Luke 6:36-38 NRSVue
36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
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Reflection on Luke 6:36-38
Inspiration from 2026-03-02 Daily Prayer
It’s often said, at least in groupwork classes in university, that when we engage in encounters with others, what we received back is a mirror-image of what we ourselves have given. So if we smile and act in a friendly manner, those same tactics are likely to be reciprocated. If we are lively in our manner of speech and likewise open in our demeanour, we may well receive something of the same. Lord, help us to extend to others the sort of vigour and life-giving energy that we would very much like to receive ourselves.
Further reflection
Can I remember times when I heard people gossip about me, with no understanding of why I behaved as I did? Can I remember times when I leapt to judge others without knowing the whys and wherefores? Remember the Sioux prayer: /May I never judge another until I have walked in his moccasins/. Good newspapers offer us information without judgments. Shoddy papers try to do our thinking for us, leap to take sides, and express their judgments in banner headlines.
Lord, keep me from jumping to judgment. You alone know all that is my heart and in the hearts of those I am tempted to condemn.
We get from life what we put into it. The challenge of Jesus is more – to be merciful is to live in a way that makes the first move towards forgiveness, that is, to be non-judgemental of others and to always want to give. Mercy doesn’t count what it gives nor look for anything in return. Mercy is the heart of God’s love. Allow the word ‘mercy’ enter into your heart at prayer; just repeat it and let it move from lips to heart. As mercy takes hold of you, you will live by it.