7th Sunday in Ord. Time – 20th February 2022 — Gospel: Luke 6,27-38
Insufficient Golden Rule
In the book of Tobit, Tobit’s father instructed him on the proper conduct as he was preparing for a distant journey. One of the instructions included: “Do to no one what you yourself hate” (Tob 4,15). In other words, Tobit was instructed to avoid negative behaviours or mistreating others. In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ instruction to his listeners is very different. Jesus first gave concrete examples of love in action and then offered the Golden rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Jesus calls us to do something greater than avoiding negative behaviours. As his followers, we are called to do good to others, to bless them, and to pray for them -even when others do not reciprocate and even when they hurt us.
Christian love is magnanimous: selfless, bighearted, generous, forgiving, and altruistic. Those who follow Jesus are to live as God lives, merciful and generous beyond expectation, beyond comprehension. The norm for the world is what “sinners” do very well: they love, lend, and do good. In our own day, it would be a joy if even the way of sinners was broadly lived out! But for disciples, for God’s people, loving, lending, and doing good are all about generosity that does not draw boundaries based on recipient’s responses. It is good to keep in mind that “love” in this passage is about willing the good of another and acting on that will. Therefore, the golden rule is insufficient for those in covenant relationship with God. One’s own wishes for oneself are no measure for one’s treatment of others. Rather, God’s mercy, one of God’s primary qualities (Ex 346-7), is to be the measure for his disciples. In Mary’s song (Lk 1,50 &54) and in Zechariah’s (Lk 1,72 &78) God is twice identified as merciful. Mercy is releasing people and circumstances from reproach they deserve.
