7TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A

Leviticus 19:1-2.17-18

1 Co 3:16-23

Matthew 5:38-48

DEALING WITH ONE'S ENEMY

In today's gospel, Jesus continues his sermon on the mount. Contrary to the law of retaliation in the Old Testament, which regulated revenge in terms of proportionality between the punishment and the offense, Jesus proposed a completely new approach: no resistance to the wicked, love of one’s enemy, praying for one’s persecutors, etc. 

The first reading invites us to love our brothers or sisters, to reprove our fellow citizens fraternally, to take no revenge against any of our own people, and to love our neighbours as ourselves. In short, being kind and loving towards our own kind. But loving one’s enemy as Jesus teaches seems ridiculous, awkward, crazy, unreasonable and unacceptable in our world where human logic advocates for power, revenge, violence; and where forgiveness and not responding to a “provocation” are seen as signs of weakness and fear.

However, Jesus’ teaching finds justification in two statements: (i) "Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy" (Lev. 19:2); and (ii) "You therefore will be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48). These are invitations to be like God, precisely because we are created in the image and likeness of God. For in God there is no grudge, no revenge, no hatred. The psalmist says that the Lord is kind and merciful; slow to anger and abounding in love (Ps 102). Again, He makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45).

As such, we are invited to go beyond the logic or reasoning of the world which is foolishness in the eyes of God, and to live according to the Spirit of God who dwells in us (1 Co 3:16-23). Unfortunately, it could be observed that we Christians have a long way to go as much as love is concerned. For even the pagans reciprocate love, and the tax-collectors greet those who greet them. But as Christians we often fail to love those who love us, we wish them misfortune and look for the downfall of our own kind. Some of us do not even respond to the greetings of those who greet us because we have grudges and resentment against them. As such, let us pray the Lord to touch our hearts so that we may not be worse than pagans and tax-collectors but know that the best way to take revenge on one’s enemies is to love them (cf. Rom 12:17-21).