has been pointed out that where in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus calls his disciples to be perfect, Luke shows him emphasizing mercy as if mercy is the perfection of God. When we are called upon to forgive a really serious offense, it certainly seems like a monumental task. As the poet Alexander Pope put it, “To err is human; to forgive divine.”

Homilette for February 18, 2008

Homilletes for weekday masses from February 8 can be found below.

Monday of the Second Week in Lent

(Luke 6:36-38)

Ten years ago Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in Montana. Mr. Shepard’s killers assaulted him because he was a homosexual and evidently flirted with one of them. After the guilty verdict Shepard’s parents agreed with the state not to seek the death penalty. His father told one of the killers, “I would like nothing better than to see you die, Mr. McKinney, but now is the time to heal.” Although this may sound like half-hearted mercy, it probably took courage to utter.

In the gospel today Jesus calls us to be merciful. It has been pointed out that where in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus calls his disciples to be perfect, Luke shows him emphasizing mercy as if mercy is the perfection of God. When we are called upon to forgive a really serious offense, it certainly seems like a monumental task. As a poet (Alexander Pope) once put it, “To err is human; to forgive divine.

What’s critical is that we don’t dwell too long on how we feel in such situations. Feelings make good barometers of the likes and dislikes of our hearts, but they do not serve well as compasses to where we should be going. Naturally we are upset when someone hurts us deeply. Rather than lash out in anger, however, we should imitate Matthew Shepard’s father and not let our dislike rule our minds. No, as Jesus’ disciples, we must be ready to forgive those who offend us.