do good to those

1 corinth 8:1-7,11-13; Psalm 139 guide me Lord, along the everlasting way; Luke 6:27-38

Jesus said to his disciples, "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 take syour 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?...

For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

Here it is once again, those words that strike a chord in all of us and make us stop an examine our conscience and second guess our lifestyle and cause us to blush with shame.

The golden rule jumps off the pages of scripture and smacks us right in the cheek. Instantly we all sigh and think, how easily it is to forget those simple words we learn in preschool, "do unto others has you would have them do unto you."

So today we start over and begin anew, and this time we really mean to make an effort to live out the teachings of Christ, this radical lifestyle of conversion.

Here we begin to love those who God loves and thus seek to want the highest good for them.

The central point of the message is found in these few words, "do good to those."

Focusing on what is goood enables us to move beyond our emotions and feelings and really seek to be a benefit for all. This is the question we must ask ourselevs whenever we deal with people who rub us in the wrong way, "What is good for them?"

What will help them to understand goodness itself. We shouldn't try to 'teach them a lesson' but rather model the good in our actions.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Peter Claver. He was born in Spain and spent the last 33 years his life in columbia tending to the slaves who were mistreated and abused. Once asked how he manages to serve in such terrible conditions and make such progress, he simply responded with, "we speak to them with our hands before we speak to them with our lips."