Homily For Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 19th February, 2023

Readings: Lev 19:1-2.17-18; Ps. 103; 1 Cor 3: 16-23; Matt. 5:38-48

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO DESTROY MY ENEMIES?

 

The fragile and selfish nature of the human person, makes it seems natural and common for human beings to react positively or negativity to things that hurt them. Little wonder one of our most influential scientists Isaac Newton, states in his third law of motion, that: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." This law describes what happens to a body when it exerts a force on another body. Forces as we know always occur in pairs, so when one body pushes against another, the second body pushes back just as hard and in equal magnitude.

 

This law truly explains why a hot slap given to anyone whether out of anger for the bad things he/ she has done or just as an act of wickedness and intimidation will naturally trigger in our consciousness an equal magnitude of retaliation, and this has been the force behind the law that says: ‘ an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’

 

This principle was the basis for justice in the Ancient Near Eastern. It was put in place to restrain unlimited blood vengeance. It reduced damages one could expect to what was considered proportional, equal and fair to any unjust act. However, in our Gospel passage today, Jesus offered us a new dimension that calls for deeper virtue towards this law when he says: “You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him.”

 

Here Jesus calls our attention on the need to love sacrificially and unconditionally. Just like God our Father who loves all his children, deserving and undeserving alike. We as well have to imitate this unconditional love of God. By this command,  Jesus declares that the law had no reference to private revenge, that it was given only to regulate natural human conduct, but the Jews had extended it to private conduct, and made it the rule by which revenge is taken. For they considered themselves justified by this rule to inflict the same injury on others just the way they had received it. Jesus then showed another aspect of the law which is more sacrificial and requires a deeper virtue, in which the old interpretation of the Law will no longer be valid.

 

So, Jesus reversed the attitude of conniving to see one’s adversary suffer, with the sacrificial attitude of love for enemies. An attitude that does not seek for what one can get for retaliation but what one can sacrifice for the sake of peace and love. For this attitude makes the disciples of Jesus different from other people since they will have to love not just everyone but also their enemies and not take vengeance or bear grudges against one another. And by so doing they will be imitating God their heavenly Father, who shows equal love to both the good and the bad, because his love knows no bounds.

 

Hence, in the first reading, the Israelites are told to be holy for the Lord their God is holy. They shall not nurture hatred of their brothers in their hearts or take vengeance or bear grudges against their own people. But shall love their neighbours as themselves. In this first reading the commandment ‘You must love your neighbour as yourself’ is restricted to fellow-Israelites. However, in the Gospel Jesus expanded the scope of the commandment to include everyone, believers and non believers, friends and enemies, thereby calling us for a deeper life of virtue.

 

Here Jesus emphasis that It is natural and universal for human beings to love those who love them. But what makes the disciples of Jesus different from other people is the ability to love not just everyone but to love their enemies and not take vengeance or bear grudges against one another. By so doing they will be imitating God their heavenly Father, who shows equal love to both the good and the bad, not because he is indifferent to morality, but because his love knows no bounds. So, we are called to be holy and perfect just like Him who has called us to sacrificial life of love.

 

Little wonder, St Paul in the second reading, gives us an outstanding reason why we must love and respect one another when he said:  “didn’t you realize that you were God’s temple and that the Spirit of God was living among you? If anybody should destroy the temple of God, God will destroy him, because the temple of God is sacred; and you are that temple. So there is nothing to boast about in anything human: be it the world, life and death, the present and the future, for they are all our servants; because we belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.

 

Dear friends, can retaliation solve the problems of killings, wickedness, scarcity of money, greed and persecutions in our societies today?  So when Jesus talks about loving our enemies, he is not telling us to be passive in the face of physical danger or abuse. Rather he wants us to realize that hatred is a dangerous thing and must be handled with great care. Because hatred breeds violence and other things that weakens the soul. That is why today we are called to embrace a life of sacrificial love.  We are called to holiness, we are called for a deeper virtue of love, we are called to perfection, we are called to choose love over hatred and forgiveness over vengeance. The truth is that our enemies are not necessary those who we are at war with, those making life difficult for us or those who hate us but, those whom we hate.

 

Hence, Jesus’ command to love your enemies is a radical call for a life of sacrifice towards perfection and rejection of violence and vengeance. But, what is the best way to destroy your enemies? The fact remains that, the best way to destroy your enemies is to discover how best to make them become your friend, not by hating or carrying out vengeance. If the world will embrace this principle of loving and stretching the hands of friendship and peace to the enemies, by investing more resources on things that bring about peace and friendship with one another, rather than building nuclear weapon that breeds more violence and hatred in the world, then the world will become more peaceful and loving.

 

Therefore, we are to reject all forms of violence, retaliation and vengeance, but focus all our attention on forgiveness, mercy and peace in a sacrificial way so that through our sacrificial love the world will become more peaceful and loving especially as we participate actively in the up coming elections as we as  the Lenten season the week .

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, it is really difficult to live a life of non retaliation in a world full of wickedness, persecution, and violence, give us the grace to resist all forms of violence but focus all our attention on the sacrificial love of forgiveness, mercy and peace especially in this coming elections in our country. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday and God bless you.