Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
First Reading: Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Gospel: Matthew 5:38-48
The Gospel today continues the Sermon on the Mountain. The first reading from the Book of Leviticus tells us that the holiness demanded of the Israelites is much more than mere ritual holiness. This is at the heart of the words of Jesus, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” And he goes on to show that his followers must go beyond legalism and literal interpretation of the law to its spirit, which is love of God and neighbor. To strive for less than perfect love is to stive for too little and it is far beneath the dignity of his followers.
The readings today touch the theme of vengeance and retaliation. Among the Semites from whom the Israelites stemmed, vengeance reigned, and the result was more and more violence. The words of Exodus 21: 24 which Jesus cites in the Gospel; “an eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth” was actually an ethical advancement forbidding excessive retaliation. The first reading forbids revenge and seeks to root out its cause; lack of love. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love bears all things and forgives all things.
In the Gospel, Jesus goes even further. He says, love your enemies! How am I supposed to love someone who hates me? How am I supposed to feel affection for those who hurt me, slander me and say bad things about me? Here Jesus is enjoining excessive generosity in the face of injury or hurt. He says, “offer no resistance to one who is evil. Jesus is not saying for instance, if your husband is beating you, let him keep beating you. If we look at the examples he offered, we understand exactly what he is saying. He says, “When someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other one as well.” What does striking the right cheek mean?” Striking the right cheek is a metaphor for public disgrace or humiliation. Job 16: 10 says, “They open their mouths to jeer at me; they strike my cheek in scorn and unite together against me.” It is the gravest form of insult you can give someone. Again, he says, “if anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well.” Jesus is teaching us to respond to injuries with unexpected generosity and mercy. In Romans 12: 21, St Paul says, “do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.”
It points to the virtue of long-suffering. It is the ability to take violence, insult and aggression without descending to the level of the aggressor so as to get even or to do to them as they deserve. The early Christians extolled the virtue of long-suffering because it was the virtue that gave them the strength to go through the tortures of the persecution without either denying their faith or trying to pay back their aggressors in their own coin. They were not only ready to forgive their persecutors, they prayed for them. We have the classical example of Stephen the first Christian martyr in the Acts of Apostles and countless other martyrs.
The virtue of long-suffering does not mean that a Christian is to turn a blind eye to injustice and abusive situations. It is an invitation to imitate Jesus who in his own life, gave up the right to get even with his aggressors, loved them, forgave them and at the same time condemned all forms of abuse and exploitation of the weak. Mahatma Gandhi understood this well and said, “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” And he developed his philosophy of non-violence based on this. In a world that increasingly believes that triumphing over one’s enemies is the mark of authentic Christian faith and blessing, let us remember that Jesus proposed for his followers the virtue of long-suffering. He That forgave his executioners and prayed for them, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23: 34).
Long-suffering is not a sign of weakness but of strength; it is not a sign of cowardice but of courage. Jesus enjoins this virtue on his followers not because there is nothing they can do about their situation but because God himself is a long-suffering God, who continues to allow his rain to fall both for those who love him and those who hate him. The same way, a true disciple is called to imitate the Father who does not discriminate in his love. That is the perfection to which we are called.
Happy Sunday
Fr Chidi Onwuka m.ss.cc.