DAILY GRACE
June 15, 2020, Monday of the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time
Scripture: Matthew 5:38-42
‘You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Meditation
““Do not resist an evildoer.”
It would be an understatement to say that this is a hard teaching. When we read all of Matthew’s chapter 5 we realize that this a part of the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount comes near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It develops in a prepared way —- rather than spontaneously —- and it contains the core message of Jesus.
We should not be concerned about the origin of each of these teachings or whether they were given as one whole sermon or collected later by Matthew. Instead let us set ourselves to listen carefully. This Gospel text is an explanation of the overall them of love. Jesus is dismantling the common, strong inclination to seek retaliation, to exact revenge. So often we follow the lower instinct that requires nothing of our human nature —- simply anger, brute force, animal cunning, “inner evil.” Although we might feel strong, crafty, in control, even justified, when we retaliate we are simply acting out of animal instinct.
I don’t think I am any better in escaping this pull than most, perhaps in fact less so. But I need to listen to what Jesus is teaching here. Jesus wants us to stand before him, to stand also in our own presence, to reflect on what has angered us. Sometimes what has angered us is truly great, a grievous injustice. More often it is something small: an insult, a put-down, a slight. Why lower ourselves to a reaction similar to whatever prompted it? If we are the better person, shouldn’t our reaction be nobler? Yes, but I confess more often than not I want to get even, or get “even better.” I know that if I am to be noble and at the same time lower the relational temperature between myself and my offender, I need help from beyond self. Jesus’ injunctions in the Sermon on the Mount presuppose just this recognition. The very first beatitude is “Blessed are the poor (the poor in spirit as much as the materially poor), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” That suggests that if we are to experience the kingdom of heaven here and now in our relationships, it will require the recognition of our own poverty, emotionally and spiritually. When I can bring the offender before God in prayer —- in the midst of my anger —- something happens. Something calming, something transforming.
Prayer
Jesus, you constantly met with insult, antagonism, and pressure as you went about preaching divine love and forgiveness. Your whole mission was centered on us —- on our salvation. Make my heart similar to yours, poor and humble, that what I desire for every other person will be similar to what you desire for them, and for me —- peace in this life and eternal happiness in the next. Amen.
Contemplation
“Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”