1 Sam 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23 / 1 Cor 15:45-49 / Luke 6:27-38
Whenever we go for a meal at the restaurant, there will be the typical appetizers, main course and then at end of the meal that will be dessert.
So, whether it is a birthday celebration or a wedding banquet, whether it is a 5-course or a 10-course meal, the last course will be dessert.
The dessert is usually quite light and it can be anything from cakes to ice cream, or fruits, and generally the taste would be sweet.
At times, the variety of desserts on the menu is quite fascinating, and for those with a sweet tooth, the urge would be to just have all the dessert and forget about the main course.
Anyway, the purpose of the desert being at the end of the meal could be that the final taste of the whole meal would be sweet.
So, whether it is a birthday or wedding celebration, the sweet taste of the dessert at the end of the meal is to symbolize the blessings of sweetness in life.
Yes, we hope and desire for sweetness in life, in our relationships, in our careers, in our projects, in short, sweetness in all the aspects of our lives.
Yes, we want our lives to be sweet and happy, and in the gospel, Jesus is teaching us the way to happiness and sweetness in life.
But that teaching would taste like bitter-sweet, bitter at first but after that it will be sweet.
And essentially, the teaching of Jesus is this: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly.
That teaching goes against our instinct, because our reactions to our enemies would be eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.
Retaliation and revenge swims in our blood, and that is also why there is so much violence and bloodshed in the world.
For the world, to be strong means to fight fire with fire, but as it is there will only be a greater fire that burns and destroys.
But the truth of the Good News is that real strength lies in love and forgiveness, in compassion and kindness.
It is in this truth that Psalm 34 would say this: Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is he who takes refuge and hope in the Lord.
Yes, the Lord our God wants to bless us with happiness and sweetness of life.
We want this sweetness, we desire for this happiness in life.
Our enemies, those who hate us, those who curse us, those who treat us badly, they too want to have happiness and sweetness in life.
But as in a meal, if we really want to have the desert, then we would go easy on the main course, so that we will enjoy the desert.
Similarly, to retaliate, to fight fire with fire, to go eye for eye and tooth for tooth, would only make us bloat with anger, resentment and even hatred.
Let us turn to the Lord our God who is love and compassion, to cleanse all this bitterness in our hearts so that He can fill us with the sweetness of His love.
And let us also asked the Lord our God to bless our enemies, those who hate us, those who curse us, those who treat us badly, and may the sour and bitter relationships with them be turned into sweetness and happiness.
May we and the world taste and see the goodness of the Lord.