Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was
said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer
no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over
your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service
for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and
do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow." (Matthew 5: 38-42)
Introductory Prayer: Lord,
you present a message that is not easy for my fallen nature to accept. However,
I believe in your words, and I trust in you because you alone have the words of
eternal life. As I begin this moment of prayer, I turn to you as one in need. I
want only to please you in all I do.
Petition: Lord, help me to
embrace your call to turn the other cheek.
1. The Leitmotif: Can
we discover a unifying thread in this week’s Gospel readings? One that stands
out is the radical newness of Christ’s Kingdom. It is new in its fundamental
principle: a charity that must extend to loving one’s very enemies (Monday and
Tuesday). It is new in the intentions which must motivate all our actions
(Wednesday). It is new in the way we are to pray to our Father in heaven
(Thursday). And, finally, it is new in the radical demands it places upon us as
followers of Christ: We must make this Kingdom our only treasure (Friday) and
seek it above everything else in life (Saturday). What a privilege to be called
to the mission of helping to establish such a Kingdom! What a joy, what an
honor, what a glory to be the subjects of such a King! Do people encounter a
“newness”, a freshness, in my approach to life? Is it rooted in Christ’s new
teaching?
2. A New Legislator: We
find ourselves at the heart of Christ’s discourse in his Sermon on the Mount.
Our Lord attributes to himself an authority that must have startled and even
shocked his Jewish listeners. He claims the power to alter what has been
proclaimed in the very Law of Moses and the prophets — the absolute source of
authority for the Jewish faith. Remember that God gave Moses the Ten
Commandments, and God put his word in the mouths of the prophets.
So when Jesus says, “You have heard it said…. But I say to
you...,” only two alternatives are possible: Either Christ is a madman, or he
is truly the Son of God, the one who has come “not to abolish the law and the
prophets, but to fulfill them.” I may agree that he is truly the Son of God,
but do I embrace all of his teachings?
3. Turning the Other Cheek: It
would certainly be hard to find words more radical than these. Who would dare
to speak them, if not the Son of God himself? He would live them out fully in
his own life, allowing himself to be nailed to the cross by evil men. But is it
really possible for us to live them as his followers, as Christians? Do we
really turn the other cheek when someone strikes us? If people demand something
of us unjustly, do we give them even more than they ask? What could be the
purpose of these commands from Christ, which seem to leave us vulnerable and
defenseless? In the end, it is only such heroic charity that will be able to
win over evil men to the cause of the Gospel. And that is precisely what
Christ, our Savior, longs for. “God … desires all men to be saved and to come
to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4).
Conversation with Christ: Lord,
I long to have a heart that is more like yours. Warm my selfish heart so that I
will lovingly turn the other cheek as you ask of me. Help me to grow in zeal
for all men to be saved and to come to know you in their lives.
Resolution: I will do an act of kindness for someone with whom it is difficult
for me to get along.
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