How do we honestly react to this Sunday’s gospel reading? It’s very likely that some of us may have our doubts about some of it. We may have trouble with what Jesus says about loving our enemies, turning the other cheek, giving without expecting repayment, refusing to pass judgement on people and praying for those who treat us badly.
If we turn the other cheek aren’t we likely to get hit again? And if we’re not supposed to judge people surely the prisons would be empty and criminals could get away with anything? Jesus is not asking us to be uncritical when something is unjust or evil, nor is he asking us to be completely passive in the face of physical abuse or danger. What Jesus is doing is asking us to recognise where many of us are in our behaviour a lot of the time. What he’s trying to do is move us from one set of attitudes to a better set of attitudes. We can’t assume that the attitudes we have now are in all respects right.
Let’s take a look at where we are. We’re not bad people but think of the energy we waste on holding onto grudges or trying to settle old scores. And why do we waste time passing judgement on people when we’re not equipped with X-Ray powers? We don’t know what is going on internally, in other people. This lack of charity, this meanness of spirit is the kind of thing Jesus is trying to eliminate in our lives. The reluctance to forgive and the rush to judgement weren’t just confined to his time. They are alive and well in our time too!