Seventh Sunday after Epiphany – Year A
not observed 2026
Gospel Lectionary Text
Matthew 5:38-48
5:38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
5:39 But I say to you: Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also,
5:40 and if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give your coat as well,
5:41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.
5:42 Give to the one who asks of you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
5:43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
5:44 But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
5:45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
5:47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the gentiles do the same?
5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Context
Coming soon.
Question
Coming soon.
Reflections
Becoming Perfectly Human
By Lina Thompson |
I use to think that the Sermon on the Mount was easy and beautiful. I use to think, “yeah Jesus, tell ’em what they are missing.” The Sermon on the Mount was clear and way better than the law. Plain language. No questions. When I learned that Jesus was actually the fulfillment of the law,…
The Enemy of Perfection
By Kris Rocke |
Argh! I knew it. Underneath Jesus’ expansive, merciful heart lay a trigger-happy moral cop itching for us to straighten up and fly right – to be as morally perfect as God… or else! The word “perfect” used in this week’s lectionary text (Matt 5:38-48) is perhaps the most toxic of all religious words for those…
Praying Eucharistically - Weekly Homily by James Alison:
Girardian Lectionary Weekly Reflection:
Understanding the Bible anew through the Mimetic Theory of René Girard.
Poetry
For The Unknown Enemy
by William Stafford
This monument is for the unknown
good in our enemies. Like a picture
their life began to appear: they
gathered at home in the evening
and sang. Above their fields they saw
a new sky. A holiday came
and they carried the baby to the park
for a party. Sunlight surrounded them.
Here we glimpse what our minds long turned
away from. The great mutual
blindness darkened that sunlight in the park,
and the sky that was new, and the holidays.
This monument says that one afternoon
we stood here letting a part of our minds
escape. They came back, but different.
Enemy: one day we glimpsed your life.
This monument is for you.
Prayer
Coming soon.