Breaking the Spiral of Evil
Introduction
“Do not accept the grace of God in vain.” Be always open to it. For “today is the acceptable time,” today is the day of grace. Do not let it pass! Are we willing to listen to the voice of Paul?
Jesus tells us not to repay the unjust by revenge. “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” is not Christian. The Indian Gandhi said that, “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.” However, we must rather suffer injustice and let people take advantage of us, at least when the injustice is done against us. But other parts of the scriptures tell us to defend others if they are wronged, like the poor, and to fight injustice through goodness and forgiveness. That is how we must break the spiral of evil.
1 Reading: 2 Corinthians 6:1-10
Brothers and sisters: As your fellow workers, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says: In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We cause no one to stumble in anything, in order that no fault may be found with our ministry; on the contrary, in everything we commend ourselves as ministers of God, through much endurance, in afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labours, vigils, fasts; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love, in truthful speech, in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness at the right and at the left; through glory and dishonour, insult and praise. We are treated as deceivers and yet are truthful; as unrecognized and yet acknowledged; as dying and behold we live; as chastised and yet not put to death; as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 98:1, 2b, 3ab, 3cd-4
R. (2a) The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm. R.
In the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel. R.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise. R.
Alleluia: Psalm 119:105
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A lamp to my feet is your word,
a light to my path.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: 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.”
Commentary
In what might seem to be a series of defeats, Paul sees victory and new life. Paul exhorts the Corinthians not to assume that God’s grace had failed. When he speaks of his ministry, his conscience is clear. He has had more than his share of setbacks—from constraint to outright imprisonment—but his response has always been patience, kindness, unfeigned love, and uprightness. Despite being attacked as a deceiver by those who are against him, Paul knows that he has been truthful and has lived life in God. Though he may appear sorrowful, he rejoices; though he may seem poor, he is enriched; though he has nothing, he possesses everything. These are some of the apparent contradictions of the Christian life.
The law of retribution, cited in the Gospel, was known to both the Israelites and the neighbouring cultures. Known as the ‘lex taleonis’, it sounds worse than it actually was: it put limitations on retaliation for injury. Retribution was not to be excessive. If someone knocked out your tooth, you were not justified in removing many of them, but only knocking out their tooth! True, this was violent, but it was nevertheless an ancient attempt to control a person’s response to evil or criminal acts.
But in the Christian life, there is an entirely different standard. The only acceptable response is love and forgiveness. When struck, turn the other cheek. When asked for a tunic, give your cloak as well. When asked to walk for a mile, go two.
We live in a violent and vengeful world. But Christians must walk a different path, one that may seem foolhardy and unreasonable at times but is actually replete with its own riches.
Blessing
Break the spiral of evil! Each of us, in her or his own place, has to do away with evil, in oneself, and as much as one can in one’s family, occupation and employment and community. May God give you the strength and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!