Love That Suffers!

Monday, June 17, 2024

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

Today’s Gospel highlights the Christian ethic that culminates in love, mercy, and harmony. 

Jesus gives four specific examples that insist on charity, non-retaliation, and peace. 

The first example has to do with insults. Jesus expects of us the level of kindness that would disarm the enemy who looks to offend. 

The second involves lawsuits. In effect, Jesus is asking his followers not to prove themselves right. The words of Jesus remind me of what Abraham Lincoln said, ‘Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?’

The third example involves duty and customs. By asking his followers to walk or go the extra mile, Jesus wants them to gift others forbearance in the face of compulsive service. In this context, cheerfulness neutralizes coercion. 

The fourth example is to do with charity. Jesus insists on giving when there is a question of borrowing. In effect, Jesus wants Christians to possess hearts that seek the best for others out of true love and generosity. 

The basis of Jesus’ teaching is love. Jesus wants to form the hearts of his followers in meekness and humility that will ensure love and harmony with no need for enmity or violence. 

In sum, for the disciples of Jesus, righteousness is obtained through mercy, love, forgiveness, and generosity. 

These are hard to practice. But that does not mean we can give up on them easily. 

We follow the Master, who suffered for love. His disciples cannot expect anything different. 

Jesus’ teachings remind me of a story. 

Once, there was a general who was infamous for his brutality. He was vicious without mercy. He went to attack a small village that lay in the path of his army. Knowing the general’s reputation, everyone in the village ran away – everyone except a man. When the general entered the village, he found this one man sitting calmly under a tree. The furious general walked up to the man and asked, ‘Do you know who I am and what I am capable of? I can run my sword right through you without batting an eye!’ And the man asked in reply, ‘But do you know who I am and what I am capable of? I will let you do it without batting an eye.’

The anecdote provides some powerful insights that explain the teachings of Jesus.  

Who is stronger – the one who inflicts pain or the one who endures it out of love? 

Usually, suffering is of two kinds: one due to our inability and the other due to our convictions. Jesus invites his followers to endure suffering for the sake of their convictions. 

When we suffer for our convictions, we know why we suffer, who causes the suffering, and why we should continue to endure. 

To suffer for a cause is nobler than anything else!

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar