General. As humans, negative thoughts encompass us, throwing us back to the primordial times when we did not know good from bad or mercy from revenge. Our Collect Prayer this Sunday is that God might give us the grace to live His life, that we might have positive thoughts about everything and that in our words and doings we might be a reflection of His image within us, especially after having partaken in the Liturgy of the Eucharist which is a celebration of the Mystery of God’s giving of Himself to humanity at its worst moment when it denied Him even unto death on the Cross.

First Book of Samuel. In a world full of revenge, this reading is a veritable exposition of what forgiveness should be like, even if it comes from the Old Testament, well before the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. David is aware of how sacred human life is (not only consecrated life) and although he could have taken revenge on his immortal enemy, Saul, he desists from doing so being fully aware that God attributes full justice to each person according to his words and doings. It is all a matter of faith which puts us to the test: how much do we believe in divine justice, and so in God?

First Epistle to the Corinthians. St Paul starts off from the thought that just as Adam was given a soul (the spirit of life) by God, so was Jesus (God made man) made a spirit which gives life. Building on this concept, Paul looks at the human person as a natural being with a God-given soul and a spiritual life given to him when he receives Baptism. This makes him a heavenly being, worthy of life everlasting if he only abides by God’s grace and lives up to it. Hope is the key-word.

St Luke. Through Baptism, the Christian is an image of the Merciful Father Who is in heaven. God’s greatest love and mercy were shown at the time of His Son’s death on the Cross. When Jesus forgave his enemies and gave up his life as an expiation and in forgiveness for their sins, he was giving a last image of how the Christian should act in the face of his enemies. The crucifixion and death were followed by the Resurrection event, and so does the Christian rise to eternal life each time he forsakes revenge and forgives his enemies. The same way Jesus did not judge and left justice in God’s hands, so is the Christian expected not to pass judgment on persons and events, ever doing good to his enemies.

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