Just a word before we go...Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time...February 22, 2025

Watching the news can remind us of how removed the way we live today is from what Jesus wanted for us.  There are stories of impending war, unprovoked violence, injustice to those perceived as being different, unbridled self-absorption...the list goes on.  Contrast all this with our readings today, where David’s arch enemy Saul is delivered into his hands, and yet David refuses to harm him.  Saul was, after all, the Lord’s anointed.

Luke’s Gospel bombards us with proscriptions against judging and condemning others, enjoining us to love and forgive one another, to be merciful as God is merciful. How is that possible for us who are so human, living among others who are the same? 

Imagine for a moment that you were thrown into the company of three other people, each of whom was very different from yourself. You were undertaking a long journey, let’s say, a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago; you were grieving the loss of your son.  These others, at turns, annoyed, tormented, provoked, angered, frustrated and generally made you crazy, driving you to judge, condemn, fiercely argue with and dismiss them from your presence. In other words, all four of you were behaving in completely human ways. This journey cannot have a happy ending. 

And yet, as the story progresses in Martin Sheen’s movie, The Way, these four disparate humans find their way into one another’s hearts through a series of interactions that are sad and joyful, mundane and mountain-top, heart-breaking and heart-mending...in other words, the circumstances of life. The transformation of each character from being self-serving and self-absorbed,  into members of a loving, giving, joyful community of seekers, tugs at one’s heart...and perhaps provides a road map of sorts for those who are paying attention to the words of our readings. It seems that the spiritual did meet the human, as in Paul’s letter, and eventually, the measurement of others was balanced by self-measurement.

A happy ending does ensue… and why not?  We are all, after all, the Lord’s anointed.