“Đong đấu nào, thì sẽ được trả bằng đấu ấy..”
Đấy chính là cách mà Chúa Giêsu sẽ dành cho chúng ta, với tình yêu vô điều kiện mà Ngài chấp nhận sự chối bỏ và sự phản bội của con người, và chấp nhận cả sự đau khổ và cái chết của Ngài để Ngài có thể sống lại, chiến thắng tất cả mọi tội lỗi và sự chết, và đem lại cho tất cả chúng ta sự cứu rỗi. Ngài đã từ chối chống lại bất cứ điều gì mà kẻ thù của Ngài đã đối xử với Ngài, nhưng Ngài luôn sẵn sàng tha thứ cho họ ngay lúc Ngài còn trên cây thập giá.
Chúa Giêsu muốn chúng ta phải biết ăn năn thống hối những lẫm lỗi mà chúng ta đã xúc phạm đến người khác. Chỉ có ân sủng của Thiên Chúa mới có thể giúp chúng ta hòa giải với kẻ thù hoặc những người đã làm tổn thương chúng ta hay những người đã không đối xử công bằng với chúng ta. Chúng ta có thể tha thứ hết, nhưng không phải lúc nào cũng có thể hoàn toàn quên hết được những sự tổn thương đã gây hại đến chúng ta, nhưng quá trình hoà giải, nếu chúng ta chỉ biết hàng động trong ơn sũng và sự phó thác hoàn toàn trong tình yêu của Chúa Kitô, chúng ta có thể tìm được an bình trong sự tha thứ hoàn toàn. Đó là những gì mà Chúa Kitô đã làm cho chúng ta, đó là tình yêu hy sinh trên thập tự giá của Ngài đã dành cho chúng ta. Ngài muốn thấy chúng ta an vui hoàn toàn trong tâm hồn, và có được sự tự do để cho mọi người thấy được lòng thương xót mà Chúa đã dành cho chúng ta. "Chúng ta đong đấu nào thì cũng sẽ được trả lại bằng đấu ấy…." (Luca 6:38)
Lạy Chúa Giêsu, tình yêu của Chúa đã mang lại sự tự do, tha thứ, và niềm vui cho chúng con. Xin Chúa biến đổi trái tim của chúng con với tình yêu của Chúa để không có gì có thể làm cho chúng con phải mất bình tĩnh, nóng giận, để làm mất đi hòa khí của chúng con, hay lấy đi mất niềm vui của chúng con và làm chúng con phải cay đắng, giận dữ với bất cứ người nào"
And yet, Jesus tells us to be merciful just like the Father; not to judge or condemn; to forgive. By doing so, He promises that we will receive the same treatment that we give others, in full measure and running over. This is exactly how Jesus, innocent and sinless, out of unconditional love for us, embraced his rejection, his Passion and death so that He may rise again, conquering sin and death, and bringing all of us the salvation He wants for everyone. He did not hold anything against his enemies but forgave them from the cross.
To show mercy and to forgive are some of the most difficult things to do. We can't do it alone and it takes time. Jesus wants us to repent for any resentment or hatred we may have against others. He knows how it feels to suffer from life's hurts and He is always with us in our struggles. It is only with God's grace that we'll be able to reconcile with our enemies or people who have hurt us or treated us unfairly and to move on.
Forgiveness doesn't always totally erase the memory of the hurt that was done to us but the process of healing can only start with this conscious act of love and forgiveness. It is what Christ did for us with His loving sacrifice on the cross. He wants to see us whole and at peace, and free enough to show people the same mercy he has shown us. "For the measure you give will be the measure you receive back."
Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:36–37
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, in his guide for a thirty-day retreat, has the retreatant spend the first week of the retreat focusing upon sin, judgment, death and hell. At first, this can seem very uninspiring. But the wisdom of this approach is that after a week of these meditations, retreatants come to a deep realization of just how much they need the mercy and forgiveness of God. They see their need more clearly, and a deep humility is fostered within their soul as they see their guilt and turn to God for His mercy.
But mercy goes both ways. It is part of the very essence of mercy that it can only be received if it is also given. In the Gospel passage above, Jesus gives us a very clear command about judgment, condemnation, mercy and forgiveness. Essentially, if we want mercy and forgiveness, then we must offer mercy and forgiveness. If we are judgmental and condemning, then we will also be judged and condemned. These words are very clear.
Perhaps one of the reasons that many people struggle with being judgmental and condemning of others is because they lack a true awareness of their own sin and their own need for forgiveness. We live in a world that often rationalizes sin and downplays the seriousness of it. That’s why the teaching of Saint Ignatius is so important for us today. We need to rekindle a sense of the seriousness of our sin. This is not done simply to create guilt and shame. It’s done to foster a desire for mercy and forgiveness.
If you can grow in a deeper awareness of your own sin before God, one of the effects will be that it is then easier to be less judgmental and condemning of others. A person who sees his sin is more apt to be merciful to other sinners. But a person who struggles with self-righteousness will most certainly also struggle with being judgmental and condemning.
Reflect, today, upon your own sin. Spend time trying to understand how ugly sin is and try to grow in a healthy disdain for it. As you do, and as you beg our Lord for His mercy, pray also that you will be able to offer that same mercy you receive from God to others. As mercy flows from Heaven to your own soul, it must then also be shared. Share the mercy of God with those all around you and you will discover the true value and power of this Gospel teaching of our Lord.
My most merciful Jesus, I thank You for Your infinite mercy. Help me to see clearly my sin so that I, in turn, may see my need for Your mercy. As I do, dear Lord, I pray that my heart will be open to that mercy so that I can both receive it and share it with others. Make me a true instrument of Your divine grace. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. May God Deal with Us according to His Mercy: The passage from the prophet Daniel is a heartfelt prayer on behalf of the Judean exiles in Babylon. Daniel’s prayer is a public confession of sin and an acknowledgment that the people have rebelled against God. Before making this confession, Daniel first acknowledges God’s faithful and merciful love. He knows that, despite Israel’s constant unfaithfulness, God has been and will be faithful to the past covenants he made with Abraham, Moses, and David. Daniel recognizes in his prayer that God is righteous and just and gives to each person their due. He asserts that the Lord God is also compassionate toward those who suffer and forgives those who turn to him with a sincere heart. The Psalmist today pleads that God not deal with us according to our sins, but according to his mercy. By breaking the covenant we brought upon ourselves the curses of the covenant. By our sin we merited death. God, however, did not create us for eternal death. He created us to share in his eternal life and glory. The Psalmist knows this and asks God for help: “Help us, O God our savior, because of the glory of your name.” Here we find the humble recognition that we need to be purified from sin so that we can share in the heavenly glory of knowing and loving God.
2. Be Merciful Just as Your Father is Merciful: If the path of sin is one of rebellion against God and disregard for the law that he has given us, then the path to life is one of obedience to God and his Law. Through Jesus, the Old Law has been purified and brought to fulfillment in the New Law we find in the Gospels. In Saturday’s Gospel from Matthew, we encountered the exhortation to divine holiness and perfection: “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” In today’s Gospel from Luke, the exhortation is to divine mercy: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Perfection and mercy go together: God is perfect in himself and is merciful toward the imperfect. God is good and created us. God is just and endowed us with our natural abilities. God is generous and called us to share in his divine life. God is merciful and purifies us when we repent from sin and restores us to divine sonship and life.
3. Sharing in Divine Mercy: Imitating God's mercy means dealing with our brothers and sisters in such a way that we ultimately reserve judgment to God. We often hear the words of Jesus: “Judge not and you will not be judged;” “Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.” The one who truly imitates divine mercy must forgive and be generous in forgiving. We know that if we turn to God, he will purify us in mercy and bestow on us the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts enable us to discern God’s will more clearly and act in accord with God’s knowledge and love. They enable us especially to be merciful with our brothers and sisters.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are Mercy Incarnate. Your entire life speaks of God’s merciful love. Even as you were dying on the Cross you begged the Father to forgive those who crucified you and hurled insult upon you. I have no reason not to be merciful toward all.
Resolution: Am I withholding mercy or forgiveness toward someone? Do I realize that I will be shown mercy by God if I am merciful toward my brothers and sisters?
Opening Prayer:
Lord, help me to listen and understand your words so that I may be more and more the disciple that you intended me to be when you made me.
Encountering Christ:
1. The Father’s Mercy: The Father is infinitely merciful. He is ready to forgive anyone who asks for pardon, no matter how big the sin is. He forgave the disobedience of Adam and Eve—the greatest sin in history. He would have forgiven Judas if he had asked for forgiveness. Even if our desire for forgiveness is not perfect–even if our motivation is only to avoid going to hell rather than sorrow for having hurt others or offended God–the Father is willing to forgive. The Father’s mercy is to be the measure of his disciples’ mercy.
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