7th SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME
1Corinthians
Matthew 5:38-48
"Love your enemies, and
pray for
those who persecute you…”
Still, the gospel of today is a continuation of last Sunday's gospel where we saw how Christ would introduce his new ethics and religion by perfecting the Law. As a continuation, today's gospel teaches some imperatives of the new ethics. But evidently, we see two major points which the gospel wants to teach. First, the perfection of the Old Law is the law of Love. Second, the basis of this perfection is the Father's perfection.
1. The perfection of the Law is the law of love. What Christ preaches in the mount (and all the way through) is nothing else but a religion and a morality of love. It is the religion from within. It is the morality of the heart. But what does love really mean in today's gospel? That love which is taught today has two basic dimensions: one, it surpasses the standard of justice; two, it also surpasses the Jewish concept of charity.
“An eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth.” This is the old law which beholds the standard of justice not only of the Jews in particular but of humanity in general. Jesus offers another alternative standard by citing five examples: These examples must be understood as concrete illustrations taken at Jesus' time and not as specific moral instructions. If they were such instruction, it would hardly be true, both before and now, that one should offer his left cheek when struck at the right or offer almost everything right then and there when someone asks for it without even expecting repayment.
Today’s gospel seems to give these points for meditation. It tells us to offer no resistance to injury not to teach us weakness and passivity, but for us to see the beauty of patience and understanding. The gospel tells us to give to whoever asks and lend to whoever borrows, not so much in order to suggest that the best kind of life is philanthropy to the giver and mendicancy to the receiver. Rather, it is more meant to inculcate in us the higher virtues of compassion and generosity. This certainly surpasses the demands of justice but in no way destroys it. For the truth is that Christ does not forbid us to resist an unjust attack (cf Jn 18:22ff). Nor does this tolerate injustice either. The gospel of Christ teaches us in fact to eliminate injustice in all its forms.
"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Actually, the Old Testament does not teach about positive hatred towards a neighbor. Our first reading is clear: "Do not hate your brother in your heart…” The reason why Jesus preaches about loving an enemy is the Jewish very limited concept of neighbor. For a Jew, a neighbor is only a fellow Jew; a non-Jew is not. And worse, a non-Jew is most often considered an enemy. Thus, the Old Testament commandment of love is confined within the threshold of what is Jewish, and hatred means their inability to love a non-Jew.
With Christ's Sermon on the Mount, he tries to open the eyes of every Jew to the call of universal charity. This universal charity teaches that everyone who is in need is a neighbor (cf Lk 10:29ff). And since everybody is always in need - regardless of what kind and in what degree - everybody then is a neighbor and hence has always to love and be loved- Universal love, therefore, embraces all men in all situations. After all, Jewish monotheism has taught even long before that we all belong to the same Father. In this sense, the Old Law finds its perfection in the law of love.
2. "You must therefore be perfect just as
your heavenly Father is perfect," - - - If we are enjoined to live
according to the imperatives of this new ethics - and thus live according to
the perfection of the law- it is because the Father is just like that. The Father's
perfection is what he sets for his children to follow. Many a time do people
complain, disdain and profane him. Many too are the occasions when men ignore, dishonor
and even harbor ill feelings against him: But we see how relentless his
patience is. We know how abundant his understanding is. The Old Testament is a
story of countless unfaithfulness and betrayals. But the Father remains,
faithful before their infidelity, and steadfast in his mercy and love before
their rebellion. True, he punishes the wicked that is what it means to be a
just God: But his fairness goes beyond bounds because "he causes his
sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest
men alike.”
We see these things, too, in Jesus who is the perfect image of the Father. Jesus has never discriminated anybody. Although in some occasions we see him giving priority to his own people (for it was first for his own people that he came), Jesus was always open to everyone who came to him. He even reached out to non-Jews and to other towns and villages foe he also realized they were a part of his mission. Surprisingly, he was so close to sinners and make Samaritans and tax collectors heroes and superstars in many of his parables and examples. To men and women, parents and children, young and old, rich and poor, sick and healthy, saints and sinners, Jesus was a friend!
But nothing much greater an expression of this universal love we can see in him than when he took into the letter the meaning of loving one’s enemies and praying for one's persecutors. Jesus, the suffering servant, said no word before the insults of his torturers; he offered no resistance when slapped; he gave his head for the crown of thorns and stretched out his hands to be nailed on the cross And amidst such pains that tormented both his body and soul, he would only cry out; "Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing" (Lk43:34). That was what a dear friend could ever do and show. But by his precious blood, he has indeed redeemed the world!
“On
Loving one's enemies and praying for one's
persecutors are most difficult to follow for they seem to run diametrically
opposed to the normal course of life. But it is precisely "in this way
you will be sons of your Father in heaven.” This is a trademark of Christianity,
and the merits of these imperatives lie in the fact that they make Christians
different. But sometimes, it saddens and shames us Christians to know that it
takes a non-Christian to do it.