Every Sunday, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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The “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” norm found in the Old Testament was actually meant to regulate retaliation. So, if someone knocked out your tooth, you were not free to go and pluck out their eye.
But Jesus, just as he did last week (e.g., relating anger to murder), goes further in the true desire that God has for all of us. He says, “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 as well.”
He also tells us to go so far as to “love your enemies.”
God shows us a different way to restoring our world. While it might feel good for a time to get even with those who have harmed us and show hatred toward our enemies, this path will not ultimately heal our broken relationships and save our troubled world.
Rather, it is the path of love — the way of Jesus — that builds bridges, mends fences, and restores the right order to the world. Our world will be healed by the medicine of love, which desires the good of the other, never seeking evil or showing contempt for the other person.
In the end, it is the prescription of our First Reading, which urges us to “Be holy, as I, the LORD, your God, am holy.” And, as we have been taught, God is love. God is holy by being true to himself, by being love itself.
And we are made in the image of God — we are meant to desire good, not evil. We are meant to choose life, not death. We are meant to be reconciled to one another, not estranged from our neighbors and it begins by reversing the trends of seeking revenge and hatred.
There was a one-minute film during the ad-time of last week’s Super Bowl game. It had the title, “Love your enemies” showing black and white images of hatred and acts of violence among individuals and groups of people. Near the end of this series of images were imposed the words, “Jesus loved the people we hate.”
Think of your greatest enemy or the one person you would like to get even with and then think of God loving that person. It might be very difficult to do; still, it is the way of God since God cannot act any other way. For God is holy; God is love, and the same God loves you too. In fact, he prefers you to be more like him.
This week we begin the season of Lent. May our outward signs of repentance be a symbol of our inward desire to change. We sing it so often, but I hope we mean it. “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”
Have a blessed week everyone.