The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to attend to the situations on our journey that we may be judging without the help of the mercy offered to people by God.
The reading from the Book of Daniel is a prophecy of tribulation for Seventy Weeks of Years.
* [9:2] Seventy years: Jeremiah was understood to prophesy a Babylonian captivity of seventy years, a round number signifying the complete passing away of the existing generation (Jer 25:11; 29:10). On this view Jeremiah’s prophecy was seen to be fulfilled in the capture of Babylon by Cyrus and the subsequent return of the Jews to Palestine. However, the author of Daniel, living during the persecution of Antiochus, extends Jeremiah’s number to seventy weeks of years (Dn 9:24), i.e., seven times seventy years, to encompass the period of Seleucid persecution. (Daniel, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 79 is a plea for Mercy for Jerusalem
* [Psalm 79] A communal lament complaining that the nations have defiled the Temple and murdered the holy people, leaving their corpses unburied (Ps 79:1–4). The occasion is probably the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army in 587 B.C. The people ask how long the withdrawal of divine favor will last (Ps 79:5), pray for action now (Ps 79:6–7), and admit that their own sins have brought about the catastrophe (Ps 79:8–9). They seek to persuade God to act for reasons of honor: the nations who do not call upon the Name are running amok (Ps 79:6); the divine honor is compromised (Ps 79:1, 10, 12); God’s own servants suffer (Ps 79:2–4, 11). (Psalms, PSALM 79 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus teaches about Judging Others.
* [6:37–42] See notes on Mt 7:1–12; 7:1; 7:5. (Luke, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)
* [7:1–12] In Mt 7:1 Matthew returns to the basic traditional material of the sermon (Lk 6:37–38, 41–42). The governing thought is the correspondence between conduct toward one’s fellows and God’s conduct toward the one so acting.
* [7:1] This is not a prohibition against recognizing the faults of others, which would be hardly compatible with Mt 7:5, 6 but against passing judgment in a spirit of arrogance, forgetful of one’s own faults. (Matthew, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)
Barbara Dilly comments that the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” has Christian, Buddhist, Confucian, and ancient Egyptian origins. She likes the Christian part the best. Today we read that Jesus said, “stop judging and you will not be judged, stop condemning and you will not be condemned” as the Christian version with a promise and a blessing added on to it in the next two verses. It seems much more compelling to her that way.
Jesus calls us to a very radical generosity in our dealings with others as an encouragement to us. Not only are we to forgive, but we are to go even further and give gifts to those we forgive. Jesus takes it all to a higher level. We cannot just forgive someone begrudgingly. We must do it generously. Think of the many positive ways such practices would affect our society! We should not think about what we can get in return from others, but what God has done for us. We are reminded of that when we read the Old Testament and Psalm for today. That is why we Christians should practice our faith as outwardly as we do inwardly. We can change the world with these practices! But for today, Jesus tells us to think about how it will affect us to get our hearts on the right track and motivated to act. Who does not need a good measure of blessings poured into our laps! (Dilly, 2024)
Don Schwager quotes “The Practice of Mercy,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The practice of mercy is twofold: when vengeance is sacrificed and when compassion is shown. The Lord included both of these in his brief sentence: 'Forgive, and you shall be forgiven; give, and it shall be given to you.' This work has the effect of purifying the heart, so that, even under the limitations of this life, we are enabled with pure mind to see the immutable reality of God. There is something holding us back, which has to be loosed so that our sight may break through to the light. In connection with this the Lord said, 'Give alms, and behold, all things are clean to you.' Therefore the next and sixth step is that cleansing of the heart." (excerpt from Letter 171A.2) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 6:36-38 comments that we show our love to people by giving of ourselves. The more generous we are with our time, attention, and affection, the more our relationships tend to grow and flourish. Then the more “gifts” of love and affection we are able to receive from the other person in return.
Is there one relationship you can think of that would benefit from less of your judgment and more of your compassion, mercy, and generosity? If so, offer that person your “good measure” today (Luke 6:38). Then see how the Lord uses it to give you a good measure in return.
“Jesus, give me the grace to treat others the way I want to be treated.” (Meditation on Luke 6:36-38, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes that the author of Daniel 9 is offering a penitential prayer for people who deserve punishments as a consequence of their actions. The mercy of God described in Luke’s Gospel compels us to consider the broken and hurting who need our love and we forgive them because they need it. Friar Jude reminds us that the more we extend mercy to others, the more we will be able to accept the mercy of God for ourselves.
Barbara Holmes comments that many spiritual traditions warn us against anger. We are told that anger provides fertile ground for seeds of discontent, anxiety, and potential harm to self and others. This is true. However, when systems of injustice inflict generational abuses upon people and communities because of their ethnicity, race, sexuality, and/or gender, anger as righteous indignation is appropriate, healthy, and necessary for survival.
A theology of anger [for communities under siege] assumes that anger as a response to injustice is spiritually healthy…. A theology of anger can help us to construct healthy boundaries … [and] the healthy expression of righteous anger can translate communal despair into compassionate action and justice-seeking.… The question is whether or not we will recognize our wounds and the source of our anger so that we can heal ourselves and others and awaken to our potential to embody the beloved community….
If we take a theology of anger seriously, first we come together, then we grieve together, then we consider where we are and where we are going. If there is opportunity, we engage in deep considerations of cause and effect, and we listen for the whispers of the Holy Spirit.… Our health and wholeness require that we take off our masks of Christian piety and do the difficult work of acknowledging our anger, our vulnerability, and our pain. It is this contemplative work that moves us toward forgiveness, for when we recognize our own human frailty, we can more easily forgive the fragility and failings of others. [3] (Holmes, 2024)
We witness events in our environment that make us angry and we implore the Holy Spirit to moderate our judgement with mercy to open our hearts to accept the mercy of God.
References
Daniel, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/daniel/9?4
Dilly, B. (2024, February 26). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved February 26, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/022624.html
Holmes, B. (2024, February 26). Good and Necessary Anger — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 26, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/good-and-necessary-anger/
Luke, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/6?
Matthew, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7
Meditation on Luke 6:36-38. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved February 26, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/02/26/902388/
Psalms, PSALM 79 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/79?8
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Be Merciful as Your Father Is Merciful. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 26, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=feb26
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