The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today exhort us to seek inspiration from the Spirit to follow Jesus' example of responding to injury by others with love and forgiveness.
In the reading from the Second Letter to the Corinthians, Paul exercises his ministry of reconciliation.
* [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. (2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)
Psalm 98 extolls God for Israel’s victory.
* [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 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is Teaching About Retaliation in the Sermon on the Mount.
* [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 | USCCB, n.d.)
Edward Morse comments that Paul was not preaching a gospel of prosperity and personal security, but instead one that embraced difficulty, insult, and dishonor.
Assessments based solely on our senses will often change when augmented by deeper realities accessible through the lens of faith. Contrasts abound in this letter: deceitful vs. truthful; being acknowledged vs. being ignored; possessing little but having great value to enrich others vs. having nothing and enriching no one. Their internal dispositions validated this deeper reality, as even genuine sorrow from hurts and wounds did not prevent rejoicing in what God had in store for them. There is no denial here: their afflictions were quite real. But God has revealed the power of His love to us through His Son, and that love will conquer all, even death itself. (Morse, 2025)
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 we all know it’s hard to be gracious when someone cuts in front of you in a line, or insults you in front of coworkers or friends, or treats you unjustly. And of course, there are situations when you should get away from someone who threatens you. But God knows you through and through. He knows what situations you will encounter today. He knows your strengths and weaknesses. So ask him for the grace to turn the other cheek when it’s appropriate.
Who knows? Your calm response might just inspire the other person to do some self-examination—and come to a change of heart!
“Jesus, help me to respond peacefully to any conflict today. Show me the marvels you can do when I turn the other cheek!” (Meditation on Matthew 5:38-42, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that in 2 Corinthians Paul responds to a misunderstanding with the community with what is known as “the angry letter”. What he did, he did with virtuous intention to clarify the Word in the Holy Spirit and embrace suffering as a cost of sharing the Gospel. Friar Jude reminds us how Jesus extends the meaning of the Law in a spiritual sense to “turn the other cheek” and “go two miles with them” to respond with generosity to our persecutors, who may wonder about our extension of Love.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, describes the stunned silence that accompanies moments of awe and surrender. As she often did, Dr. Barbara Holmes (1943–2024) expands and strengthens Fr. Richard’s thinking by her description of “joy unspeakable.”
Accordingly, our obsession with blame and with the question of who is or is not worthy of God’s full embrace disrupts the journey. For we are not headed toward a single goal: we are on a pilgrimage toward the center of our hearts. It is in this place of prayerful repose that joy unspeakable erupts.
Joy Unspeakable
erupts when you least expect it,
when the burden is greatest,
when the hope is gone
after bullets fly.
It rises
on the crest of impossibility,
it sways to the rhythm
of steadfast hearts,
and celebrates
what we cannot see.
This joy beckons us not as individual monastics but as a community. It is a joy that lives as comfortably in the shout as it does in silence. It is expressed in the diversity of personal spiritual disciplines and liturgical rituals. This joy is our strength, and we need strength because we are well into the twenty-first century, and we are not healed. How shall we negotiate postmodernity without inner strength? [4] (Rohr, n.d.)
We ponder the experience of the Spirit by many faithful who astound the people in their environment by living with “joy” and “peace” amid the many difficulties, disappointments, and challenges of life.
References
Matthew, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). Readings. Retrieved June 16, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5
Meditation on Matthew 5:38-42. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 16, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/06/16/1307028/
Morse, E. (2025, June 16). Daily Reflection June 16, 2025 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved June 16, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-june-16-2025
Psalms, PSALM 98 | USCCB. (n.d.). Readings. Retrieved June 16, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/98?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Awe, Surrender, Joy. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 16, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/awe-surrender-joy/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Do Not Return Evil for Evil. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 16, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=jun16
2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 16, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2corinthians/6?1
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