Monday in the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time, June 15, 2020

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.”

I’m sorry I did not post a reflection yesterday.  Lately, the weekends have become very difficult.

Jesus says, “Offer no resistance to one who is evil”.  This is a verse that changed Tolstoy’s life.  Unfortunately, he misunderstood it.  We have to read this verse in context with the preceding verses, which include, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.”  That is, Jesus is using hyperbole to make a point.  He is telling us not to offer violence with intent to harm: do not provoke someone into a fight, and do not enact revenge against a person.  Rather, seek justice from the proper authorities.  Now, in following the commandment to love oneself and our neighbors, we ought to understand that we can defend ourselves and those for whom we have responsibility.  In contrast, if we literally offered no resistance to evil, we would be complicit in it.  This applies also to the famous words about turning one’s cheek.  We are not to offer ourselves to violence, but we are to avoid committing it as best we can.  

“Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”  The commandment here is to be generous, but it is not an absolute commandment: a person ought to be generous but not so that it affects one’s own good or that of the people for whom one is responsible.  If our neighbor asks us for a thousand dollars and we have only that much in the back and it is for the rent we owe, then we cannot give to our neighbor.  In this case, we simply do not have it to give.  We must also be prudent with our money and other goods.  If a person asks us for money and our best guess is that the person will use it to fuel his addiction, then we ought to do provide the money.  We use it to pay our bills or help someone with the necessities of life.  We should also keep in mind here that in the historical context in which Jesus was speaking, a person only asked for a loan if he was in trouble.  In the first century A.D., no one was seeking loans in order to pay for luxuries.  Loaned money would be used to pay taxes, to buy food, or even to get a person released by debtor’s prison.  Often, usurious rates would be applied to the loan, although theoretically the Jewish law prohibited Jews from charging interest on loans to each other.  Jesus is reminding his hearers not to do this, but to loan freely.

The reason for us to be generous is that our God is generous.  As we have freely received from him, we should freely give.