Fr. Vincent Munari sx
COMMENT TO THE GOSPEL OF THE 7TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME LUKE 6, 27 – 38
Jesus speaks to his disciples: “I say to you who are listening”
This is the start of this Sunday’s Gospel and it is a good way to
call the attention of all those who read and of us, too. In fact an astounding
call follows: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate
you”.
It sounds rather impossible for all, and Jesus seems to be out of his mind; but
He even presses his point: bless, pray, do not refuse, give….
When I was 7 years old, I used to go to serve the daily Mass in the parish. It was celebrated very early in the morning to give a chance to the farmers and the busy housewives, to take part.
One day, It was still dark and I was a bit afraid; a dog was barking very loudly far
away; close to the church there was a kind of cellar, human, voices
were coming from it so I decided to take a look. 2 soldiers were
there inside, and tied to a chair there was a man that was crying: I do not know,
I did not see; and then I heard a cry of pain. The 2 soldiers were tightening
barbed wire again and again over the poor man who was refusing to answer.
I was able to see inside, thanks to the light of a candle coming from the cellar.
My head just reached the level of the wall.
I ran to the church, I did not serve mass well and I did not understand anything.
Only later I understood the whole story. The tied up man was a "partigiano"
(partisan: member of a group fighting against enemies occupying a country) and the German soldiers were trying to extort names and places from him.
At the end of the mass I rushed home and I kept the secret to
myself and, in the meantime, I felt hatred for violence grow inside me.
That's why I like very much the Gospel of this Sunday, when Jesus
speaks about being losers now but winners in the long run, both now and
for eternity. Our model, our example is Him and his choices. It is about time that we live as true Christians. Violence opposed to violence is perpetuating disasters; more atomic bombs, more lethal weapons, more power of destruction ….
At this time our schools are having sports; I saw a boy with the shirt
of a house called 'ARAFAT'. Arafat was a political leader (who believed in violence) who did a lot for the Palestinians, but now the situation there is the same. Only Christ can offer the right means to reach peace: be peaceful and not violent, be poor with the poor so that nobody will covet your things etc.
An example: Try to give a good kick to someone: he will react and
more kicks will follow. If Jesus were there and received a kick,
the reaction could be: “why?” and the matter would end there, just one kick.
But We instead would want to continue until disaster comes about.
May the prince of peace help us to love his teachings.
COMMENT TO THE GOSPEL OF THE 7TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME LUKE 6, 27 – 38
Jesus speaks to his disciples: “I say to you who are listening”
This is the start of this Sunday’s Gospel and it is a good way to
call the attention of all those who read and of us, too. In fact an astounding
call follows: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate
you”.
It sounds rather impossible for all, and Jesus seems to be out of his mind; but
He even presses his point: bless, pray, do not refuse, give….
When I was 7 years old, I used to go to serve the daily Mass in the parish. It was celebrated very early in the morning to give a chance to the farmers and the busy housewives, to take part.
One day, It was still dark and I was a bit afraid; a dog was barking very loudly far
away; close to the church there was a kind of cellar, human, voices
were coming from it so I decided to take a look. 2 soldiers were
there inside, and tied to a chair there was a man that was crying: I do not know,
I did not see; and then I heard a cry of pain. The 2 soldiers were tightening
barbed wire again and again over the poor man who was refusing to answer.
I was able to see inside, thanks to the light of a candle coming from the cellar.
My head just reached the level of the wall.
I ran to the church, I did not serve mass well and I did not understand anything.
Only later I understood the whole story. The tied up man was a "partigiano"
(partisan: member of a group fighting against enemies occupying a country) and the German soldiers were trying to extort names and places from him.
At the end of the mass I rushed home and I kept the secret to
myself and, in the meantime, I felt hatred for violence grow inside me.
That's why I like very much the Gospel of this Sunday, when Jesus
speaks about being losers now but winners in the long run, both now and
for eternity. Our model, our example is Him and his choices. It is about time that we live as true Christians. Violence opposed to violence is perpetuating disasters; more atomic bombs, more lethal weapons, more power of destruction ….
At this time our schools are having sports; I saw a boy with the shirt
of a house called 'ARAFAT'. Arafat was a political leader (who believed in violence) who did a lot for the Palestinians, but now the situation there is the same. Only Christ can offer the right means to reach peace: be peaceful and not violent, be poor with the poor so that nobody will covet your things etc.
An example: Try to give a good kick to someone: he will react and
more kicks will follow. If Jesus were there and received a kick,
the reaction could be: “why?” and the matter would end there, just one kick.
But We instead would want to continue until disaster comes about.
May the prince of peace help us to love his teachings.