Matthew 5:38-48

SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR A

Commentary of Fr. Fernando Armellini

A good Sunday to all. 

In relationships with others, we expect an exchange of reciprocity. So, instinctively, if we do something good for another person, we wait for an answer, even if it's just a recognition or a smile. If we invest our love, we expect an exchange, which needs to keep the accounts up to date between giving and receiving, which is our justice. 

And this justice seems so normal that we have projected it even with God. He grants us favors, fills us with goods, and naturally expects us to show our obedience and follow his commandments. That is, make it an exchange. This is our justice. And this was the justice of the Pharisees. And we have heard Jesus say: ‘If your justice does not go beyond this justice—which is the justice of the Pharisees— you are outside the kingdom of heaven. They have not yet entered the kingdom of God. 

So, the danger is to remain in this world's justice and practice it... which is already a very good thing, convinced that one is already a disciple of Christ, having accepted his proposal for a new world. Jesus wants to introduce us to the kingdom of God, which is very different from that of reciprocity and the logic of commercial exchange. Jesus invites us to assimilate a new justice. 

What is the proposal he makes? The relationship with the other, be it a good or bad person, friend or enemy, sympathetic or unfriendly—does not interest him. The relationship with the other is not based on the calculation but on the complete and free gratuity. The disciple invests love in order not to have a return or an advantage. This is not considered. Love, do good, and appreciate the life of the other, even if it is an enemy. This comes from the new nature of being a son or a daughter of God. Just as the vine cannot but produce grapes, it cannot produce thorns... even if it wants to because its nature leads it to grow grapes. 

The disciple loves because this is their new nature. In today's Gospel text, Jesus indicates to all who want to belong to the new kingdom, to the kingdom of God, two other goals beyond which it is impossible to go. They are the maximum of the human. Let's listen: 

"You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Now I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one. Suppose anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow. 

"You have heard it said to your ancestors." God has said: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." I think this is the most battered legal norm in the history of law. We quote it when we want to make someone pay for some evil done to us and say: ‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,’ that’s how I get paid. But this rule entered the Torah as a wise provision, willed by God, to limit retaliation. In ancient societies, this was about maintaining order and restoring justice. When the one who had done something wrong was discovered, he received exemplary punishment, cruel and severe public punishments, and all who attended were cured in health so as not to make the same mistake. Revenge served as a deterrent but was a brutal way of maintaining order and doing justice. 

We have a well-known case in the Bible, that of Lamech, a descendant of Cain. One day, he calls his two women, Ada and Sila, and tells them: “I killed a man for bruising me, a young man for wounding me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech, 77 times” (Gen 4:23-24). And it is to stop these excesses that God had established in the Torah: ‘n eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’ That is, each one must pay for the guilt he has committed, not for the evil in the world and for which he is not responsible. Jesus does not say it is a lousy norm because it is good. It is already a step forward regarding retaliation. 

But remains in a logic that is still the justice of this world. It is not fully human. And Jesus wants to leap over the farthest horizon you cannot go beyond. "Now I tell you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.” It's personal, not generic: ‘Don't do it’. Pay attention; do not return to the lower level if you enter the new world. Do not get on the same level as your aggressor. Resist the temptation to use the same armaments and use the same methods. If you do that, you go back to the old justice. You cannot compete with that person in evil. “When someone strikes you on your right cheek." The instinctive reaction is to slap him back. But if you do that, you fall back into the mud, along with that person. 

And Jesus tells you not to degrade, not to descend to that level. The disciple must remember that those who still belong to the ancient world will harm him, and he must be prepared to respond as a disciple, someone who no longer belongs to this logic where you are looking to get even. And to be clear, Jesus presents four examples of restoring justice to those who belong to the kingdom of God. 

The first example: "When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well.” If one slaps you, it is usually on the left cheek. But if he slaps you on your right cheek, it is an insult. This was a severe outrage. In Israel, it was punished with an acceptable equivalent to a month's work as a laborer. Jesus tells the disciple... not to be better or more temperate in demanding compensation but to ‘offer the other one too.’ ‘You turn the other cheek.’ 

Naturally, it is a paradoxical expression that should not be taken to the letter. Jesus protested when he received a slap in front of the high priest. What is the response that characterizes that which belongs to the kingdom of God? The person does not react. They are not looking to get vindicated; they do not restore the evil, the slap, or the offense they have received. This would mean adding another evil to which it has been done. 

We must pay attention: love does not mean always caressing. At certain times, challenging, firm positions are necessary whenever the hardness is born of love—born of the fact that one loves the other well. Accepting that the other person remains evil does not do him good. It is necessary to bring that person out. And to get him out, caresses are not always enough. It can, and should, be hard. 

When one takes a challenging position, it is necessary to first wonder from what impulse it derives because, without realizing it, perhaps our position is not born from a love for our brother or sister but from the desire to get revenge—the need to make the other person pay and return the offense. 

In the words of Jesus, the optimistic tone is missing; that is, Jesus does not say, ‘Through your kindness, your endurance, you will change the heart of your enemy... he will become a good person. The person might become better, but Jesus does not say so. You cannot behave otherwise because you are in the kingdom of God; that is, you let yourself be moved by the divine life in you. You are a child of God, and from you should only flow the love that characterizes your Father in heaven. You must act consistently and only out of love; when you take challenging positions, that must be born from the need to see your brother or sister happy. 

Second example: "If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well.” In Israel, men and women are dressed in two types of clothing. The tunic, long or short sleeves, worn over the naked body; then there was the cloak; the cloak served when it was cold and covered the poor at night. The cloak was so important that it could not be demanded. "If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset; for this is his only covering; it is the cloak for his body. What will he sleep in?” (Ex 22:25-26). 

The cloak cannot be retained as a garment overnight. What is one to do? Jesus says: "If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well.” He has already had to deliver all his goods because he only has the robe over the naked body. What can one do? Show your unconditional love and refuse to enter into litigation and contention. Even the cloak is the last thing you have left for this yield. We see that Jesus practiced this in the letter; he remained completely naked on the cross. The Christian can and should seek justice, but if you can't get it because the power is in the hands of the wicked and your only alternative is to harm the brother, you can do nothing and be ready to give even the cloak. Take it or leave it. To be or not to be a member of the kingdom of God. 

Third case: "Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles.” Here, the verb ‘angareuein’ is used and only appears twice in the New Testament. And it means ‘to abuse’. An example is today's text. Another is that of Simon de Cyrene, who the soldiers forced to carry the cross of Jesus. It was an abuse. It was usual for Roman soldiers or any local landowner to abuse the poor peasants and force them to carry loads. This is the example of Simon de Cyrene, who was tired of coming from the field, and soldiers abused him. Jesus says: "Should anyone press you into service for one mile...." 

Abuses were frequent. Many suggestions were given for the behavior to follow in cases like these. The revolutionaries suggested rebellion and recourse to violence. If a moment comes that you can attack him, it's the best you can do. The stoic Epictetus exhorted prudence and said: ‘If they ask for your donkey, do not react badly because otherwise, they will beat you up, and then they will also take your donkey.’ Jesus does not give any norm of wisdom; he does not suggest a strategy to convert the aggressor, nor does he ensure that your behavior will have a useful result for the conversion of the wicked person in the short term. NO. 

He asks the disciple to behave according to his nature as the son or daughter of God. ‘You can't do calculations; you must keep your heart free from all resentment; you must refrain from any reaction not dictated by love.’ The mocking objection of Julian the Apostate, great-grandson of Constantine, wondered: ‘But what would happen in the world if Christians took this commandment seriously? The barbarians, the wicked would always have the best part.’ It can happen. 

Celsius was even more explicit and harder. He said: ‘If you behave as Jesus of Nazareth says, power is left on earth in the hands of savages and people without law.’ From the earliest times, the objection has always been made to what we might call ‘Christian pacifism.’ ‘Pacifism’ does not mean accepting everything. NO. 

It is what Jesus calls ‘Blessed are the peacebuilders’ = ‘eirene poioi’ = those who insist on building peace, refusing to resort to any action that could do wrong to the brother or sister. Where violence exists, any kind of violence, criminal, political, economic, military, and whatever is the participation in this form of violence, it is the sign that the kingdom of God is not yet present. The renunciation of violence is a sign of the presence of the kingdom of God. A sign that the new world has begun to exist. 

The fourth case that Jesus presents shows the leap of quality that occurs when one passes from the kingdom of this world, from logic, from the justice of this world to the new justice: "Give to the one who asks of you and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” It is the fourth case: a person who, perhaps ill-timed, asks for a loan…. 

In Israel, if a person asked for a loan, it was not as it happens with us, which is often an investment because interest is involved. In Israel, this was prohibited. In the Torah, interest is called ‘nester,’ which means a ‘bite’ that you give in the neck to the one who is in need. He, who requested a loan in Israel, was a needy person. 

Jesus says, "Pay attention." It's not about earning an interest you can get for a loan. NO. ‘Do not turn your back.’ Maybe someone comes to ask you for a loan, which could be accommodation, an apartment for rent, a job, a discount price, or, as often happens, without much discretion. Jesus tells his disciples, "Don't pretend not to understand." Do not look for excuses, do not invent nonexistent difficulties, and do not try to download the problem to others…. If you can do something, do it, and that’s enough. 

And now, the last example of the leap of quality in the new justice is that of the kingdom of God. Let's listen: 

"You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. What recompense will you have if you love those who love you? Do tax collectors not do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." 

"You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You will love your neighbor and hate your enemy." Only the first part of this phrase quoted by Jesus belongs to the Bible; the second sentence does not exist in the Bible, but the spirituality circulated at that time. Just think what the monks of Qumram said, ‘You must love the children of light, and you must hate the children of darkness over which the vengeance of God is expected.’ 

Some psalms also have tough expressions—for example, when the psalmist says, "I hate your enemies, Lord, I hate them with relentless hatred." The expression indicates the distance the psalmist wants to have with those who work evil, but there is no text in the Bible where God says: "You must hate the enemy." This is not in the Torah. 

Let's hear now what quality jump Jesus wants that we do based on what human justice that loves friends and hates enemies: "Now I say to you: Love your enemies." The verb used here is important: ‘agapán’. It is a verb that appears in classical Greek only a dozen times. It was not used, but he became the verb that characterizes the behavior of the disciple of Christ: the unconditional, gratuitous love that does not expect any retribution and that, like the love of God, reaches everyone, even the enemies that offend us. And do good selflessly without worrying that no one realizes who did them a favor. 

In Greece, other verbs were used to indicate love, such as the verb ‘filein’ - the ‘feeling’ that is spontaneous love towards friends. Also, the verb ‘erún,´ the verb ‘eros,’ was the most used of all and indicated love in search of the beauty that is seen and appreciated. Also, ‘sturgeon´ was the love toward parents. 

The love that characterizes the Christian is the ‘agapán’: the need to see the other happy to put one's life at the service of life, even the life of the enemy. The joy of seeing the other who is alive and is happy. This is the love that Jesus asks of those who want to belong to the kingdom of God. It is a love that is not easy. Then Jesus gave a second commandment: pray. Only if you pray will you be able to always listen to the Spirit of Christ that is in us; that Spirit that has led him to surrender his life, to save nothing, even a crumb of his life that had not been donated to anyone in need. 

If we want this Spirit to always be present in us, it is necessary to maintain a climate of prayer. It's not about repeating formulas but always keeping in touch with the thoughts and feelings of the Father in heaven. The reason: “that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad (first the ‘bad’) and the good and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” What does it mean to be children of your heavenly Father? The life that the heavenly Father has given you must manifest. And this life from the heavenly Father is unconditional love. He makes his sun rise on evil and good. 

How do we interpret this expression? I think we all think that God ‘is good to everyone.’ It does good to ‘Tom, Dick, and Harry’ who are bad, and does good, loves, blesses, and fills with good things to those who are good. It's not like that. The fact is that God makes the sun rise for me when I am good, and the sun also rises for me; that is, he loves me unconditionally when I misbehave. We must internalize this because this is the ‘agapán’ of God; this is his love. And when we understand that this is his love, we, his sons and daughters, must let that ‘agapán’ go out of us to meet our brothers and sisters. 

A mother loves her son because he is her son; even when he misbehaves, she loves him because she distinguishes the bad action very well between what the son has done and the ‘son.’ The son is good; the action is condemned. God loves ‘like crazy’ because he is love. A mother was not a mother before, but when she becomes a mother, nature leads her to unconditionally love her son until she gives her life to the son. It comes spontaneously, naturally. It comes from her mother nature. This unconditional love of the Christian, which belongs to the new world and the kingdom of God, comes from their new nature, that of being children of God. Then, Jesus gives some examples: “For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same?” 

Even if they are good people, they are not yet children of God. If they greet their brothers and sisters, what is unusual about that? To welcome the brothers means to wish for "shalom," peace, which means the accumulation of all goods. This is what we want for the brothers and sisters. But no. None of this is extraordinary. They are not yet children of God. You should wish ‘shalom’ to everyone and wishing ‘shalom’ means that one is willing to give one's life so that the other receives the accumulation of all goods, even if they are my enemy. This can only come from the Spirit of Christ. Since the beginning of the Church, attempts have been made to mitigate this commandment of the disciple's new life. 

Think, for example, of Origen, a very famous biblical scholar of the early days of the Church. He mitigated this commandment and said: "It is enough not to hate enemies." But it's not like that. It is not enough not to hate enemies. This is only a little above the justice of this world, but not yet in the kingdom of God. It is not about not hating but about doing good. Make your life available to the enemy, forgive him. 

St. Ambrose also said that these commandments must be reserved for the perfect, but not the commandments below that one; all should observe these other commandments, but this commandment of ‘love even the enemies’ is only for the perfect. 

St. Augustine also said this is for the perfect; for others, it is enough to aspire to this form of love. Thomas Aquinas has a Latin expression that says, ‘Pertinet at perfectionem caritatis.’ That is, it is not necessary for salvation but for perfection. Thus, Jesus' commandment began to be limited, and the enemy at war was excluded from it. This has created a big problem. NO. Let's go back to what Jesus has said. 

Conclusion: "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." Some interpret this recommendation, this order of Jesus, as the beginning of a way to someday arrive at the perfection of the heavenly Father. I don't even start if this is the interpretation because I got discouraged initially. NO. 

TODAY, you must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus is indicating your nature as a son or daughter of God, son or daughter of the Perfect One. And therefore, you must behave at all times as the heavenly Father. This is perfection. Beyond this, it is impossible to walk. 

I wish you all a good Sunday and a good week.