Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, June 16, 2025

Alaina Lanik
Jun 15
2 min read

Gospel

Matthew 5:38-42

Jesus said to his disciples:

"You have heard that it was said,

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.

When someone strikes you on your right cheek,

turn the other one to him as well.

If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,

hand him your cloak as well.

Should anyone press you into service for one mile,

go with him for two miles.

Give to the one who asks of you,

and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow."

Reflection

Indeed we have all heard the saying “an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth”, and in our world today that is the standard in which to measure what is fair. However, Jesus says “offer no resistance to one who is evil...If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well”. He is not just telling us to avoid retaliation, but to go above and beyond... to show mercy and generosity, even to our enemies and those that would seek to hurt us. This will always remind me of the quote “love thy enemy as thyself”. For a long time, I believed this line came straight from Scripture. While it reflects the message of the Gospel, the actual verse I found reads, “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). However, in researching the origin of that line I came across this other quote by, Kahlil Gibran and found it to be compelling, “And God said “Love Your Enemy,” and I obeyed him and loved myself”. This gave me a whole new perspective to consider. While I do believe Jesus literally meant for us to love our enemies I think it can be just as true that we are our own worst enemy. Our inner battles of guilt, shame, and resentment can wound us more deeply than anything external. Learning to love our enemies may also mean learning to extend that same mercy inward, to heal and forgive ourselves as Jesus does. Either way loving our enemies, showing them forgiveness, mercy and generosity is not something we can do on our own. But through God and His grace it becomes possible.

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Papamio

Jun 16

Salve Alaina:

God bless you and thanks for sharing your insights.

First insight: Love thy enemy as thou love thyself.

Not just love thy neighbor, but thy enemy!

Second insight: Thy worst enemy is thy own self.

Not thy neighbor, but thyself.

Third insight: how does the Lord define what it means to be an enemy? The one who persecutes you. Who is it that persecutes you most? And how?

Fourth insight: How you handle your persecutor is how you handle your enemy. How you handle your emeny is how you handle yourself? How? With love or hatred?

Fourth insight: the Lord commands that you love yourself so you could extend and expand that love to your own worst enemy.