David had suffered greatly and unjustly at the hands of King Saul, who showed many signs of mental derangement. Removing Saul from power might have seemed a blessing not only for David, but also for all Israel. On two separate occasions, David had an easy opportunity to kill Saul and on both occasions he spared Saul's life. One such episode is recounted for us in today's first reading. "He has delivered you today into my power"David says to Saul, "but I did not want to stretch out my hand against the Lord's anointed one" (1 Samuel 26, 23). Thus, the reason for sparing Saul's life is David's deep respect for the royal office: by sparing Saul, David honors the divinely instituted authority. Only God has the right to take the king's life, not he, David.
The theme of forgiveness continues in the Gospel, but the demand to forgive is more profound. It is not simply a matter of forgiving someone out of respect for his or her high office. Everyone must receive forgiveness. In this sense, we could say that every human person has a divine anointing and must be treated as if he were a king.
Every person, no matter how wicked, is made in the image and likeness of God. When we forgive someone we do it because of the God in him and because of the love God has for him. Divine love is essentially merciful and if we want to be like God - which is the goal of the Christian life - we must forgive like God. This includes forgiving them even if they hurt us - whether by cursing us, beating us or taking our tunic - as Christ did on the Cross. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."and so he lived out his own words: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.".
Treating others justly - being good to those who are good to us - is pagan morality, valid but limited. Christian love goes further: we are to be good to those who are not good to us, those who have nothing to offer us. This is how God loves. As the second reading teaches, we all bear the image of the man of dust, we are all made in Adam's image and share in his sin. But we are called to bear the image of the man of heaven, that is, of Christ. To love like him, to forgive like him, will transfigure us and allow us to share in his heavenly glory.
