5th Sunday after Pentecost
Today’s Gospel reminds us of our common origin. All men are brothers because they are all born of the same first parents and are all redeemed with the Precious Blood of the same Saviour. This being so, it is incumbent upon us to treat each other as brothers, that is to say, with respect. In light of this, St Benedict tells us in chapter 4 of the Rule that one of the tools for good works is to honour all men, and in chapter 53 on the reception of guests, he insists that we look upon any guest to the monastery as coming to us as Christ Himself. Christ is always seen in the other, for either His presence there is readily discernible by the fact that he/she is of the household of the faith, or His presence is to be discovered with the eyes of faith under the guise of suffering or poverty, be it material or spiritual. In any case, our care and concern must be to share Christ with them.
If we are called upon to pay honour to each person as a human being created in the image and likeness of God and redeemed with the Precious Blood, if every person is due the respect of a brother or sister in Christ, this means of course that haughty attitudes or name-calling are out of the question. Everyone is dear to God and should therefore be dear to us.
Nor does it matter what harm they may have done to us. On this, Our Lord is formal: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you (Lk 6:27). In this we are called to imitate God Himself who, as St Paul reminds us: Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rm 5:6-8). This does not mean that we might not still hurt from the pain caused. Some wrongs are impossible to forget. But if we have understood the debt we owe to God, then we will not fear to forgive those who are indebted to us.
Of course, this does not mean there are not sometimes disputes and disagreements. To refer once again to St Benedict, he commands the abbot to recite aloud twice a day, at Lauds and Vespers, the Our Father so that the brothers may be reminded of the pledge they make in that prayer to forgive others. In the tools for good works, St Benedict admonishes us to be reconciled before sunset, so as not to take our rest until peace has been reestablished with those who may be in disagreement with us. This is easily understood when we consider that since the Lord cannot be pleased when His children are fighting with each other, it is imperative that we be reconciled with each other as much as it depends on us before approaching Him. Hence why in today’s Gospel, the Lord tells us to leave our gift at the altar and go first to be reconciled with our brother. As St Augustine says, the Lord wants you more than your gift, and the only way to get you is for you to accept to humble yourself before your brother.
So, the great lesson of this Sunday is that of meekness and gentleness. In the epistle, St Peter expounds upon this lesson: All of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing (1 Pt 3:8-9). He then goes on to base his teaching on the words of the Psalm: Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil (Psalm 32:12-15).
Of course, if we act in this way, there is always the risk that we may be taken advantage of, and this is why St Peter adds: Who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy (1 Pt 3:13-15). In other words, our duty is to imitate the Lord in forgiving those who hurt us, and if we are hurt even more, then we must remember that to suffer in this way is a blessing. There is no greater blessing on earth than to suffer for what is right, for then we take part in the passion of our Blessed Lord.
We must also note that being meek and gentle, and practising fraternal charity, does not mean being soft, nebulous, or unclear. Today, many have lost a sense of objective truth; they are spineless when it comes to principles. Their only rule is to go along with whoever they happen to be with, and if they don’t agree, instead of talking things through, they pack up their bags and go somewhere else. This is one of the reasons for the disintegration and collapse of many communities and families. A false understanding of what living in mutual harmony entails inevitably leads to running away when we realise there are real differences in what we hold to be important and in our approach to many things.
A mature and well-formed person, on the other hand, is capable of listening to opposing views and making every effort to understand the other side of a question, to concede what is true in different approaches, but also to show, with charity, whatever fallacies there may be. St Thomas Aquinas was a master at this and he remains one of our most important guides today. He never advances his teaching without first giving the adversary a chance to explain himself. Only then will he proceed to show where the truth lies. Ultimately one is sometimes forced to express disagreement with both meekness and firmness, standing up for what is known to be true even if the principles we know and love are rejected or even mocked. The ultimate example and guide is our blessed Lord, who, when despised and slandered by the Pharisees, continued to answer questions, to preach the truth, and ultimately to die for it, all the while praying for His enemies.
