Weekly Gospel Reflection

In this week’s Gospel Jesus preaches one of his most famous sermons and turns to focus on the idea of fairness. While Jesus does not say that everything in life should be fair or that everything is fair, he does lay out a response to those who face difficult situations. 

Jesus starts saying “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’” This first line perhaps seems more fair – think about some of the challenges that children might face in the playground or when we have someone cut in front of us at the supermarket. 

But Jesus then adds “But I tell you, don’t stand up against an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek also...” We are called as people of faith to go beyond our initial reaction. Instead we need to respond with kindness and help. 

Finally, in this reading Jesus says “don’t stand up against an evil person.” These words are especially hard. Put simply, when we don’t fight, we are being more like Christ. Jesus was only angry at certain points in his ministry, but it was never while being attacked or challenged. While Jesus stood up for those who were oppressed, he never lost his composure when someone was being hurt. 

Instead, Jesus is an example to all of us on how to maintain the love for our neighbours, especially in difficult circumstances. Jesus’ message this week is for us to be more like him rather than being the strongest or proudest. 

St John Vianney, 

Pray for us

By Jonathan Rooney with excerpts from reflectivebiblestudy.com