This blog follows the daily bible readings of the Catholic Church

Reading 1

1 Corinthians 8:1b-7, 11-13

Brothers and sisters: Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.
If anyone supposes he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.
But if one loves God, one is known by him.So about the eating of meat sacrificed to idols: we know that there is no idol in the world,
and that there is no God but one. Indeed, even though there are so-called gods in heaven and on earth (there are, to be sure, many “gods” and many “lords”),
yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things are and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are and through whom we exist.But not all have this knowledge.
There are some who have been so used to idolatry up until now that, when they eat meat sacrificed to idols, their conscience, which is weak, is defiled. Thus, through your knowledge, the weak person is brought to destruction, the brother for whom Christ died.
When you sin in this way against your brothers and wound their consciences, weak as they are, you are sinning against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to sin,
I will never eat meat again, so that I may not cause my brother to sin.

In this case the liberal brother is asked to forego the exercise f his freedom for the sake of the more conservative brother who thinks anything to do with idols is abomination. There will be occasions where the conservative brother has to temper his certainty, rather than denouncing the liberal as unchristian. Religion based on the conviction of superior knowledge of any kind is destructive. This goes against the grain for liberals as well as fundamentalists.

Luke 6:27-38

Gospel

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 one cheek, offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For 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.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”

This is the heart of the good news. Why? Because Jesus is himself the command he issues. God’s overwhelming generosity is made evident in him and demands a response. In him God is revealed as love for enemies, forgiveness of sinners, grace abounding. This generosity is real and available now, here, on this earth, in Jesus, who demonstrates his astonishing confidence in humanity by giving these commands. The American translation makes a pig’s breakfast of the last verse, which should be a pithy summing up: the measure you give will be the measure you get. Does this mean God will stint us if we are not generous? No, but at the heart of living we can only receive what we are prepared to give. There are not two decisions, but one: to-receive-and-give