Gospel Reflection for the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time – February 19th By Fr Brian Maher OMI
Last week’s Gospel stretched good will to its breaking point when Jesus told us that, not only must we not kill, but we must not even harbor angry thoughts against a person who hurts or betrays us. That’s a lot to ask, and we might well say to ourselves, “after this, it has to get easier.”
Wrong! In fact, it gets worse. Therefore, if you are a person who likes a comfortable life stop reading now. You can justify doing so by telling yourself that today’s Gospel might seriously compromise your health – mental and physical – leading to a nervous breakdown or heart attack. If, however, you are made of sterner stuff or tend towards masochism, read on and accept God’s invitation to change, not the ways we act, but the very mindset which leads to our actions.
And before saying anything else, let me underline the word ‘invitation’ in the last sentence. As with everything Jesus says to us, his words are not spoken with judgement or hint of condemnation of any kind. When the rich young man came to Jesus and said, ‘I keep all of the commandments and live a just life’, Jesus said to him, “Well done, you are a man of faith. Now sell all you own, give to the poor, and come follow me.” That was a step too far for the man and we are told he “went away sad”. Jesus, too, was sad – not angry or condemning or even criticizing – just sad. The life – the Kingdom – that Jesus offers us is just that; something that is ‘offered’, not demanded. It is perfectly OK for us to read today’s Gospel and then say, “That’s too much to ask, Lord. I’ll stay where I am.” Like the rich young man we, too, can keep the commandments and most steer clear of sin, and we will be all right in the sight of God. Jesus will be sad for us. Why? Because he knows that he offers us something that leads to true happiness and peace.
“You have heard it said, ‘eye for eye and tooth for tooth’, but I say this….offer the wicked man no resistance…”
When we are wronged, it is certainly satisfying – sometimes at least – to ‘get even’ and pay back an ‘eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’ Satisfaction, however, is a temporary and short-lived emotion. It allows us to gloat or restore our wounded pride or send a message that we are not to be trifled with, but once the adrenalin rush fades all we are left with is a slightly hollow feeling that we have let ourselves down in some way and that our victory is as much a defeat as anything else.
What Jesus offers us and invites us to be part of is not a way to personal satisfaction or instant gratification. These feel nice for a while but then become empty. ‘Happiness’ is so much deeper than this. The joy and contentment that happiness offers is always combined with a sense that my life is good, meaningful and worthwhile. Vengeance, revenge, recrimination, bitterness can never lead to happiness. As a storyteller, Jesus uses exaggerated figurative language to make what he wants to say obvious to his hearers. He is not literally telling us to allow ourselves to be assaulted, and then turn the other cheek. Nor is he suggesting that we chase the thief stealing from us to offer them more. Of course not! But his exaggerated examples make his point very clearly; happiness will not be found in ‘getting even’, or in meanness, cruelty or unkindness. It is in generosity, openness, kindness, and gentleness that we find the path to happiness.
What is more, each of us, deep within our hearts, know this. The world wants to pit us against one another, telling us that it is power, wealth, dominance, cruelty and control that bring happiness. We are told that we must win to be happy; we must be ‘number one’ to be worth anything; we must be stronger than anyone else to survive. The world tells us this and we try it and learn too late that all we achieve is loneliness, exhaustion, anger, emptiness and a deep unhappiness.
In a moment of tremendous insight St. Paul wrote to his Christian friends in Rome, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” How true that is for all of us. We know what leads to genuine happiness and we so badly want it for ourselves and our children. Yet, time and time again, we find ourselves guilty or ashamed or embarrassed by the selfish, silly, petty choices we make.
Don’t we so look forward to watching our children open their Christmas presents? In the joy of their faces we experience within ourselves a deep happiness. Whether we give large expensive presents like engagement rings, or a simple card and flowers on a birthday or anniversary we know that there is a joy in giving and being generous. So why can’t we do it more often? With St. Paul I answer, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.”
You see, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus holds out to us the path to genuine and deep happiness. “Happy…” he says, “…are the poor in Spirit, the gentle, the peacemakers, those who seek justice, the downtrodden…” They are the ones who will share in the Kingdom of God.
What Jesus understands and offers us, is not so much a way of acting but a way of thinking. The Kingdom of God begins inside our own hearts. The Kingdom the world offers us is based on power and control and profit and ruthlessness. We are told that it will bring us happiness…but it never does. We may get brief moments of satisfaction, which pass quickly and leave us searching for our next ‘fix’. We substitute addictions for happiness and become lost in an existence of ever greater thrills, risks and cheap ecstasies.
The Kingdom of the world is the Kingdom of “The Apprentice” – ruthless competition, trusting no one, doing whatever it takes to win, pretending, calculating, domineering. We smile and enjoy the moment of the pointed finger and the words, “You’re fired.” How sad that an action which hurts and can destroy a person is the climax of each episode.
Jesus invites us to experience a different Kingdom. He holds it out to us and invites us to try it. Be generous, focus on the other person rather than always on myself, forgive, be gentle and compassionate. None of these things can be commanded or written into laws. We will never find ourselves in court or jail because we weren’t generous or forgiving or gentle. They are qualities that we find deep within us when we search for them.
They are, I believe, the ‘image and likeness of God’ planted within each of us at the first moment of creation.
What Jesus does is remind us that they are there, waiting to be found and enjoyed.
“Of course you shouldn’t kill…” Jesus says, “…but think of the peace you will find when you can let go of your anger and bitterness.”
The amazing thing is that, inside ourselves, we know that the Kingdom offered to us by Jesus is the correct one. We know that peace, gentleness, contentment and love will always eclipse cruelty, ambition and hate. We know it because we are made in the ‘image and likeness of God’ and we carry God’s love within us.
Jesus cannot force God’s Kingdom on us. We can be commanded or even forced to keep laws and rules, but we can never be forced to think in a certain way, and it is in the way we think about ourselves and others that we discover happiness and peace.
What we listen to in the Gospel today, and what we have listened to for the last few weeks, might seem overwhelming and impossible, and for that reason we might reject it. As my friend, Leonard Cohen wrote, it is “a staggering account…”
But God is not commanding us to live the qualities of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus does not threaten us with Hell or damnation if we don’t live them.
No. He very gently offers them to us. With understanding and compassion he invites us to try them. “Don’t be fooled by the Kingdom the world offers…” he says, “look at the world with eyes that are generous, and tolerant, and gentle, and forgiving, and without even knowing it the peace and happiness of God’s Kingdom will take root within you.”
When St. Paul said, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.”, I do not get the impression that he is saying it with bitterness or anger. In another place he says, “I have learned to be satisfied with what I’ve got…” and that too is wisdom. Slowly, gently, peacefully we will find the qualities of the Kingdom of God within us.
Let us remember always that forgiveness is not something that God does. Forgiveness is who God is!
We have nothing to fear.
Many thanks,
Brian
If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection, please feel welcome to email me at b.maher@oblates.ie
| Gospel | Matthew 5:38-48 |
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