Texts taken from the missal “Sulla Tua Parola” January-February 2025
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
3rd week, Sunday cycle
FIRST READING
From the first book of Samuel (1Sam 26:2,7-9,12-13,22-23)
In those days, Saul set out and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, taking with him three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph. David and Abishai went among the people by night, and there was Saul sleeping soundly among the baggage, with his spear stuck in the ground beside his head, while Abner and the troops slept all around him. Abishai said to David: “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Let me pin him to the ground with the spear in one stroke, and I will not need a second.” But David said to Abishai: “Do not kill him! Who could stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and remain unpunished?” David took away the spear and the water jug that was beside Saul’s head, and the two of them went away; no one saw, no one noticed, no one woke up: they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them. David crossed to the other side and stood far away on the top of the mountain; there was a great distance between them. David shouted: “Here is the king’s spear: let one of the servants come over and take it! The Lord will reward each according to his righteousness and his faithfulness, since today the Lord delivered you into my hands, but I would not stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed.” –
The Word of the Lord.
Commentary on the first reading
The text presents us with King Saul’s pursuit of David, whom he wanted to kill. He had already tried to do so, but Saul’s son, Jonathan, warned David, to whom he was bound by deep friendship, and this sent Saul into a rage. Well, during one night, while “Saul was sleeping deeply among the wagons...,” David took his spear and water jug: “Here is the king’s spear: let one of the servants come here and take it,” David shouted. The soldiers suggested that David kill him, yet he did not, because he placed “his vengeance” in God’s hands: “The Lord will render to each according to his righteousness....” Nurturing feelings of anger and fear is normal and human: we should not be surprised by this, because God wanted us to have feelings; otherwise, he would not have created them! David’s experience teaches us, however, how to manage them: revenge makes no sense. Let us tell God, even in prayer, what we are feeling, and leave it to him, because in the end hatred is overcome with love.
SECOND READING
From the first letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (1 Cor 15:45-49)
Brothers and sisters, the first man, Adam, became a living being, but the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. The spiritual body did not come first, but the natural one, and then the spiritual. The first man, made from the earth, is of the earth; the second man comes from heaven. As the earthly man is, so are those who are of the earth; and as the heavenly man is, so also are those who are heavenly. And just as we were like the earthly man, so we will be like the heavenly man. - The word of God.
Commentary on the second reading
Paul continues to defend and explain to the Corinthians the newness of Jesus, who died and rose again. In this passage, he compares the old man, Adam, with the new man, Jesus. Adam, says the Apostle, “is from the earth, made of earth,” as the text of Genesis recalls. But the second man, that is, Jesus, “comes from heaven,” from God. He is the Son of God! Thus, if “the earthly man” returns to the earth, “the heavenly man” is made for heaven. In this way, Paul seeks to bring out and highlight the beauty and greatness of Jesus, his uniqueness: this concerns not only him but, in him, each one of us! As for the Corinthians, so also for us Jesus is the source of our joy, our hope, and our faith. This is where the passion for our witness begins.
GOSPEL
From the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 6:27-38)
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear, I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; to the person who takes your cloak, do not refuse even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and from anyone who takes what is yours, do not demand it back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do the same to them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to receive the same amount in return. Instead, love your enemies, do good and lend without hoping for anything in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 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 it will be given to you: a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap, because the measure with which you measure will in turn be measured out to you.” – The Word of the Lord.
Commentary on the Gospel
Last Sunday (February 16), we reflected on the Beatitudes (Luke 6:17, 20-26). Today’s text shows us the consequences of embracing that proposal wholeheartedly: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you…,” because “if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.” The profile of the believer, of the Christian, is recognized precisely by love—not just any love, but the love of God. Jesus shatters our logic, as if he were changing the rules of the game. Of course, none of this is easy: it goes against our way of thinking, and Jesus knows this. That is why he immediately adds the standard we should look to: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Here is the point of comparison: the mercy with which God himself has shown me mercy! Because in the end, “the measure with which you measure will in turn be measured out to you.” If we learned to trust and truly cast the nets of our lives into him, then we too would experience that overflowing joy of which Jesus himself speaks.
