The Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)
Jesus said to his disciples: "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.”
—Matthew 5:38-39
“The Sermon on the Mount” by Henrik Olrik (d. 1890) in St. Matthew’s Church, Copenhagen, Denmark
During the last election, a friend who is pastor of a local parish told me about note that was left in the collection basket of his parish during a recent Sunday Mass. As the “money counters” were going through the Sunday offerings, they saw a blue “visitor” envelope among the wadded bills, folded checks, and regular offering envelopes. On the envelope was written the following message: “The cord between my wallet and the collection basket was severed by Pope Francis’ involvement in politics.”
My friend and I laughed that someone would take the time to leave such a message. But as we continued our conversation, I thought of something that I’ve often shared in classes and workshops: “The practice of our faith is always political, but it can never be partisan.”
Given our country’s history of the separation of church and state—not to mention the current political climate—such a notion is likely to raise some eyebrows (or tempers!), but I think the sentiment holds true. Our individual and collective beliefs must—if they are sincere—impact our personal and collective politics. Hopefully, for us as Christians, our participation in the world of politics should be motivated by our belief in the innate dignity of every person and in our commitment to promoting the common good, rather than simply conforming to a political ideology or party line (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1905-1917; for a better understanding of the meaning of “politics” in its classical form, you might take a look at this 2020 article by Steven Millies, PhD, in US Catholic Magazine).
As I reflected on the First Reading and Gospel of this Sunday’s liturgy, I was struck by how timely these particular passages seemed to be, especially as we continue to debate about the intersection of faith, politics, and the social order.
In the Gospel—the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount—Jesus effectively brings together all the themes that we have heard the past three Sundays. Moving from the Beatitudes and the promises God makes to those who live according to the demands of discipleship, Jesus then helped us understand that those who live those demands are like “Salt” and “Light,” bringing flavor to a bland, lukewarm world and light into the dark places where death and despair have a hold. Then, this past Sunday, we were reminded that Jesus expects his disciples to be go above and beyond the basic demands of the Old Law, living lives that were more faithful and faith-filled that most observant religious leaders of his time. And now, weaving together these various threads, he reminds us love is the fulfillment and measure of God’s Law, bringing to fulfillment the words from Leviticus we hear in the First Reading.
“If anyone should ask you what are the most radical words in the gospel, you need not hesitate to reply: ‘Love your enemies.’ It is these words that reveal to us most clearly the kind of love proclaimed by Jesus. In these words we have the clearest expression of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.” –Henri Nouwen
As theologian José A. Pagola has observed in his book Jesus: An Historical Approximation, “From his experience of a non-violent God, Jesus proposes a nonviolent practice of resistance to injustice. This means living in unity with a God whose heart is not violent but compassionate… He simply suggests a way of acting that tests the limits of the possible. He does this by proposing specific situations that graphically show how to reach against evil: Do not [violently] resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.’” Jesus’ desire for his followers is to help make the Reign of God a reality in the world by combatting evil and injustice responsibly and courageously because God’s Reign demands that we live lives of love and compassion.
In a 2007 Angelus address Pope Benedict XVI reflected, “Love of one's enemy constitutes the nucleus of the ‘Christian revolution,’ a revolution not based on strategies of economic, political or media power: the revolution of love, a love that does not rely ultimately on human resources but is a gift of God which is obtained by trusting solely and unreservedly in his merciful goodness. Here is the newness of the Gospel which silently changes the world! Here,” Pope Benedict concluded, “is the heroism of the ‘lowly’ who believe in God's love and spread it, even at the cost of their lives.”
As we look toward Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Season of Lent, we might reflect on this notion of a “Christian revolution” of love that has the power to transform hearts and the world because it is ultimately an entrusting of our hearts and the world to the heart of God. In order for this to happen, however, we have to be willing to be led into a new way of seeing, being and acting in the world that is informed by the life and mission of Jesus. In his Message for Lent 2023, Pope Francis reflects on this dynamic when he writes:
“While our ordinary commitments compel us to remain in our usual places and our often repetitive and sometimes boring routines, during Lent we are invited to ascend “a high mountain” in the company of Jesus and to live a particular experience of spiritual discipline – ascesis – as God’s holy people.
Lenten penance is a commitment, sustained by grace, to overcoming our lack of faith and our resistance to following Jesus on the way of the cross. This is precisely what Peter and the other disciples needed to do. To deepen our knowledge of the Master, to fully understand and embrace the mystery of his salvation, accomplished in total self-giving inspired by love, we must allow ourselves to be taken aside by him and to detach ourselves from mediocrity and vanity. We need to set out on the journey, an uphill path that, like a mountain trek, requires effort, sacrifice and concentration.”
Take some time in the coming days to stay with Jesus on the mountain a bit longer to prayerfully reflect on the Sermon on the Mount. The time for our desert journeying and the works of Lent will come soon enough but, for now, let us ponder those spiritual things that “we may carry out in word and deed / that which is pleasing” to God (cf. the Collect for the Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time).
