VII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 5:38-48
An eye for an eye
“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” (Ex 21:24; Lev 24:20; Dt 19:21; Mt 5:38) - that was the old law. This same old law is applied in Islam: “And We wrote for them in it: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and an equal wound for a wound” (Surah 5:45). This is the law of retaliation, in which justice is revenge.
Even today, a lot of the justice system equals justice with revenge. That’s why murder is punishable by death penalty. And demanding justice, many people demand revenge, forgetting that they are putting themselves at the same level of the one who committed the crime in the first place.
Non-violence is the way for peace
Jesus has a completely different approach. He knows that violence is never a solution to violence and that it will never bring peace and restore broken relationships. That’s why he tells us: “Do not resist an evildoer.” Surely, society must protect itself and cannot ignore the threats to its peaceful existence. But the solution cannot be to fight violence with violence. In international conflicts, the powerful nations try to impose their will by destroying the enemy and in doing so they inflict suffering on many innocent people. Violence instills hatred and breaths violence, leading to the appearance of fighters without any consideration for human life. Jesus tells us that non-violence is the right path for peace.
Jesus brings a completely new way of approaching the personal conflicts and this will have an impact on social conflicts as well.
Called to holiness
Already in the Old Testament, God had called his people to a completely new set of values: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev 19:2). And God’s holiness shows itself in his righteousness - a righteousness that is an expression of his love and mercy. Because God is holy, we are called to holiness, that is we are called to be righteous, and we will be so when love and mercy guide us and are the motive of our attitudes towards others. There is no place for envy, jealousy, hatred or vengeance. Instead, love must prevail:
“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.” (Lev 19:18).
Love your enemies
In the sermon on the mountains, Jesus takes all the consequences of God’s love and mercy. We must love our enemies and pray for them. Only then we will be like our Father in heaven. If we only do good to those who do us good, then we are not different from the pagans. We must be merciful, being ready to care for those who hate us and do us evil. That’s the way God behaves.
Our God - the God who reveals himself in Jesus - is a God full of love and mercy. He is perfect and in him, there is no evil. And he calls us to perfection, in spite of our shortcomings and our failures. We know that on our own we will never be able to achieve that perfection. But God wants us to strive and work hard for it with total confidence in God’s mercy and love. And he will make us perfect. In Jesus Christ, we will become a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).
In the Quran - the holy book of the Muslims - there is no passage that can in any way sound like this command of love of our neighbour and of our enemies. Muhammad was told to terrify his enemies:
“And prepare against them all the power you can muster and all the cavalry you can mobilize, to terrify thereby God's enemies and your enemies, and others besides them whom you do not know, but God knows them.” (Surah 8:60)
Jesus taught love and forgiveness and he himself forgave his enemies, praying for them:
“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34)
Called to be holy and to be perfect, we must be aware that we are God’s temple and that this temple cannot be destroyed. We belong to Jesus Christ and in him we belong to God.
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