Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 23, 2025
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 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.”
Jesus gives a challenging exhortation to all of us as he tells us that we must love our enemies and pray for those who mistreat us. I grew up in the Catholic faith, and I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t familiar with this passage. Despite that familiarity, I did not take this passage to heart until the last few years.
Like much of Scripture, it seemed to present an impossible standard by which we are called to live. My subconscious response was to reduce the intensity of the message until it seemed more reasonable and attainable. I think that this is a common occurrence within Christianity. This tendency to conform Jesus to our image instead of asking and allowing the Holy Spirit to conform us to the image of Christ is dangerous, but I lived that way unintentionally for a long time.
Following a powerful encounter with God, I began to see the Bible as the truly inspired Word of God. From that standpoint, I realized that I could not pick and choose which parts I wanted to follow, even if some of it seemed impossible to follow. Instead, I dared to believe that God is calling me—and all of us—to live and to love in a radical way.
I continue to struggle with shortcomings like impatience, but I continually ask the Holy Spirit to make me more like our Lord Jesus, who prayed, “Father, forgive them,” even as he was dying upon the cross. We are called to follow Jesus’ example, filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit so that the world will know that we are Christians by our love.
Prayer
Lord God, whose love is our forgiveness, teach us that forgiveness is not about you changing hearts but about us changing from a rock-hard heart to a human heart. Jesus on the cross said what we, too, should say of everyone who offends us: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Let us love the sinner but hate the sin. Love recognizes that loved people love people and only hurt people hurt people. Help us to comprehend your fatherly love, that is your merciful forgiveness. Amen
Saint of the Day
St. Polycarp was an important early martyr, and the story of his death is famous because he was miraculously preserved when they tried to burn him at the stake.
Polycarp was among a group of Church fathers who were in the first generation of Christians to be taught by the disciples themselves—he learned the faith from St. John, and in turn, Polycarp taught others, such as St. Irenaeus.
Polycarp lived at a time when the faith was still taking shape—the smallest deviation from the truth that he had received would have long-reaching consequences for us today, and he seemed to be aware of that. He had no patience for those who distorted the faith. The story is told that he once passed by a man in Rome who was teaching the faith with error. When it seemed that Polycarp walked by him without recognizing him, the man called out, “Do you not know me?” Polycarp replied, “I know you—you are the first-born of Satan!”
He was an active leader in the early Church, writing letters to far-flung Christian communities and engaging the pope on matters such as the date of Easter. But Polycarp is most famous for the account of his martyrdom.
He lived during a time of persecution, and while some Christians were willingly giving up their lives—going so far as to turn themselves in to be eaten by lions—he is remembered for being ready to die for his faith, but also living to spread that faith for as long as he could.
When he was to be arrested, he fled and hid for as long as he could. He was eventually betrayed and when authorities finally discovered him, he refused to escape any further. He met the officials at the door, and even fed them supper. He only asked for a few hours to pray before they took him away.
He was taken to an outdoor amphitheater where a great crowd assembled to see him face a judge. He was ordered to renounce Christ, and he flatly refused, confessing his faith plainly and forthrightly.
“I have wild beasts,” the judge said.
“Call for them,” replied Polycarp, “for we will not be moved from good to evil.”
“If you hate the beasts, I will have you consumed by fire,” the judge said.
“You threaten me with fire that burns for a season and is quenched after a while” Polycarp replied, “but you do not know of the judgment to come and of the fire of eternal punishment that is prepared for the wicked. Why do you delay? Bring against me what you please.”
They built a pyre and placed him on it, and began to prepare to nail him to the stake. He told them to leave him alone, telling them that “the one who gives me grace to endure the fire will enable me to remain on the pyre unmoved.” They tied only his hands behind his back, and Polycarp proclaimed a moving prayer that praised God and asked that his death be a Christ-like sacrifice.
Witnesses report that when the wood at his feet was ignited, it swelled like the sails of a ship to gently surround Polycarp without burning him. They said that they could smell a fragrance like incense.
Seeing this, the authorities thrust a spear into his body, which finally killed him. This is remembered as happening on February 23, but scholars disagree as to whether it was 155 or 166. The relics of St. Polycarp rest in the Basilica on campus, and his icon appears here with permission from Catholic.org.
St. Polycarp, you were the early Church martyr who was miraculously preserved from burning at the stake—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Polycarp is available for use under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Last accessed December 6, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
