Gospel Lectio Divina for The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - February 19, 2023
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
READ
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. 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.
"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. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors 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."
MEDITATE
“Offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well.”
Really? Are you sure about that, Jesus? So we’re just supposed to let those who do evil walk all over us?
No, that’s not what Jesus is saying. He is telling us to return evil with good, because good is the only thing that is strong enough to defeat evil. The complete openness in turning the other cheek reveals the fearlessness of the one who lives for righteousness. Turning the other cheek shows the one who does evil how formidable a person is when they are acting from a place of goodness and virtue in their hearts. The one who does evil will become worn out over time. The evil itself will defeat them, and so there is no need to fight back. When they are defeated by evil though, the strength of the one who resisted them will be attractive to them. The hope is that they will turn to that good influence to turn their life around, as they see the strength of righteousness.
“Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”
The kingdom of heaven is veiled by our human nature. We are driven by justice and other needs, and it’s easy to lose sight of heaven among all of those needs. Jesus is telling us to forget all those other needs though, because heaven is more important. In this case though, he isn’t telling us to seek the kingdom of heaven ourselves, but to show it to someone else by being unconditionally charitable toward them. This is an investment in their soul. When good parents give to their children, they consider it an investment in their children’s future and expect nothing in return. It is also an investment in their eternity. If they are brought up well, the charity we show our children will teach them charity which will help their souls get to heaven. It is the same way when we give to anyone who asks something of us.
We may be concerned about not having enough for ourselves, but here we must have faith that whatever we give will return to us with interest. It may not always return in the same form, but God will not let a charitable soul suffer beyond what is necessary for him to attain the treasures of heaven in store for him or her. We may get absolutely nothing in return in this life, but our Father in heaven will see the good that we did and that is all that matters. Besides, consistently showing others charity will surely save at least one soul, and having a soul won for God is better than all the treasures this life can offer.
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”
I’ve tried the pacifist approach. It doesn’t work. More often than not it leads to me becoming an enabler. That is why it is essential to point out that Jesus is not expecting us to be pacifists. He is not telling us to let our enemies trample all over us while we simply pray for them. He is telling us to love them and to let that love saturate our prayers for them, because love and prayer are the most powerful forces in the universe. When we love our enemies, we are not letting them in. We are letting God in. We are allowing him to take over the situation, the relationship, and to fill us with the most effective means for defeating the evil in our enemy.
Or, as is often the case, when we let love in, it quells whatever negative emotions we have toward our enemies. Let’s be honest, sometimes they aren’t doing anything evil. Sometimes we just don’t like them for personal reasons. Or sometimes they may have done evil, but so have we, and there’s just this constant feud that goes back and forth because hatred just breeds more hatred. But love, and love alone, has the power to defeat hate. And prayer is God’s weapon given to us to defeat evil. The devil knows this, and that is why prayer–especially in public places–is under attack.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same?
I’ve reflected a great deal on this teaching without even knowing it, because it has far-reaching implications. In this week’s general audience, Pope Francis teaches us to bring the gospel to the world without becoming worldly. As a Catholic Church, it is easy for us to become content with our own audience. There are enough of us to just share the gospel among ourselves and form quite the community just among fellow Catholics. But what’s so unusual about that? In essence, we are no different than any other club or cult if we just talk to ourselves.
Christ is telling us to be unusual, to reach outside our comfort zone, cast into the deep, engage the wider culture. That is what it means to be Catholic. I’ve seen many Catholic ministries and companies reach out to just Catholics. In fact, their target audience is not only other Catholics but devoted Catholics. Granted, we do have to build up our base, provide a good foundation for them, and equip them with the necessary tools to be disciples and evangelizers. But it’s so easy to get caught up in doing just that, and to forget about the part where we love others–meaning non-Catholics. Yes, there are those who call themselves Catholics but are Catholic in name only. So let’s count them among the others because they are not participating in the life of the Church. But the problem is, we are participating in the life of the Church without bringing that life to the world. It’s easy to fill our lives with events involving other Catholics, to the point where there is no room to invite others in. This is true in parish life, but also in other parts of the Church like Catholic publications. Our beliefs are so at odds with that of secular culture that it’s just easier to close ourselves off from that culture, and just talk to other Catholics about Catholic stuff that only we care about and understand. My hope is that one day Catholic culture becomes so mainstream that it is indistinguishable from secular culture–not because we compromised and let secular culture into the Church, but because we brought the gospel to the world so effectively that it is simply the common way of life.
PRAY
Dear Lord,
We praise you for your cunning wisdom. We have our work cut out for us if we are going to follow your teachings. Even after two thousand years, we are still working on implementing the gospel. Maybe once we finally get it right, you’ll come back. The world is ripe for the gospel. It is what the world needs. Please imbue us with the courage and inspiration to bring it to everyone we meet, and to implement it into everything we do. In Jesus name, Amen.
LISTEN
There sure is a great deal to listen to in this Gospel. There are so many action items, we can fill our lives with trying to complete them. In fact, that is Jesus’ intent. Jesus leaves no room to live any other kind of life if we are going to live the gospel. Whenever we are confused about life or the truth, it’s good to listen to the teachings of Christ. The way of life he teaches is so distinct from the way our society says to live that there is no mistaking where our confusion comes from if we don’t live by his teachings. Secular society breeds confusion. That’s just the way it is. It is radically inclusive, ambiguous and complicated. The lines are all blurred, distinctions are unclear, words are poorly defined, and clarity is lacking. Jesus offers clarity if we listen to his teachings. At the heart of his gospel is love, which stands in stark contrast to the other voices around us. We have heard many other kinds of wisdom, but only the gospel of love offers the paradoxical solution to the biggest problems and conundrums in the world. Love is the only answer to the problem of evil. Love alone conquers greed, usury, hatred, anger, and injustice, and untruth. It conquers them by emptying itself, by letting go of everything we think matters in order to give God room to work his wonders.
Kilby is a freelance writer from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report. He received his undergrad degree in humanities and Catholic culture from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. In addition to working with the Knights of the Holy Eucharist (knights.org), he has served as a journalist for Princeton Packet Publications, and the Trenton Monitor, the magazine for the Diocese of Trenton. Some of his published work can also be found in St. Anthony Messenger, Catholic Herald (UK), and Catholic World Report. For the latter he is managing editor. Find more of his writing at ramblingspirit.com.