Most Reverend Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv DD STL, Bishop of Parramatta
Homily for the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Readings: 1 Sam 26:2-23; 1 Cor 15:45-49; Luke 6:27-38
Witnessing to the power of divine love in all its manifestations
Dear brothers and sisters,
In almost every society, there are minority groups or categories of people who are deemed as expendable. In America, the new government have begun to enact the policy of mass deportation of undocumented immigrants many of whom have lived peacefully and productively with their local communities. Pope Francis felt compelled to raise their treatment with the American bishops. Here in Australia, we are not without our challenges in terms of becoming a more equitable, inclusive and wholesome society. The decision of our government last week to send more asylum seekers to Nauru strikes many as trafficking our problem to a poor remote country.
As disciples of Jesus, we cannot turn our eyes away from the plight of those who are considered expendable in the harsh calculus of the political system. The whole thrust of the biblical narrative is a divinely inspired movement against the world’s winners-take-all modus operandi. Following the God of the Covenant and even more so, following Jesus has to do with seeing the goodness, humanity and dignity of the people whom we regard as outsiders, threats or even enemies.
Today’s scripture lesson contains the central teaching of Jesus on the standards of behaviour expected of his followers. It not only sets them against the ruthless, competitive, inhumane, survival-of-the-fittest mindset of the Roman Empire. It also challenges them to go beyond the old Mosaic law that stops short of loving their enemies and going the extra mile with those indebted to them. Jesus’ moral imperatives stretch the limits of our capacity to love in the way that mirrors the boundless love of God himself.
In the first reading, we have a glimpse of such divine benevolence through David’s kindness towards Saul. In earlier episodes, David was chosen to replace Saul as the new King of Israel. This was because Saul had failed to live up to his call of the true shepherd of Israel. He had abandoned service in pursuit of his own ambitions. Saul was determined to eliminate his young rival, David. The latter, though, refused to take revenge. In the cave where Saul lied in a deep sleep, David had a perfect opportunity to get rid of Saul. But he chose not to. Instead, he entrusted himself to God, saying “The Lord repays everyone for his uprightness and loyalty”. The forgiveness that was shown by David is not a weakness but a strength that breaks the cycle of violence and opens the way to reconciliation.
In the Gospel, Jesus continues to instruct his disciples on the ethics of the kingdom. The Beatitudes we heard last Sunday already reveal a value system that is completely at odds with the behavioural standards of the world. In God’s eyes, the blessed are those who are prepared to lose all for higher ideals. They exchange the security of wealth, privilege and status for the insecurity of trust in God, that is, faith without sight, strength without violence and love without counting the cost.
In today’s episode, Jesus pushes the vulnerability of discipleship to fresh extremes. He stretches the limits of our capacity to love to the extent that it reflects divine love. He teaches us that there are other dignified ways of getting our points across that respect life and seek to transform our enemies into our friends. Turning the other cheek, giving the last piece of our garments or going the extra mile are not passive submission to domination and violence.
These are metaphors for a kind of resistance that breaks the cycle of violence. Jesus teaches a new way of protesting and resisting evil and oppression without destroying one’s opponent and surrendering one’s dignity. This teaching is the foundation of many movements of social justice and positive change. It is keeping humanity and dignity amid unjust circumstances. We can turn the other cheek and still have dignity. We can still go the extra mile and keep intact our humanity, so that the world can become a better place and our adversaries can grasp this too and change positively.
Disarming violence with nonviolence and treating one’s opponent with benevolence is at the core of Jesus’ teaching and therefore the core of Christian discipleship. We are challenged to go beyond the letter of the law, beyond the minimum requirements to loving others at our own cost.
Dear brothers and sisters,
God in Christ has broken the grip of scapegoating by stepping into the place of the victim. He has delivered us from our propensity to violence, scapegoating and hatred towards others. In the world where strength, domination and elimination of those considered expendables and outcasts seem to gain momentum, we must not fail to be the force of resistance to hatred, violence and indifference. May we have the courage to live the ethics of God’s Kingdom and witness to the power of divine love in all its manifestations. Let us model ourselves on Christ the heavenly man, as St Paul exhorts us, and he will enable us to overcome our prejudices, grudges, and hatreds, and build a new world that aligns with God’s vision for all humanity.
