A Few Words On "The Word"

February 18, 2007
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Luke 6:27-38

To the Extreme!

When you were young how many times did you respond to something your parents said by saying, "That's not fair?" If you're anything like me, you probably said it every couple of days. Okay, that's an exaggeration but when we are little we pretty frequently tend to feel that that life just isn't fair. Our parents usually respond to our protests by stating, quite simply and factually, "Life isn't fair."

What is fair? What is just? People have different ways of answering these deceptively difficult questions. The great philosopher Plato spent pages and pages attempting to uncover exactly what it means to be a just person or a just society. When we think about it, we realize that most people probably think of justice or fairness in terms of equality, known as reciprocal justice. For example, if I provide a service to you then to be fair you must pay me in a way that somehow equals the amount of work I provided. In general, we feel that if someone steals a watch, they must repay the victim in some way.

This way of thinking is pretty natural. To some extent, it's why children often feel that decisions their parents make are unfair. However, it can also easily lead to a mentality that seeks a strict and equal repayment for any wrongful act. People sometimes take fairness and reciprocal justice to the extreme even if it means killing a criminal, repaying death by ending life once again and neglecting to realize the dignity of all humans.

In today's gospel, Jesus shows us that God's vision of justice may be slightly different from our own human understandings. Jesus, realizing that life truly isn't fair, preaches a gospel of extreme peace. In doing so he shows that the path to peace isn't necessarily found through a reciprocal view of justice where revenge may be central. Rather Jesus realizes that true peace must be built upon actions filled with love.

Our society often looks at justice as a compensation for acts that we feel wrong us. However, as peacebuilders, we know that life truly isn't fair. We see the poverty and mistreatment of people in our world. This helps us to realize more fully that justice isn't necessarily just about reciprocity. True justice applies to the larger human family that must strive to realize that all people are valued, even when they are on trial for murder. If we want justice, if we want peace, we must live the extreme love that Jesus preaches, turning the other cheek and walking the extra mile even when it's just not fair.

Reflection Question

Have you ever experienced a situation that provided you with an opportunity to live out Jesus' vision of extreme love or extreme peace?

In what ways can we help those around us realize that reciprocal justice isn't always the best answer?

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