Word to the Wise
Monday, June 18, 2018 - Monday in the 11th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Kgs 21:1-16 and Matt 5:38-42]"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... [Matthew]
Teachings like this from our "professor" on the mount can make Christianity 101 more difficult than first imagined. After all, Jesus' teachings on violence run counter to what we hear from certain prominent public figures, one of whom said, "If someone hits me, I hit back harder!" So, the cycle of violence continues. There was once, and probably still is, a policy against using certain weapons of mass destruction because of "mutually assured destruction!" The 'eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth' rule was actually meant to limit violence by exacting revenge only in the measure of the injury received and not more,
Revenge is a terrible thing, no matter how big or small it may be. The temptation to think, "He/she had it coming to them," is an interior revenge as well. The temptation to exaggerate a hurt so as to "justify" a harder response simply helps to escalate violence. If Jesus' teaching seems difficult, perhaps it is because the human desire for revenge is so deep and strong, and not because the teaching itself is hard. Again, our homework for Christianity 101, the examination of conscience, will demand a lot of study. AMEN