Homily for the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time by Deacon George Kingsnorth

Homily 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time Sunday 23rd February 2025. First Reading 1 Samuel 26:2,7-9,11-13,22-23 Psalm Psalm 102(103):1-4,8,10,12-13 Second Reading 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 Gospel Luke 6:27-38 We live in a world where people are often too quick to share their opinions. We make judgments about others, usually in haste, without fully knowing who they are, what circumstances have brought them to this point, or why they have reacted in a particular way to a given situation. "I remember teaching media, showing students an advert by The Guardian Newspaper from 1986 called ‘Point of View’. Everything is filmed in black and white. In the first shot, we see a skinhead turning and racing down a street as a car drives past. The passenger watches as the skinhead speeds past a woman standing at her doorway. The image fades to black. In the second shot, which could be from the passenger’s point of view, the skinhead races past the woman and sprints harder as the camera pans right to reveal a man in a hat and long coat, carrying a briefcase. The man turns to see the oncoming skinhead, pulling up his briefcase to block the potential attacker. There is fear on the man’s face. Again, the shot fades to black. In the third shot, from a higher angle, we see the man walking under a pallet of bricks being hoisted up some scaffolding. Just as the ropes begin to break, the skinhead reaches the man with the briefcase. As the bricks begin to fall, the skinhead pulls the man out of harm’s way, saving his life. This final image fades to black, and the title, The Guardian, appears. After the first image, my students thought the skinhead was running away from the people in the car. From what they discovered in the second shot, they were convinced he was going to assault the man and rob him of his briefcase. The surprise was that the skinhead’s intentions had been good—he wanted to save the man from the falling bricks. Yet, everyone had already condemned the skinhead simply because of his appearance and the wrongful assumptions our culture associates with skinheads being bad boys out to do harm. David, already anointed as the new king, knew it was wrong to take the life of Saul. While it seemed to Abishai that God had delivered Saul into David's hands to be killed, David had a different perspective. He did not judge Saul the same way he was judged by others. David understood it wasn't his place to kill God's anointed—that judgment was for God alone. This situation tested David's ability to discern between right and wrong. He chose to spare Saul, showing mercy and compassion. Instead of taking Saul's life, he took Saul's spear and water to demonstrate that he could have killed him but chose not to. Saul then realized how easily his life could have been taken and recognized his own sin in wanting to kill David. Paul reminds us that the first man, Adam, made of earth, sinned and fell from grace. In contrast, the second Adam, Jesus, came from heaven. While we have all become living souls from the earth, we are called to model our behaviour on Jesus, who offers us a life-giving spirit. The Gospel reminds us that as we follow Jesus, we will be persecuted by our enemies. However, we are not to retaliate with the same treatment they give us. Instead, we are called to show them love, kindness, and compassion, and to refrain from judging them. The way we treat others is how we will be treated in heaven. It is crucial to remember this, for on the scales of judgment, the measure we use for others will be the measure God uses for us. If we have been harsh and lacked compassion, seeing everything in black and white, we too will judge the skinhead as a thug and fail to recognize his noble act of saving the man from harm. Amen.