I’d like to begin with Molly’s proclamation of the first reading. Did you hear it? The first reading from the book of Samuel about Saul and David. 

You see, Saul and David were in a fight, and Saul was out to get David, and David was fleeing from Saul. It just so happens that David came upon Saul’s camp at night when Saul was sleeping. David [coughs], excuse me—made his way into Saul’s encampment undetected. David found Saul and his whole retinue there sleeping. Saul with a spear right near his head. And David could have very easily have slain Saul right there. Very easily. He was sleeping. But David didn’t do it. You heard molly, molly read it. You heard the story. David did not slay Saul. David said that’s not right. David relied upon what he believed to be the righteous thing to do and did not kill Saul. 

We hear in that first reading the righteousness, the righteousness of king David, soon to be king David. We hear his righteousness. We also hear in the gospel, we hear about Jesus’ invitation to live what we would call probably a moral life, live a loving moral life. The golden rule we heard proclaimed today. 

Do unto others as you would have done to you. 

You heard it, didn’t you in the gospel? Along with a whole slew of other proclamations. 

I wrote them down here. Love your enemies. Do good to haters. Bless those who curse you. Pray for the mistreaters. Turn a cheek to the violent. Give the shirt off your back. Give generously when asked. Do it to others as you would have done to yourself. Don’t judge, don’t condemn. Do be merciful, forgiving, and give when asked. A powerful invitation. Just like David lived into his righteousness, Jesus asks us to live into our righteousness as well, to be people who are generous and compassionate, loving to our brothers and sisters. 

But I want to offer an invitation for today as we hear this beautiful gospel reading and those powerful readings. I want to offer this invitation. Do not minimize Jesus as just a moral teacher. Certainly, he invited us to be righteous. But do not minimize Jesus by way of saying that he’s just a moral teacher. So many do.  

We know him to be more than that. We know him to be the son of God who came among us, 

Who offers us everlasting life, who offers us salvation. Let us not minimize Jesus as just a moral teacher. 

Certainly, he was, he is, but he’s also our savior, the savior of the world, the one who comes to us in this eucharist, the one who comes to us powerfully and dynamically, the one with our generous God who surrounds us and sustains us in our life together. 

Are we called to be righteous? Yes. 

Are we also saved by the one and only Jesus, the son of God, who came to earth to bring us salvation? Yes. 

Let us speak about the fullness of who is Jesus for all of us.