Homily Notes 2-19-17
7th Sunday of Ordinary Time
2/19/17
Embarrassing the Enemy
We all have had times when we have felt our rights have been violated. Is it Christian to complain about it or not? Most of the time we would say that if anything is ever going to change we need to stand up to injustice. But doesn’t it seem like Jesus taught people not fight back?
Quite often, the Gospel that is proclaimed today has been used to justify passivity in the face of abuse. In fact, those in authority probably feel that this is a great gospel to use when they make overbearing demands on other people.
Jesus says, after all, “Offer no resistance to one who is evil.” But a far better translation of this line in the gospel is, “Do not react with hostility to one who is evil.” How does one protest in a Christian way?
We run into this dilemma in many settings. A few years ago, it seemed like any number of church people were realizing that they had put up with a lot of unjust treatment in the name of Jesus, believing that this type of humility that Jesus expected from them. The problem with this was that a lot of resentment that was buried for a long time came to their surface. The new virtue people practiced was confrontation. People thought they could gain self-esteem by standing up for themselves which is probably true.
Bishop Robert Morneau reflected on all this in one of his talks a while back. He said, “There is a lot of confrontation going on in the church, but there is not a lot of “loving” confrontation going on. Jesus talks, in the Sermon on the Mount, about confronting with love.
He gives some examples of how to do this. He says first, “When someone strikes you on one cheek turn and offer them the other. One of the most insulting things that someone can do to another is to slap them because when we slap someone else we really do not want to hurt them we just want to demean them. Usually, we do that with the back of our right hand. Jesus is saying, “Turn and offer you left cheek.” If we do that than if a person is going to hurt us they are going to have change their approach because the aggressive person is going to have to use their fist, punching forward. What the recipient is saying is, “If you are going to hit me, you are going to have to do some real damage. Don’t waste time with a fist.”
Another example Jesus gives is that he says, “If someone presses you into service to carry their burden one mile go with them two.” Roman soldiers had a rule that they followed. The soldier could ask a civilian to carry his pack for a mile, but it was against policy to ask someone to go further. We can imagine the soldier trying to pull his bag back from a person who was insistent on going the extra mile. Jesus’ audience must have been amused at the thought of embarrassing a Roman soldier who is trying to get his bag back.
Jesus also said, “If someone asks you for your tunic give them your cloak as well.” We also must put this in context. A tunic was the garment the poor would wear. To not have it would leave one practically naked. Such a garment, was all that the poor had for collateral. You could freeze without it at night so the object was to get it back before the end of the day. What did Jesus say. Something like this. If someone takes your tunic give them everything so that you stand before them naked and they are left holding everything including your underwear. How embarrassing for the creditor to stand holding someone’s BVDs.
Now this is the way to confront someone with love. In the end the aggressor is embarrassed, realizing how unjust they are. The book of Proverbs, puts it well, “If your enemy be hungry, give him food to eat, if he be thirsty, give him to drink; for live coals, you will heap on his head, and the Lord will vindicate you.”
St. Paul repeats the sentiment in the Letter to the Romans where he says, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; by doing this you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.”
Most of us, want to return evil for evil. We want to meet an insult with a better insult. If we are hurt we hunger to hurt the perpetrator worse, but the loving thing is to return good for evil. If the aggressor has an ounce of conscience they will change their view. If they do not any feeling person who witnesses the injustice will be touched by Jesus’ law of love as they see it put into practice by the one being persecuted. If we react to persecution the way Jesus says to we may win a soul for him.
Please note: these are just notes, grammar may not be perfect.