Dear Brothers and Sisters:
We have been speaking of what it means to love for the last three weeks. There are many mistaken ideas of love in our society today. Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount sets forth what Christian love is and one ought to act when he or she has the spirit of Christ.
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is an ancient law that limits the amount of damage one to do to another to retaliate for an injustice. It was a step forward at the time but still leaves a lot to be desired. Jesus goes much further by saying when someone strikes you on the right cheek offer the other one as well. If someone hits you on the right cheek it can only mean that he slapped you with the back of his hand which for a Jew was twice as insulting as hitting him with the flat part of a hand. So Jesus is saying that even the most insulting slap a Christian does not retaliate, nor resent it. Did not Christ do the same? Wasn’t he totally innocent, and also abused? As a Christian I am called to be like Christ.
Another example of a disciple that is when someone wants your tunic and Jesus says then give him your cloak as well. Once again there is more here than meets the eye. The tunic was a long inner garment made of cotton or linen. The poorest man would have a change of tunics. The cloak was a large outer blanket-like garment that a man wore as a robe by day, and used as a blanket at night. Most Jews would have only one cloak. At this time you could borrow a man’s tunic but never his cloak. So I would give the one who asks for a tunic also my cloak? It is like giving him my bed.
Then he speaks of one who is compelled to go into service for not just one mile but for two. Since Israel was an occupied country one could always be asked to be a guide for someone or a porter. Jesus is saying don’t do a mile with some resentment; go further and cheerfully, with good grace. Don’t think of the least that you can do but how you can serve and love the other. In the second mile you might also strike up a conversation with him and see that he is not much different from you.
Don’t repay evil for evil. React as Christ did with compassion. You have a better chance of winning him over if you react with love. Is there a risk involved? Absolutely, and it was a risk that Christ took, and that you and I are called to take. A Christian does not love or hate according to a whim, according to his natural likes and dislikes. He does not do this because he is good. It is only through the power of the sacraments that Christ acts in him and makes it possible for him to love the worst one.
Jesus said that we must love our enemies with an agape love, which is the highest form of love. It is a love that is unconditional, no matter what the other does I am called to love them as they are. This is not humanly possible. Only with the grace of God can a person love in this way, and the world would be a much different place if even a small percentage of people loved like this. Let us ask the Lord to help us to love those in our house, and office, and neighborhood, especially the one whom today I cannot stand.