I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you.
All the communities of the earth
shall find blessing in you.”
We think of the promise of Abraham as something physical. The promised land refers proximately to the Holy Land. The promise seems to be guaranteed only to those related to Abraham by blood. But the promise comes in an even more real way through faith because "those of faith who are the sons of Abraham" (cf. Gal. 3:7) This means that "the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all" (cf. Rom. 4:16).
That we are the ones who receive this inheritance should not cause any pride or arrogance in us. Instead, it should remind us that we are called to be blessings to all the communities of the earth. We are called to be lights of the world and salt of the earth (cf. Mat. 5:13-14).
As we build our alters an invoke the LORD's name we must be sure that we let his light shine through us. It is important to represent him faithfully and not let dirt on the glass of our hearts dim his light. We are in fact called to be our brother's keeper. We are called to teach and admonish one another in all wisdom (cf. Col. 3:16). We are called to engage our brother about his fault, even taking it to the others or the whole Church as necessary. But we must do all of this in a way which does not diminish the light of the LORD shining through us. We see how this works in the life of Jesus. Jesus does not come into the world to condemn or judge us (cf. Joh. 3:16). He comes with mercy! Condemnation and judgment are real dangers from which Jesus longs to save us. When we correct, teach, and admonish, mercy must be the overriding priority.
We must begin with the mercy which Jesus shows us. This mercy enables us to remove the beams from our own eyes and sets us free to share his mercy with others. Only when we start from the mercy which we receive are we empowered to be useful to remove the splinter from the eye of our brother. If we don't begin from here we find ourselves judging and condemning. We are like the man forgiven a massive debt who holds the debt of our fellow servants against them. And since "the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you" this is extremely dangerous.
There is a secret to ensure that our hearts are in the right place. We must do what Paul suggests and let the Word of Christ dwell richly in our hearts. God's Word convicts us of our own sin and brings us to repentance. It helps us to recognize and rejoice in the mercy we ourselves receive. It makes the desire to share this mercy with others grow within us. This Word has the power to transform our lives. It gives us the power to go forth from the land of our kinsfolk and from our father's house to the places where the LORD wants to use us to be a blessing to all the nations.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
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