“As
for the head of those who surround me, let the evil of their lips cover them;
let burning coals fall upon them; let them be cast into the fire, into deep
pits, that they rise not up again. Let not a slanderer be established in
the earth; let evil hunt the violent person to overthrow them.” Psalm 140:9-11
Reading
such passages, it is important to remember that the psalmist is expressing his
own disdain for those who continually seek to persecute the nation of Israel,
God’s own chosen people. It is not unlike the contempt David expressed as
Goliath dared to challenge the Lord’s people and the Lord’s own anointed (King
Saul at that time). Yet Jesus reminds us that praying and wishing for the
judgment of these who commit evil acts against us is not our place.
Rather we are called to “pray for those who persecute” us, and we are
challenged to “bless those” who wish us harm. And St. Paul reminds us
that our acts of kindness in the face of maltreatment and persecution will
“heap burning coal upon their heads”.
“Vengeance
is mine”, says our Lord, and it is important that we not get involved in
“repaying evil for evil”. This is NOT the way of Christ, and it must
never be the way of Christ’s people. Our Lord’s own judgment will cover
the sins of ALL who violate His decrees; and our evil acts will be bring
judgment upon us. We are called to rise above the hate, the slander, the
spite, and to judge ourselves; because we are called to something much
greater. We are not, nor have we ever been, called to be like everyone
else; we are commanded to be better than that.
Perfection
comes by the grace of our Lord himself; this is something we cannot attain on
our own. Striving to be better tomorrow than we are today, however, is
completely within our power and within the realm of “bearing fruit worthy of
repentance”; fruit that testifies to our faith.
Blessings,
Michael
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