Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
Memorial of Saint Polycarp (+155), disciple of the apostle John, bishop and martyr.

First Reading

1 Samuel 26,2.7-9.12-13.22-23

So Saul set off and went down to the desert of Ziph, accompanied by three thousand picked men of Israel, to search for David in the desert of Ziph. So in the dark David and Abishai made their way towards the force, where they found Saul lying asleep inside the camp, his spear stuck in the ground beside his head, with Abner and the troops lying round him. Abishai then said to David, 'Today God has put your enemy in your power; so now let me pin him to the ground with his own spear. Just one stroke! I shall not need to strike him twice.' David said to Abishai, 'Do not kill him, for who could raise his hand against Yahweh's anointed and go unpunished? David took the spear and the pitcher of water from beside Saul's head, and they made off. No one saw, no one knew, no one woke up; they were all asleep, because a torpor from Yahweh had fallen on them. David crossed to the other side and halted on the top of the mountain a long way off; there was a wide space between them. In reply, David said, 'Here is the king's spear. Let one of the men come across and get it. May Yahweh reward each as each has been upright and loyal. Today Yahweh put you in my power but I would not raise my hand against Yahweh's anointed.

Psalmody

Psalm 103

Antiphon

How great you are O Lord, our God.

Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord god, how great you are,

clothed in majesty and glory,
wrapped in light as in a robe!

You stretch out the heavens like a tent.
Above the rains you build your dwelling.

You make the cloud your chariot,
you walk on the wings of the wind,

you make the winds your messengers
and flashing fire your servants.

You founded the earth on its base,
to stand firm from age to age.

You wrapped it with the ocean like a cloak:
the waters stood higher than the mountains.

At your threat they took to flight;
at the voice of your thunder they fled.

They rose over the mountains and flowed down
to the place which you had appointed.

You set limits they might not pass
lest they return to cover the earth.

You make springs gush forth in the valleys:
they flow in between the hills.

They give drink to all the beasts of the field;
the wild-asses quench their thirst.

On their banks dwell the birds of heaven;
from the branches they sing their songs.

From your dwelling you water the hills;
earth drinks its fill of your gift.

You make the grass grow for the cattle
and the plants to serve man's needs,

that he may bring forth bread from the earth
and wine to cheer man's heart;

oil, to make his face shine
and bread to strengthen man's heart.

The trees of the Lord drink their fill,
the cedars he planted on Lebanon;

there the birds build their nests:
on the tree-top the stork has her home.

The goats find a home on the mountains
and rabbits hide in the rocks.

You made the moon to mark the months;
the sun knows the time for its setting.

When you spread the darkness it is night
and all the beasts of the forest creep forth.

The young lions roar for their prey
and ask their food from God.

At the rising of the sun they steal away
and go to rest in their dens.

Man goes forth to his work,
to labour till evening falls.

How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your riches.

There is the sea, vast and wide,
with its moving swarms past counting,
living things great and small.

The ships are moving there
and the monsters you made to play with.

All of these look to you
to give them their food in due season.

You give it, they gather it up;
you open your hand, they have their fill.

You hide your face, they are dismayed;
you take back your spirit, they die,
returning to the dust from which they came.

You send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the Lord last for ever!
May the Lord rejoice in his works!

He looks on the earth and it trembles;
the mountains send forth smoke at his touch.

I will sing to the Lord all my life,
make music to my God while I live

May my thoughts be pleasing to him.
I find my joy in the Lord.

Let sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked exist no more.
Bless the Lord, my soul.

Second Reading

1 Corinthians 15,45-49

So the first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; and the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. But first came the natural body, not the spiritual one; that came only afterwards. The first man, being made of earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. The earthly man is the pattern for earthly people, the heavenly man for heavenly ones. And as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so we shall bear the likeness of the heavenly one.

Reading of the Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Luke 6,27-38

'But I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To anyone who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek as well; to anyone who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from someone who takes it. Treat others as you would like people to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to get money back, what credit can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 'Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap; because the standard you use will be the standard used for you.'

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Homily

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." These words, with the theme of love, are the central part of the sermon of the beatitudes. They resonate particularly appropriate in this time that seems to be at the mercy of the demon of war. There is a need for these Gospel words to resonate in this time and arouse an indignation at the worsening dangers, along with a commitment to a more fraternal world. The commandment of love for enemies reveals to us the very face of God, his way of being and working. The Apostle recalls this when he states that God shows his love for us because he loved us while we were sinners (cf. Rom 5:6-8), far from him, we can say enemies. By his death on the cross Jesus broke down the wall of enmity, of separation. The page from the book of Samuel showing David's decision not to kill Saul, indicates what the wisdom of the righteous is: to imitate God, who is Father of all and who wants the conversion of the sinner, not his death. Commenting on this page, John Chrysostom says: "A man, whatever he does to you, is a brother;" the enemy who does evil to you is a brother whom evil has removed from you and also from his own humanity. The Lord exhorts us to do good to those who do us harm, to pray for them, to overcome them in love. This exhortation to the superabundance of love is not on the sentimental level but on the level of changing hearts and history. It is the superabundant love that allows us to understand and accept Jesus' other exhortation: "If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your cloak do not withhold even your shirt." Jesus lacks that fundamental category present in everyone: the idea of victory over others, whatever the cost is. Jesus does not want to defeat anyone; he does not consider anyone his enemy, not even Judas, whom he called "friend" while receiving the kiss of betrayal. For the world, winning is an obsession. The only great law for Jesus is that of love, that love that drove him to leave heaven to come to earth to save us, even at the cost of death. That love is called mercy. As he exhorts at the end of this Gospel passage: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." It is the way to serve the Kingdom entrusted in our hands. We are asked not to measure love, but to go beyond: "Do to others as you would have them do to you."