Sometimes, it seems that Jesus asks us to do the impossible. Today’s reflection reminds us that, in times of difficulty, we are called to recognize the value of our human existence and invited to share in Christ’s strength and divinity.

February 23, 2025: Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
1 Samuel 26:2, 7–9, 12–13, 22–23
Psalm 103:1–4, 8, 10, 12–13
1 Corinthians 15:44–49
Luke 6:27–38

Pant of the Sinner

A reflection by Marianne Seggerman

Today’s first reading is excerpted from an account where David spares the life of his opponent Saul (but takes his weapons, no doubt as a precaution), because Saul is God's anointed. Jesus, preaching generations later, took this even further, insisting on the radical notion that every life mattered; not just the king's, not just that of God’s anointed. This is a distinction which even today isn't universally practiced. Witness the hue and cry when the CEO of United Healthcare was assassinated. He didn't deserve to die that way, but how often do we hear about all those people who die because they cannot afford healthcare? Consider a diabetic whose life-saving insulin is paid for under his parents' healthcare plan. When he turns 27 – no longer able to access his parents’ insurance – he dies, because his insulin ran out and he could not afford to replenish it. According to Jesus, this loss is just as grievous.

The second reading is Paul's attempt to explain to the community of Corinth the dual nature of Jesus; like Adam, Christ is human. But Christ also is divine – and Jesus’ divinity rubs off on us. We are all invited to share in it, and every life has this potential.

In the Gospel, these threads are brought together in a challenging teaching. Christ commands us all: “Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you.”

Of all the precepts and instructions from Jesus which comprise the Christian faith, this is the one I have the hardest time with. When I was small – and not so small – a couple of relatives did terrible things to me. Jesus tells me I must forgive them, but I can't. I couldn't even bear to be in the same room with them. The only reason I would ever get anywhere near them is if mutual relatives were visiting them; even then, I acted if they weren't in the room. To forgive is sometimes the most impossible task of all – no wonder we are invited to share in Christ’s divinity.

Jesus was right in saying that it is so easy to deal with people who have your best interest at heart, no matter what. At various times in my life I have been close to two women of an older generation. Did any of you, gentle readers, see 20th Century Women, a movie starring Annette Benning? The main character drank like a fish, smoked like a chimney, and collected and nurtured a group of wounded women. One of the women in my life was like that. With multiple addictions and a life of genteel poverty, she still managed to beautifully parent a number of wounded souls, myself included.  She must have been drunk from time to time, but I only remember her love.

This reflection might be more appropriately called a “Pant of the Sinner” than “Breath of the Spirit,” but when was living the Christian faith easy? Our human lives are complicated things – nothing is ever as straightforward as we’d like it to be, or as simple as it might seem from afar. God asks us to do what might seem impossible. We are called to challenge ourselves, to love radically. But we do not meet these challenges alone – we are invited to share Jesus’ strength and divinity as we journey onward.

Marianne Seggerman joined the chapter of Dignity New Haven around 30 years ago. That chapter is no longer alas but she continues to attend the biannual conference. In her day job she is a computer programmer living (and for the moment working) in Westport Connecticut. She is in a long-term relationship with a person raised Jewish who converted to the Mormon faith.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

‍