At the end of the eloquent passage today, from St. Paul’s
second letter to the Corinthians, Paul listed a series of seven paradoxes. Paul
writes:
“We are treated as deceivers and yet are
truthful;
as unrecognized and yet acknowledged;
as dying and behold we live;
as chastised and yet not put to death;
as sorrowful yet always rejoicing;
as poor yet enriching many;
as having nothing and yet possessing all things.”
as unrecognized and yet acknowledged;
as dying and behold we live;
as chastised and yet not put to death;
as sorrowful yet always rejoicing;
as poor yet enriching many;
as having nothing and yet possessing all things.”
Though Christians will be subjected to ridicule,
harassment, persecution, and even martyrdom, Paul reminds Christians that in
the end, our hardships and sufferings will be transformed by God into true
riches in eternity. Paul’s teaching harkens back to the beginning of the Sermon
of the Mount, which we read last Monday, “Blessed
are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of
evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for
your reward will be great in heaven.”
The way Christians act, the way we think, the way we use
our possessions, the way we respond to our so-called enemies, is different from
the rest of the world—our values are different.
In the Gospel today, Jesus continues to teach his
disciples to act according to a very different set of standards than the way of
the world.
“When someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn the
other one to him as well.” The world
would say, when someone slaps you on the right cheek, slap them back, get them
back, teach them a lesson so they never think to slap you again. Rather than responding with vengeance, Christians
respond to violence as Christ did. Remember, during his Passion, as he was
beaten and mocked by Roman Soldiers, he offered his sufferings to the Father
for our salvation.
Again, here’s the paradox. To turn the other cheek, sounds
like weakness, it sounds like foolishness. Our abuser might continue to slap us, they
might continue to take advantage of us.
But the way of forgiveness, the way of peace, transforms weakness into a
strength that glorifies God and witnesses to the Prince of Peace.
Instead of returning “evil for evil”, we can return “good
for evil”, and not only stop the cycle of violence, but allow God to reverse it
and transform it. Again, injury suffered
with forgiveness, will be rewarded in eternity.
At the end of time, the multi-billionaire CEOs and greedy
politicians who profit from the subjection of people, will be seen as paupers,
while the poorest of the poor, who offer their sufferings and prayers for
others, will be seen as kings and benefactors.
Through our Eucharist today, may our hearts be opened to
ever-deeper faithfulness to Christ’s Way of Peace and transforming love for the
glory of God and salvation of souls.
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