7C SUNDAY HOMILY, LUKE 6:27-38 February 23, 2025
1. STORY
John killed his
master in a fit of anger. Fearing he
would be put to death, he fled to a remote village accessible only by walking
on a dangerous narrow mountain path. To
atone for his sin, he began to cut a road through the mountain to end the
isolation of the village.
In four years, he
finished half of his work. One day a
young man appeared and said he was the son of the man who had been murdered and
he wanted revenge. John was willing to
die but pleaded with the young man to have him finish the road first. The young man agreed. He was so impressed at
his enemy's determination that he volunteered to help.
Finally, the road
was finished and John said he was ready to die. The youth could not bring himself to killing
John. He said to John that he had
learned a lot from him and could not harm his teacher. He then walked away. He had learned to love his enemy.
2. GOSPEL, LUKE
6:27-38
A. LOVE YOUR
ENEMIES
Jesus teaches us
to love our enemies and to do good to those who hate us. He has given us a good example of this as he
on the cross forgave those who put him there.
B. BE MERCIFUL
JUST AS YOUR FATHER IS MERCIFUL
Jesus teaches us
to follow the example of our heavenly Father who forgives us our sins and
failings.
3. APPLICATION TO
LIFE
A. WHO ARE MY
ENEMIES?
We must ask
ourselves if we have any enemies. There
may be people whom we may not like or find it hard to get along with. This is difficult to avoid. It may be our attitude towards others or the
way we speak or act towards them that is the cause of trouble. It is important to know this to improve the
way we act towards others.
B. BE MERCIFUL
Here are several
suggestions that may help us to be merciful.
i) Pray for the
person whom you find difficult to be with.
ii) Ask for
forgiveness if you have offended someone.
iii) Try to help
the person if possible.
iv) Change a bad
habit that may be offensive to others.
4. CONCLUSION
John killed a
person and fled fearing he would be put to death. To atone for his sin, he helped a remote
village. He was found by the dead man's
son who had come to take revenge. The
son eventually forgave John. Jesus
teaches us to love our enemies.
He teaches us to
be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful. We follow the example of our Father by praying
for our enemy, asking for forgiveness and helping the person if possible.
