Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
(I Kings21:1-16; Matthew 5:38-42)
Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. read today’s
gospel as a call to passive resistance.
Their idea was not to do violence to one’s enemies but not to cooperate
with them either. In this way they might
make ordinary life intolerable and also win the sentiment of others. As much as they were successful in achieving
their ends without violence, they can be applauded. But nonviolent resistance is still resistance
that Jesus forbids.
In truth, it is very hard to fulfill this gospel mandate
when enemies are cruel and determined. However,
Jesus does not say that his disciples should suffer physical abused beyond a
slap in the face. Taking this dictum to
an extreme may very well go beyond Jesus’ intention.
Jesus would certainly not want us to hurt those who offend
us. We should begin there and go on to try
reconciling ourselves with the enemy.
Hopefully, we will find him or her to be reasonable and desirous of
peace.
