AT times, the thoughts of past scholars are striking because of how they relate to our present lives. Take, for example, this insight of William Barclay (biblical scholar and theologian) on hope as opposed to pessimism in The Daily Study Bible Series on the Gospel of Mark:
Too often experience fills us with pessimism, teaches us what we cannot do, teaches us to view life with a kind of resigned hopelessness. But there are other experiences. Sorrow came—and we came through it still erect. Temptation came—and somehow we did not fall. Illness took us—and somehow we recovered. A problem seemed insoluble—and somehow it was solved. We were at our wits’ end—and somehow we went on. We reached the breaking point—and somehow, we did not break. We, too, are blind. If we would only read the lessons of experience aright, it would teach us not the pessimism of the things that cannot be, but the hope which stands amazed that God has brought us thus far in safety and in certainty and the confidence that God can bring us through anything may happen.
Isn’t this true for us today? Somehow we’ve learned to navigate through the hardships, pains, and restrictions of the pandemic. And many of us survived, thanks to God and the guidance of science, the government, and the medical community. We have also remained strong in hope, faith, and love.
When some people may have lost their faith in God, science, and yes, even in humanity, many of us hang on to our belief in the goodness of God and the greatness of humanity to defy any obstacle in life. We cannot afford to be cynical and hopeless. We’ll keep raising our spirits high in any disaster or illness.
It’s also true in achieving Christian virtues. We can rise above our weaknesses and sinfulness, and to say that we’re mere human beings is a lame excuse for greatness. As Christians, we can resist any temptation to hurt, resent, or not forgive someone. After all, as we have heard others say, God did not just call us to be good; he called us to be great!
The example of David in this Sunday’s (February 20) First Reading (1 Samuel 26:2-23) inspires us to transcend any weakness such as hatred, pride, and jealousy. David had the opportunity to finish off Saul –his enemy and predator – whom God put in a deep sleep within a barricade along with his men. At that moment, David could have nailed him to the ground and told his comrade, Abishai, to kill him with one thrust of a spear in the heart. But, instead, David turned away from revenge and violence and said, “Do not harm him, for who can lay hands on the Lord’s anointed.”
David did one thing that he thought he could not do: to forgive his enemy. Fear of the Lord reigned in his heart rather than hatred. But, by God’s grace, he could do it.
It’s how we should look at the Gospel this Sunday when Jesus told 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 takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give 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.
Jesus’ mandates of radical forgiveness and generosity are not easy to do. Still, with belief and hope in our human capacity through the grace of God, we can fulfill them. After all, as the Second Reading (1 Cor 15:45-49) reminds us, “Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.” In other words, as human beings created in the image of God, we can show to the world the radical love, goodness, and mercy of God.
So, let us not submit ourselves to pessimism but to hope in God and humanity!
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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
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Fr. Rodel “Odey” Balagtas is the pastor of Incarnation Church in Glendale, California.
