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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Some thoughts on this scripture
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.
Reflection
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.
Reflection
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.