Becoming More Like God Our Heavenly Father

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Golden Valley, MN

Sunday, February 23, 2020

The purpose of the law is to enable people live uprightly. The law can guide people to live in right relationships.. During Jesus’ time, the laws and the traditions of the people (Judaism) were subjected to different interpretations. There were not only controversies between the Pharisees and Sadducees, but also among the Pharisees themselves. There were basically two schools of Jewish scholars at the time named Hillel and Shammai who had vigorous debates on matters of ritual practice, ethics, and theology. It’s like the argument within the Church today between the conservative/traditionalist Catholics and the liberal/progressive Catholics. One of the issues of the time among these two Jewish groups was how the Jews should relate with their Roman oppressors. As these debates continue, Jesus enters the stage; and through a series of antitheses, he offers his own interpretation on how to live faithfully to God. 

The first law he addresses is the law that governs revenge and retaliation. To his disciples, he says, “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 as well.” Is this a hard teaching to practice? YES! But is it possible to live by it? YES! History is full of courageous men and women who practiced and advocated for non-violence. Living by the principle of “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” will render us all blind and toothless. Powerlessness is a new kind of power. Powerlessness is powerful because it requires extreme restraint or what St. Paul calls “self-control” in the face of provocation. However, this powerlessness is not indifference or apatheia (apathy) It is not hopelessness. It is not turning oneself into doormats. It is not Zeno’s stoicism (Zeno teaches that the path to eudeimonia— happiness is found by accepting the way things are, by not allowing oneself be controlled by emotion or desire for pleasure or fear of pain) or Buddha’s unattchement. This powerlessness is powerful because it charges and motivates you, not to do nothing, but to do something— to forgive and to let go. Jesus teaches us, his disciples to eschew all forms of seeking and taking revenge. When you are insulted, return insults with non-violence. Bless the insulter. Don’t curse out or curse in. 

Another law that Jesus addresses in today’s Gospel is the law of love:  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father…For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not tax collectors do the same?” The First reading from the Book of Leviticus enjoins Israelites to love their fellow Israelites. Now, loving your own kind, your own race, your own people, your own community, people of the same faith and cultural background can obviously bring about some good— like stability and harmony in the community. But it does not make us any different from anyone else. It does not set us apart for a particular purpose. If we want to be called children of God, Jesus says our love must go beyond all that. We must love all people— friends and foes because they too are children of God. Just as God the Father allows the good and bad to have experience the sun and rain, so Jesus’ disciples are to show love to their enemies and neighbors alike. We become more perfect and more complete when we act in the same manner that God our heavenly Father acts towards others.