20 February 2022 Luke 6:27-38
Sunday of the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
PROGRESSIVE RETALIATION
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that (Lk 6:32-33).
As part of the invitation to HOLINESS Jesus forbids any act of retaliation.
One of the major themes of films, especially of Hollywood, is vengeance. In presenting the theme vengeance they include scenes of violence with, murder, gun shooting, bomb explosion etc. Psychologically the reason for the success of films with violence is that such scenes appeal to the basic instinct of retaliation among human beings.
We can point out three stages in the history of the development of biblical understanding of ‘retaliation’.
- Stage of Unlimited Retaliation: In the beginning retaliation had no limits. For example, Lamech (of the 8thgeneration after Adam) who boasts in front of his wives that he has killed a man for wounding him and a boy for bruising (Gen. 4:23).
- Proportionate Retaliation: ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. Based on the principle that punishment should not exceed the injury inflicted. If this is followed very soon our society would become a society of blind and toothless people.
- Progressive Retaliation (Non-violence): Jesus forbids even proportionate retaliation teaches non-violence to meet violence. We overcome evil not by doing another evil, but by doing good. ‘Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good’ (Rom. 12:20-21). It means we do not get rid of our enemies by eliminating them, but by returning good for evil, blessing for curse and praying for those who inflict pain. Jesus proposes three examples of progressive retaliation. (1) When someone strikes at your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. (2) If anyone wants to take your shirt, allow him to take your coat as well. (3) If anyone forces you to walk one kilometer walk with him for two kilometers.
The greatest example of progressive retaliation proposed by Jesus is ‘love of enemies’. To love enemies is a command that contradicts the wisdom of the world and appears to our flesh as an impossibility. Indeed we cannot practice it without the wisdom of God who is unconditional in love, unlimited in forgiveness and constant in compassion. The best we can do by ourselves is to tolerate the enemy, but to love the enemy we need the help of God.
Retaliate, but let it be a progressive retaliation, take revenge, but let it be a sweet revenge and never a bitter revenge. Amen.