Monday in the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time, June 13, 2022

Matthew 5, 38-42

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.”

In this section of his Sermon on the Mount, the Lord dismisses the Mosaic understanding of mercy for his own.  Let us see what he is saying.  “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”  This approach emphasizes a penalty that “fits the crime”.  Since it applied to everyone and strictly limited the punishment, it was merciful and was an advance over what usually prevailed elsewhere.  The Lord’s “offer no resistance to one who is evil”, in this context, means to forgive the person who has caused the harm.  This too is mercy, and a greater mercy than under the Mosaic Law since by it a person renounced personal vengeance on the one one who has caused harm, with the understanding that justice may still be pursued for the harm.  The principal effect here, however, is not on the guilty person but on the one who has suffered injury by him.  The harmed person is told by the Lord to set aside hatred and excessive anger towards the other party whereas the Mosaic Law did not deal with inward feelings and so simply allowed them.  In this way, the Lord fulfills the Law: what was allowable in the time before grace is succeeded by what is possible in the time of grace.

“When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.”  The Lord Jesus now gives examples of how this fulfillment of the Law works in practice.  The one who is struck on the face is counseled not to seek vengeance, or even to bear hatred to the one who has committed the assault.  Likewise, “If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well.”  These examples, then are not to be followed literally, then: one is not obliged to actually “turn his cheek”.  The action the Lord commands is to forgive, releasing the offended party from the effects on himself of unleashing his hatred and anger on the other.  The Lord knows well that engaging in vengeful actions makes a person ever more vengeful, whereas forgiveness makes a person more like God.

“Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”  This commandment assumes that a person has the means to lend to another.  It does not mean that we take what is necessary for us to live and to give it to some stranger.  Thus, the Lord commands us to give what we can to those who ask.  In this way we imitate Almighty God who gives us what we need, and at the same time we recognize our own limitations, for we are not God.