Monday of the 11th week in the ordinary time year A
Theme: Revenge is of the Lord
In the gospel reading of today, Jesus presents us with a teaching that clearly defines who we are as children of God and Christians. In our human relationships, there are bound to be moments when we are unjustly treated, and we get badly hurt in the process. Jesus is saying today that we should not return violence for violence or evil for evil. We should rather return love for violence and be patient with those who hurt us in one way or the other, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Humanly speaking this is a hard teaching that Jesus is presenting to us today, but we trust in the grace of God to strengthen us at such a moment in our life.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, the situation may be a bit challenging when there is a broken relationship with a lot of lies, but we are all encouraged today to trust in God and try to hand everything over to him. This is important because if we decide to return violence for violence, we may end up creating a very bad situation that will not reflect who we truly are as children of God. What Jesus presents to us in todays gospel is what I would like to refer to as a high morality, that is very challenging and difficult, but should be practiced by Christians all over the world.
However, it is important to point out the fact that, it is a difficult task to practice, but we believe that with the grace of God we can make it happen in our human relationships. As we return love for evil and hatred, let us trust in God, believing that he will speak for us when it matters most and fight our battles for us. The knowledge of this fact is very important, because on our own we may lose the battle, but with God, we are sure of victory. Sometimes is a difficult situation to accept but let us trust in Gods grace to lead us through such situations in our lives.
Dear friends in Christ, the assertion of St. Paul in todays 1st reading, should be a source of great strength for all of us as Christians in our own time. The reality is that we are bound to face unfavorable situations from time to time, due to no fault of ours, but we must remain focused and trust in God. Never allow such situations or challenges to break you, rather commit everything into the hands of God and allow him to take control of the situation.
May almighty God give us the grace of patience at such moment in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.