Monday, 11th week in Ordinary time
June 18, 2018 - 1 Kgs 21: 1-16, Mt 5: 38-42
Jesus presents us today the most impractical of all his teachings... showing the other cheek, giving more of what you are deprived of, and walking that extra mile with the one who tries to take advantage of me. This was in fact the teaching, they say, that inspired the "satyagraha" movement of Mahatma Gandhi.
The first reading presents us with the exploitative element that is always present giving us the opportunity to practice our virtues and attain our salvation. At times the evil around us threatens to take the better of us, but the Word today reminds us of a fundamental attitude we are called to: "do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom 12:21).
Jesus did not only say this, he lived it to show by example. When God decided to show the world how much God loved God's children. God decided to send God's only Son...and the Son went an extra mile and not just put up with the atrocities of human kind but went on to give his life for the same humanity that rejected him and brought salvation!
Jesus did not only say this, he lived it to show by example. When God decided to show the world how much God loved God's children. God decided to send God's only Son...and the Son went an extra mile and not just put up with the atrocities of human kind but went on to give his life for the same humanity that rejected him and brought salvation!
That we can identify ourselves as disciples of Christ, we are expected to be spiritually prepared to allow ourselves be taken for granted without letting the goodness within us go down the drain; we are called to be who we are regardless of what others are! It is of course difficult and demanding...but that alone can make a difference in the world - that extra mile.
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