Readings for Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 2 Cor 6:1-10
St. Paul’s main message in this passage is to encourage those of the faith to remain steadfast as he and his companions have done. He describes nine different trials they have encountered (“afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, fasts) and provides a litany of seven contrasting negative external perceptions with positive internal spiritual realities.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 98:1, 2b, 3ab, 3cd-4
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
With Psalm 98, we sing a hymn of thanksgiving for God’s saving presence. In this passage,we have the sense of St. Paul’s confidence in the face of resistance.
Gospel Mt 5:38-42
In this passage, we continue to contrast Mosaic Law with the Christian ethic. Jesus quotes from the Law of Moses the rule that was intended to limit the extent of retaliation extracted by individuals who had been wronged. The Lord rejects physical retaliation completely (“…turn the other one to him as well.”) He goes further with four additional examples saying that the Christian is not to resist litigation but to offer more than is asked, offer more service than what is asked, loan to others who wish to borrow. With these examples the Lord shows how it must be between those who follow him to the Kingdom of God.
Reflection:
The message from scripture today is one that we never like to hear. St. Paul tells us in his Second Letter to the Corinthians that he and his companions had faced many trials as they attempted to spread the word. In the Gospel from St. Matthew the Lord tells us that while our Jewish predecessors could extract proportional revenge for acts of injustice, we are called to a higher standard. We are to “turn the other cheek”.
This one short statement; “Turn the other cheek” has characterized the pacifistic image of the devout Christian in modern times. It is Christ’s response to the Mosaic Law “an eye for and eye”. Yet, how many times have we heard that old law quoted by those who wish to rationalize their behavior as being justified? As if to add emphasis to what he was saying, Jesus went further with additional examples. St. Paul in his letters clearly caught the sense of this vision of mutual love and unity. Can you imagine a society in which an injured party came to the perpetrator demanding reparations and was offered twice what was asked for? Can you imagine a society where a person in need could walk next door and ask to borrow an article or food or money and be given that loan with no questions asked?
All of these examples assume an attitude on the part of the one expected to act or react. That attitude is unconditional love for the other person. When that attitude is truly present, all of the examples the Lord presented are possible. Without the attitude of mutual love and respect it seems ridiculous.
How then do we respond to “turn the other cheek” and the other examples of the Christian ethic? As always we must start with those we find it easy to love unconditionally, our family and closest friends. Ironically, it is with that group that we find it most difficult not to respond to hurt with hurt. It is actually easier for us to go the “extra mile” or to give our cloak as well as our tunic than to turn the other cheek.
Today let us vow that we will at least “turn the other cheek”. We can pray for the wisdom to follow the rest of the Christian ethic demanded by the Lord, but at least we can try not to hit back verbally (physically is never an option) against those we love today.
Pax
[1] After Links Expire
[2] The Picture today is “Small Passion: 17. The Flagellation” by Albrecht Dürer, 1511
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 2 Cor 6:1-10
St. Paul’s main message in this passage is to encourage those of the faith to remain steadfast as he and his companions have done. He describes nine different trials they have encountered (“afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, fasts) and provides a litany of seven contrasting negative external perceptions with positive internal spiritual realities.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 98:1, 2b, 3ab, 3cd-4
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
With Psalm 98, we sing a hymn of thanksgiving for God’s saving presence. In this passage,we have the sense of St. Paul’s confidence in the face of resistance.
Gospel Mt 5:38-42
In this passage, we continue to contrast Mosaic Law with the Christian ethic. Jesus quotes from the Law of Moses the rule that was intended to limit the extent of retaliation extracted by individuals who had been wronged. The Lord rejects physical retaliation completely (“…turn the other one to him as well.”) He goes further with four additional examples saying that the Christian is not to resist litigation but to offer more than is asked, offer more service than what is asked, loan to others who wish to borrow. With these examples the Lord shows how it must be between those who follow him to the Kingdom of God.
Reflection:
The message from scripture today is one that we never like to hear. St. Paul tells us in his Second Letter to the Corinthians that he and his companions had faced many trials as they attempted to spread the word. In the Gospel from St. Matthew the Lord tells us that while our Jewish predecessors could extract proportional revenge for acts of injustice, we are called to a higher standard. We are to “turn the other cheek”.
This one short statement; “Turn the other cheek” has characterized the pacifistic image of the devout Christian in modern times. It is Christ’s response to the Mosaic Law “an eye for and eye”. Yet, how many times have we heard that old law quoted by those who wish to rationalize their behavior as being justified? As if to add emphasis to what he was saying, Jesus went further with additional examples. St. Paul in his letters clearly caught the sense of this vision of mutual love and unity. Can you imagine a society in which an injured party came to the perpetrator demanding reparations and was offered twice what was asked for? Can you imagine a society where a person in need could walk next door and ask to borrow an article or food or money and be given that loan with no questions asked?
All of these examples assume an attitude on the part of the one expected to act or react. That attitude is unconditional love for the other person. When that attitude is truly present, all of the examples the Lord presented are possible. Without the attitude of mutual love and respect it seems ridiculous.
How then do we respond to “turn the other cheek” and the other examples of the Christian ethic? As always we must start with those we find it easy to love unconditionally, our family and closest friends. Ironically, it is with that group that we find it most difficult not to respond to hurt with hurt. It is actually easier for us to go the “extra mile” or to give our cloak as well as our tunic than to turn the other cheek.
Today let us vow that we will at least “turn the other cheek”. We can pray for the wisdom to follow the rest of the Christian ethic demanded by the Lord, but at least we can try not to hit back verbally (physically is never an option) against those we love today.
Pax
[1] After Links Expire
[2] The Picture today is “Small Passion: 17. The Flagellation” by Albrecht Dürer, 1511
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