Brief synopsis of the readings: We first visit the Old Testament historical book of 1st Samuel. Saul, Israel’s first king, is coming to the end of his reign. David, his soon to be successor, wishes to be king and is able to sneak into Saul’s camp where one of David’s advisors advises David to kill Saul. David, however, refused to kill anyone God anointed as king; instead David took Saul’s spear and water jug. David then showed this to Saul’s cousin Abner and announced that he would not harm the Lord’s anointed. Luke’s Gospel continues on from last week’s reading on the Beatitudes. Jesus tells his disciples to do good not only to your friends, but also your enemies. Turn your cheek to those who slap you, give without asking for repayment. “But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great.” Also, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” If you don’t judge you will not be judged. If you forgive you will be forgiven.”

So what would happen if you treated everyone like they treated you? Certainly nobody is suggesting anything good would happen if we were cruel to anyone who treated us well. That would give them permission to treat us badly and that would create a downward spiral. But what if we gave as good as we got? Well, that wouldn’t be bad, but it wouldn’t be as good as it could be.

When we think about poor treatment, it can happen for a number of reasons. Obviously sometimes it’s intentional and even a cursory look at social media can tell us about the “Karen’s” of the world (apologies to anyone named Karen). Honestly there are people out there that are just plain mean and have no trouble justifying their behavior. But motives can be hard to determine. The person who cuts you off in traffic may be following someone and is afraid to lose them for fear of not being able to find their destination. Or they are on the way to the hospital. Or, in fairness, they are texting and should be more careful. In my career in hospice I was often the target of anger that was really just poorly masked grief, people frightened at the prospect of caring for a dying person or wondering how they will go on without their life partner. The more I understood that in the moment, the easier things went.

What about taking it a step further? Does it harm me if I don’t blare my horn out of anger or allow someone ahead of me in line? If my life so tightly wound that I can’t afford to lose a few minutes when someone needs directions or a king word? Of course not. Our generosity doesn’t make us suckers and our sacrifice likely won’t tell others that they can take advantage of us.

We are blessed with remarkable insight and the ability to ponder the motives of others. The correct answer isn’t necessarily the first and we can admit we will probably not know the answer for certain. We are also given the gifts of compassion and empathy that allow us to connect with others in ways that give us a brief glimpse of the divine. Many years ago I knew a man who was a security guard at a large company. He was a man of tremendous insight and love who was, at times, poorly treated by the executives of his company because of his position. Some thought if he had any brains he’d be an executive too while others couldn’t be bothered to think about about him at all. But gave a warm smile and greeting to everyone he encountered and when asked why he did it he’d respond: “If someone is rude to me he doesn’t have the power to make me rude. But maybe my cheerfulness will have the power for him to become a little more cheerful.” He never kept score and he never gave up. I was at his funeral and it was standing room only.

In our first reading David chose mercy with regard to the king and it didn’t hurt him. On Saul’s death David became king and probably gained some popularity for his mercy. After all, we’re still telling his story over 2,000 years later. When Jesus tells us to give our tunic to someone who stole our cloak he isn’t telling us to cheerfully freeze to death; perhaps the thief stole our cloak fearing that he would freeze.

And these reading are more than good advice. Some world religions explicitly speak of a harmony in the universe and teach that our contentment peaks when we join ourselves with that same harmony. But as Christians we don’t just believe this will make us happier, it will bring us closer to the Kingdom of God. It’s not just good, it’s holy. This holiness gives us the strength and perseverance to continue on this path even if we don’t get the result we hope for. My friend the security guard, as I said, was a man of deep faith and this meant that no matter how many times he was treated poorly, he never gave up his cheerfulness and love. No matter how many times his smile was returned with disdain or even hostility he didn’t waiver. As I’ve said many times before, Jesus didn’t teach a biblical version of How To Win Friends And Influence People, he taught the way of God.

If we do good only to those who do good to us, and to those we think we can convert, well we’re back to what Jesus warned us about. If we do good to those who we don’t will respond well, then we are doing God’s will. When it comes to the Kingdom of God there is no “poor investment” and ultimately we’re not in charge of the result. If our mercy comes without condition or expectation it is divine. It’s what God wants for us. And for them? Well, that’s God’s to decide.