GOD’s Way: Going the Extra Mile

HOMILY: Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Matthew 5:38-48

19 February 2023 

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA

Not everyone is easy to love. There are people who disagree with us, people who disrespect us, who hurt us! We perceive these people to be selfish, self-centred, and downright cruel. The funny thing is, we may have just as well described ourselves! Is it not? The negative traits I mentioned are found in all people. I am sure we have acted out of selfishness at some point and our actions may have hurt others either deliberately or indirectly. You may say: “Uy, Father, di naman lagi.” (“Hey, Father, not always.”) Perhaps we are just better at controlling ourselves than others. Does that make us undeserving of love? 

Jesus’ words in today’s gospel passage are probably among the most challenging of His teachings. He says “offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well. If 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.  Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matthew 5:39-44) Jesus’ command is strange, isn’t it? For real? They say we should not fight against those who do us harm or those who are oppressing us or taking advantage of us. It is very difficult, isn’t it? Maybe, we want to say: “Are you kidding me Lord?” We would rather fight, take revenge or “abuse” others instead. I am sure WE have heard the saying that there are two types of people: the sheep and the wolves. There are the cheaters and those who allow themselves to be cheated. (May manloloko at may naloloko.) Why would we choose to play the victim? Why should we choose to be stupid? 

The answer is also in our reading.  In the Second Reading, we hear: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God.”  (1 Corinthians 3:19) The world teaches us that we protect ourselves and our interests. But God’s knowledge is wider. His knowledge and wisdom encompass all, including, past, present and future. He knows everything we have been through that has influenced who we are, what we are going through that affects how we interact with each other today, and our destiny — there may be hope that we will improve in the future and become instruments of goodness in our community. For this reason, God does not judge us for our isolated mistakes. He knows that we have the capacity for both good and evil and He gives us the chance to make amends while we are alive. God considers all of us as His children and “He makes His sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45)

God’s only Son, Jesus was no different. One of His Seven Last Words while He was hanging on the cross tells us that he prayed for His persecutors! He said “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).  In this prayer, Jesus is telling us that we should pray for that which our enemies lack: an awareness and recognition of their fault. Sometimes, when we are struggling or we are the ones who are hurt, we don’t think about the effect of our actions and words on others. What is important to us is to overcome our suffering or our pain. We become unaware of how we are affecting others. That is why when people realise their mistake they say: “I am sorry. No offence intended.” But even if they don’t apologise and say they know what they are doing, as followers of Christ, we should choose to understand them and just pray for them. We have to pray then that their hearts and minds will be opened and that they will realise their faults, their misgivings, their shortcomings, be sorry for them and make serious amends. More often than not, they too have been hurt in the past and we need to pray for their inner healing, for the restoration of peace and their inner security.  

Furthermore, in teaching the disciples to go the extra mile, to turn the other cheek and outdo themselves in generosity, Jesus is not suggesting that they allow themselves to be abused. Instead, He wants them to right the wrong done by overcoming evil with good, not with revenge. The way of Christ is not to beat sense into people but rather to melt the hardest of hearts with kindness and mercy.  “In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” (Proverbs 25:22) By believing in the basic goodness of all human beings, we can tear down the aggression of the oppressor with acts of goodness. Even if we do not see it right away, let us trust that goodness will always prevail because our God who is good is the most powerful of all, and He will conquer evil in due time.

Loving as God loves is not easy. In fact, it may prove too much for us human beings who are bent on resentment, revenge, and minimal giving. On our own, this may prove to be impossible. St. Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians gives us some encouragement saying we “possess the power of the Spirit of God that enables [us] to overcome [our] prejudices and go beyond [our] antagonisms.” (1 Corinthians 3:16) We need the grace of God so that we can even attempt to love our enemies.
 
Today we ask for the grace to pray for our persecutors and to pray for the gift of insight — to see into what blinds those who harm and hurt us, so that we may understand them and be patient with them. We also pray that they may overcome their weakness and avoid becoming instruments of pain, of anger, of division. In this manner, may we grow as Christians who love as generously as God loves.