The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us with the nudges of the Spirit to accept the Christian ministry of selflessness, compassion, and generosity.
The reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians proclaims the Day of Salvation and the experience of the Pauline Ministry.
* [6:1–10] This paragraph is a single long sentence in the Greek, interrupted by the parenthesis of 2 Cor 5:2. The one main verb is “we appeal.” In this paragraph Paul both exercises his ministry of reconciliation (cf. 2 Cor 5:20) and describes how his ministry is exercised: the “message of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:19) is lived existentially in his apostolic experience.
* [6:1] Not to receive…in vain: i.e., conform to the gift of justification and new creation. The context indicates how this can be done concretely: become God’s righteousness (2 Cor 5:21), not live for oneself (2 Cor 5:15) be reconciled with Paul (2 Cor 6:11–13; 7:2–3).
* [6:2] In an acceptable time: Paul cites the Septuagint text of Is 49:8; the Hebrew reads “in a time of favor”; it is parallel to “on the day of salvation.” Now: God is bestowing favor and salvation at this very moment, as Paul is addressing his letter to them.
* [6:3] Cause no one to stumble: the language echoes that of 1 Cor 8–10 as does the expression “no longer live for themselves” in 2 Cor 5:15. That no fault may be found: i.e., at the eschatological judgment (cf. 1 Cor 4:2–5).
* [6:4a] This is the central assertion, the topic statement for the catalogue that follows. We commend ourselves: Paul’s self-commendation is ironical (with an eye on the charges mentioned in 2 Cor 3:1–3) and paradoxical (pointing mostly to experiences that would not normally be considered points of pride but are perceived as such by faith). Cf. also the self-commendation in 2 Cor 11:23–29. As ministers of God: the same Greek word, diakonos, means “minister” and “servant”; cf. 2 Cor 11:23, the central assertion in a similar context, and 1 Cor 3:5.
* [6:4b–5] Through much endurance: this phrase functions as a subtitle; it is followed by an enumeration of nine specific types of trials endured.
* [6:6–7a] A list of virtuous qualities in two groups of four, the second fuller than the first.
* [6:8b–10] A series of seven rhetorically effective antitheses, contrasting negative external impressions with positive inner reality. Paul perceives his existence as a reflection of Jesus’ own and affirms an inner reversal that escapes outward observation. The final two members illustrate two distinct kinds of paradox or apparent contradiction that are characteristic of apostolic experience.
* [6:11–13] Paul’s tone becomes quieter, but his appeal for acceptance and affection is emotionally charged. References to the heart and their mutual relations bring the development begun in 2 Cor 2:14–3:3 to an effective conclusion. (2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)
Psalm 98 praises the Judge of the World.
* [Psalm 98] A hymn, similar to Ps 96, extolling God for Israel’s victory (Ps 98:1–3). All nations (Ps 98:4–6) and even inanimate nature (Ps 98:7–8) are summoned to welcome God’s coming to rule over the world (Ps 98:9). (Psalms, PSALM 98, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount, concerning retaliation.
* [5:38–42] See Lv 24:20. The Old Testament commandment was meant to moderate vengeance; the punishment should not exceed the injury done. Jesus forbids even this proportionate retaliation. Of the five examples that follow, only the first deals directly with retaliation for evil; the others speak of liberality.
* [5:41] Roman garrisons in Palestine had the right to requisition the property and services of the native population. (Matthew, CHAPTER 5, n.d.)
Scott McClure (2021) asks how can turning the other cheek help us make disciples?
The effect Jesus and his teachings had and have continued to have on others over the ages has been to make us see beyond what the world values. While the world values people for their displays of power and possessions, Jesus contended that our true value is rooted in our being beloved and created children of God. When Jesus' followers absorb the truth of this reality, their appetites and actions change in a way that baffles the world. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians today, ...as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things. What seems incompatible in fact gives witness to the truth of what Jesus offers us. More than any word or argument, it is this witness that will show others what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and invite them into this way, this truth, and this life. By turning the other cheek, then, we are indeed making disciples. (Matthew, CHAPTER 5, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “You tear yourself apart by hating,” by an anonymous early author from the Greek church.
"We have seen how murder is born from anger and adultery from desire. In the same way, the hatred of an enemy is destroyed by the love of friendship. Suppose you have viewed a man as an enemy, yet after a while he has been swayed by your benevolence. You will then love him as a friend. I think that Christ ordered these things not so much for our enemies as for us: not because enemies are fit to be loved by others but because we are not fit to hate anyone. For hatred is the prodigy of dark places. Wherever it resides, it sullies the beauty of sound sense. Therefore not only does Christ order us to love our enemies for the sake of cherishing them but also for the sake of driving away from ourselves what is bad for us. The Mosaic law does not speak about physically hurting your enemy but about hating your enemy. But if you merely hate him, you have hurt yourself more in the spirit than you have hurt him in the flesh. Perhaps you don't harm him at all by hating him. But you surely tear yourself apart. If then you are benevolent to an enemy, you have rather spared yourself than him. And if you do him a kindness, you benefit yourself more than him." (excerpt from INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 13, The Greek Fathers) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 5:38-42 comments that many Christians still face persecution and injustice today. At times they endure severe hardship and even death because they refuse to fight evil with evil. And many hearts are still being touched and changed.
Today, let’s ask the Spirit to pour out his grace on all persecuted Christians. May he give them the courage and strength to resist fighting evil with evil. Let’s also pray that we would be able to turn the other cheek. This doesn’t come easily, but with God’s grace, our decision to “offer no resistance” could just be the catalyst for someone to turn to the Lord.
“Jesus, be with all persecuted Christians today. May their witness—as well as mine—bring people to faith in you.” (Meditation on Matthew 5:38-42, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the response of Paul to criticism of his role of an apostle by Greeks who placed the spiritual over the material. Paul, by the example of his lifestyle, proclaimed God in a God-like way. Friar Jude reminds us in the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus extends the Law in its spiritual meaning calling for generosity and dying to self.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, explains the ego’s role in creating the shadow self.
We cannot really get rid of the shadow; we can only expose its game—which is, in great part, to get rid of its effects. Or as it states in Ephesians, “Anything exposed to the light turns into light itself” (5:14). The cause of our unrecognized and fully operative evil is our egocentricity, not our weaknesses. Only those who are converted can say like Paul, “When I am weak, I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). When Jesus does oppose human sinfulness, it is the sins of malice with which he has no patience; the sins of weakness are always patiently healed. Jesus rightly accuses us religious folks of “straining out gnats while swallowing camels” (Matthew 23:24). This pattern exists to this day.
Jesus and the prophets deal with the root cause, which is always our radical egocentricity. Our problem is not usually our shadow self nearly as much as our over-defended ego, which always sees, hates, and attacks its own faults in other people, and thus avoids its own conversion. (Rohr, 2023)
We are brought to full life as we respond to the Spirit that conquers ego and opens us to counter-cultural action for the love of others.
References
Matthew, CHAPTER 5. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 19, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5?
McClure, S. (2023, June 19). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved June 19, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/061923.html
Meditation on Matthew 5:38-42. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 19, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/06/19/711295/
Psalms, PSALM 98. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 19, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/98?1
Rohr, R. (2023, June 19). The Overly-Defended Ego — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-overly-defended-ego-2023-06-19/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Do Not Return Evil for Evil. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 19, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=jun19
2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 19, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2corinthians/6?1
No comments:
Post a Comment