Offering No Resistance!

Monday, June 15, 2026

1 Kgs 21: 1-16; Mt 5: 38-42

Today’s Gospel highlights offering no resistance to what sounds at times like ‘unfair’ demands as a Christian response.

The text prompts us to question if Jesus wants his followers to be passive victims. How can we understand Jesus’ teaching about offering no resistance?

The phrase ‘eye for eye’ was known as lex talionis, which, despite having the appearance of being barbaric, was a leap in the history of justice as the law limited revenge, thus preventing any confrontation spiralling into endless violence. The law meant that punishment cannot exceed the injury. 

While this was commonly regarded as a justice principle, Jesus wanted his disciples to transcend the realm of justice to move into the realm of love, as the latter includes the former. Here, Jesus is not abolishing justice but emphasises that our response must always be born of love.

Jesus’ teaching on love invites us to reflect on the four unreasonable demands differently. Accordingly, turning the other cheek calls for accepting humiliation without revengeful thoughts. Offering the cloak and walking the extra mile underline Christian generosity. Giving to the one who asks denotes our readiness to renounce things out of compassion. 

Moreover, in Jesus’ view, offering no resistance does not glorify abuse or promote cowardice. Instead, it points to an inner courage rooted in love that does not react as people would normally expect us to. Hence, what Jesus advocates is far from weakness. We Christians walk in the footsteps of our Master, choosing love rather than retaliation, though we may have the strength to do so.

In his teaching, Jesus highlights the truth that Christian love is the willingness to be bothered or disturbed by the needs of others. Thus, those who turn the other cheek allow themselves to be bothered by another’s insult. Those who offer the cloak allow themselves to be bothered by another person’s demand. Those who walk the extra mile allow themselves to be inconvenienced by another’s burden. Those who give to the one who asks allow themselves to be disturbed by another person’s needs. 

Thus, Christian discipleship is shaped more by one’s willingness to be interrupted by love. For this reason, the worth of a Christian is measured by his/her capacity to be bothered for the sake of love. 

Let us pray that we may grow in our capacity to be bothered by love.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar