The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
With world leaders threatening vengeance, societies valuing total domination at the expense of the innocent, and the media glorifying relationships of abuse, turning the other cheek sounds awfully naive in today’s culture.
In other words, this Gospel is hard for me.
Jesus’s challenge to “love your enemies” feels absurd in our times because it is—by the standard of the world.
However, we are not of this world.
Yes, there are real evils at play and great injustice to combat. But instead of looking globally, what about starting personally? Even harder than recognizing them “out there” is recognizing them within myself. Am I doing good, loving my enemies, and lending without terms…in my family, at my workplace, and with my neighbors?
To live like Jesus is to turn the other cheek. He is our standard.
Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus healing and forgiving people one by one. He affects cosmic change on our world through his seemingly humble acts of love. His heart mourning injustice, our teacher concerns himself not with running a political campaign, but with lavishing his divine mercy.
Jesus loved his enemies, even to the point of death and continues to teach us his narrow path through the Eucharist. He offers himself to us (who often act as his enemies!) in total generosity.
Jesus knew the deep suffering of our world more than any of us. He doesn’t disregard accountability; instead, he challenges us to acknowledge and forgive the hurt we have experienced and the hurt we have committed.
Then? Continue to love.
In loving our enemies near and far, we are freed from the standards of the world. In turning the other cheek, we affect the same earth-shattering change that Jesus did. In living total generosity, we emulate the overflowing mercy of God.
Friends, let’s accept the standard of Jesus—one act of love at a time.
In the places of my heart where I have been hurt and need to forgive, shine your love, Jesus.
In the situations where I have chosen to be your enemy and need to repent, shine your love, Jesus.
In the difficult relationships with my family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors, shine your love, Jesus.
In the wounds of our culture, marked by selfishness and injustice, shine your love, Jesus.
Jesus, teach us to reject the terms of this world and embrace your path of mercy, forgiveness, and total generosity.
Zoe Dongas is an actor and musician based in New York City. She loves her parish community at St. Joseph's in Greenwich Village, where she is blessed to be a catechist and worship leader. Zoe aspires to grow closer to the person of Christ through the people she encounters and the stories she tells.