The Gospel of Luke
Loving and Compassionate: Lk 6,27-38
The repetition of "love your enemies" in verses 27 and 35 provides a bracket around these verses. This marks them as the first section of this second part of the sermon.
The saying "Be compassionate..." in verse 36 therefore opens the second section and clearly provides the key for reading those verses, 6,36-38.
The equivalent saying in Matthew's Gospel, Mt 5,48, is "Be perfect" This saying is the climax to the sequence of "but I say to you" statements, Mt 5,20-48. Matthew's conclusion has therefore become a new beginning in Luke.
As we noted in the overview, "love your enemies" is the final example in the "but I say to you" series in Matthew. Luke has modified this by leaving out the "you have heard how it was said" with which Matthew begins in Mt 5,43. Further, Luke's "but" at the beginning of verse 27 is a stronger "but" in Greek than the one found in Mt 5,44.
A brief comparison with Mt 5,43-48 then shows us how the two presentations of "love your enemies" are quite different. Luke has in fact adapted Matthew to provide a very careful composition here. Both Mt 5,42 and especially Mt 7,12 (the Golden Rule) have been moved into this section by Luke.
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Love your enemies: 6,30-35
Looking at the grammer of the first section, 6,27-35, we can see how 6,27-30 is dominated by imperatives: love, do, bless, pray, offer, give.
Verses 31 then begins literally "and as" (i.e., "just as") while verses 32, 33 and 34 begin "and if...". Finally, verse 35 returns to the theme "love your enemies".
Be compassionate: 6,36-38
The second section opens with the saying about being merciful just as the Father is merciful (6,36). As we've seen, this contrasts with Matthew's "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5,48) being a conclusion.
Finally, the theme shifts to the opposite of love, do not judge (5,37) with its stress on forgiveness (6,37), a theme Luke certainly shares with Matthew (Mt 6,14-15). This second part of the sermon ends with another saying by Jesus on generosity (6,38)
Luke's message in this second half of the sermon removes the expectation of receiving something in return in human relations. Love has no limits (6,36).
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The Sunday Gospel
The Lectionary for the 7th Sunday makes the "be compassionate" statement the beginning of the paragraph on judging rather than as a conclusion to the paragraph on love. We have now seen this to be the better arrangement.
The story of David and Saul from 1st book of Samuel has the advantage of giving a very concrete application of the Gospel. It is part of the much longer story of a complex relationship between Saul and David. It's clear enough that part of David's reluctance is that he won't strike the king as the Lord's anointed and this weakens the link with the Gospel. Also edited out are Saul's words to David during this scene. This is not a perfect example therefore.
Psalm 103 is an excellent prayer to accompany this Gospel with its message of both thanksgiving and compassion.
Following all that, let us now return to the main page