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[__01__] A few days ago, I went to mail a package at the West Orange Post Office and arrived in the busy lobby / waiting area, unsure of my place in the queue or line.
I stopped at the counter to address
the package, name, street, city, state, zip code. By the time I finished writing, I was not
sure of my place in line and – in this case – and I do not always do this –
told the person next me, “you were here first. You go ahead.”
He corrected me, telling me I was
first. One day, I will be last!
[__02__] I think – we might read the Gospel today –
these verses of “turn the other cheek”
or “love your enemy” and think we can follow these if only we could be
more polite, i.e., not jumping ahead in line, not cutting off another car in
traffic, not taking more than our share of the attention or the credit in a
cooperative endeavor, or not always striving to be number # 1.
Yes, it is virtuous to be polite, and
avoid trivial rivalry.
It is virtuous to allow others to go
first, to go ahead, to hold the door, and also to give credit where credit is
due.
But, is that all that is meant by
“turn the other cheek” or “love your enemy” ? That might be part of it … but I
suggest there is more – and it is difficult to turn the other cheek …when you
already feel you are falling behind…. Or not having all you need.
[_03__] Do you know someone -- or more than one
person --- who has asked much of your time, your patience, your money? Is there
someone whose actions has disrupted – if not “stolen” your sense of security or identity?
This could be someone in your own
house.
Is it possible to love such a person?
Is it possible to turn the other
cheek?
Is it
possible to love such a person? Is it possible to turn the other cheek? The
cheek in this case means our face. And our face and signifies our honor or
dignity. And Jesus is saying well if your honor or dignity is if you suffer
your honor or dignity, don't retaliate, don't take revenge because our dignity
depends on God’s salvation (grace) not a human scorecard.
It does not mean we will love an
“enemy” and “friend” with the same outward behavior, but we can still pray for
those who cause us difficulty, not so that their hearts will be changed but so
that ours will be.
[__04__] [__04.01__]
Loving My Neighbor? (“Question Mark”)
At the end of my freshman year of college,
one of my classmates neighbors in the dorm building – Jack – walked down the
hallway and knocked on my door and made a simple request,
“Jim,
I really want to buy a car this summer. Can I borrow $200?”
Jack was not a poor, impoverished
college student from a disadvantaged economic background. He seemed to have the
same advantages as I did and his parents seemed to paying his tuition.
But, Jack – like many people – myself
included – wanted to compete, to get ahead and he wanted to buy a car. Good for
him.
And, he came to me with his positive
assertive request. He wasn’t peddling or begging, but he was pushing a bit….I
gave in and later gave him the $200
which I immediately regretted.
We were really only acquaintances and
dorm neighbors. I wondered I would ever see him again. The school year was
over. We both going home in different directions.
[__04.02__] Turning the Other Cheek.
Over the summer – which seemed very
long to me -- I came to let go of the $200 it was – in some practical way. It
was a “practical” act of forgiveness because I did not forget about the money,
but I came to presume that I would not be getting it back. It was just
practical.
It was not
a profound spiritual decision like “70 times seven” you must forgive your
brother who sins against you.
I did not see this as “profoundly spiritual
choice”, but it was the practical beginning of me “turning the other
cheek”.
I also decided I would NOT discuss the matter
with anyone.
While I felt “diminished” and “taken
advantage of” (my apparent “kindness”),
I did not feel that speak about it would do any good.
It was like me back in the West Orange post
office trying to figure out my place in line. Where do I rank in all of this?
I did not tell my parents who would not have
been pleased.
If I
brought it up to my parents, what they would say is an eye for an eye and a
tooth for a tooth. They would want they would be pressuring me to make sure I
got that money back. I didn't want to go there with Mom/Dad.
I did not tell my friends. I did not tell
anyone back at school or at home.
I was doing something that I actually do NOT
always practice as a more “mature” adult
… today.
I was just letting it all play out. I was NOT
trying control the outcome.
I was turning the other cheek.
Long story short: Jack responsibly arrived
back at school in September and “paid back” the 200. But, by the time I got the
money I was surprised, it felt like a bonus. That was not my logic or thinking.
That was the Holy Spirit.
One of the ways we can “turn the other
cheek” is simply to turn to God in prayer with our troubles, before we discuss
it with everyone else.
[__05__]
Thomas Aquinas observed that we don’t really love our enemies because they are
our enemies.
Thomas Aquinas is saying that we do
not love the other difficult person because of his actual enemy-identity but
because of his potential to be a neighbor. In this case, Jack had actually been
my neighbor. Even though I was short “200” quantitatively, there was still some
qualitative “neighbor” in the account.
[__06__] Jesus lived out – at times – troubled and an
unsettled relationships with his own disciples, especially his closest
disciples. Recall how Peter behaved immediately after discovering and declaring
Jesus to be the Messiah and Savior of the world.
Jesus elaborates on Messiah-mission as
one that requires him to suffer and die and be mistreated by many.
Peter objects strenuously to this and
says he is going to protect Jesus from such harm. Peter does not want Jesus to
fall behind.
Jesus’ response to Peter: “get behind
me, Satan” is to warn Peter that he has become an enemy.
In this case, it is necessary to
identify what Peter is doing. We don’t need to create enemies where there are
none, but at times, we do not need to stand up for what is truly right in the
name of love, love of God, love of neighbor, love of oneself and …yes, love of
one’s enemy.
In the end, the Passion of our Lord
and gift of his Body and Blood in Eucharist about forgiveness, even to those
who persecuted Jesus.
Jesus recognizes that all of us have –
in some way or other – sinned against him.
We have all taken advantage, taken
more than we deserved or gotten more than our fair share.
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