Matthew 5:38-42

2 Corinthians 6:1-10

Psalm 98:1, 2b, 3ab, 3cd-4

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, help me to see how true justice and mercy flow from you, the source of all justice and the fount of all mercy. I am called to imitate your justice and mercy. I cannot do it on my own, and so, I trust in the gift of your grace to empower me.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Justice and Mercy as Divine Attributes: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks about the relationship between justice and mercy in the New Covenant that he is establishing. When we consider the attributes of God, these two attributes – justice and mercy – seem hard to reconcile with one another. On the one hand, we believe that God is just. God gives to his creatures good things and perfections that are proper to their nature (Psalm 11:7: “The Lord is just and loves just deeds”). On the other hand, we believe that God is merciful (Psalm 111:4: “Gracious and merciful is the Lord”). This means that God gives to his creatures good things – perfections like forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration – even when they have rebelled and sinned against him. We can question: Is it just to forgive rather than punish the sinner? It is possible, for various reasons, that we emphasize one of these divine attributes to the exclusion of the other. Some people, due to their personality, tend to think of God primarily as a Judge who is just and true. Others, also due to their personality and experiences, tend to think of God as a merciful Father. Can the two attributes be reconciled and seen together?

2. No Justice without Mercy: A person with a Pharisee-like tendency, personality, or spirituality will tend to over-emphasize God’s justice almost to the exclusion of mercy. They understand that God, who is all-knowing and all-powerful, is the judge of all things. They know that there is a clear distinction between right and wrong, good and evil, what is sacred and what is profane. Things for the Pharisee are black or white, and there is no room for gray. What Jesus teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount is that there is no justice without mercy. Is it just for a follower of Christ to retaliate against violence with equal violence? If someone strikes us with a backhand across our right cheek, is it just to return the backhand? Is that the way we are called to end the violence? By threatening and carrying out equal violence? Will not the violence just continue and only escalate? The person, then, who tends to over-emphasize justice, is called to imitate God’s mercy that brings justice to its perfection.

3. No Mercy without Justice: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus does not do away with justice. As St. Thomas Aquinas argues, “The work of divine justice always presupposes the work of mercy and is founded on it” (Summa theologiae, I, q. 21, a. 4). Mercy can bring sin to a halt not because it condones or is indifferent to sin but because it leads to forgiveness and reconciliation. As Pope Benedict XVI taught, “God’s passionate love for his people – for humanity – is at the same time a forgiving love. It is so great that it turns God against himself, his love against his justice. Here, Christians can see a dim prefigurement of the mystery of the Cross: so great is God’s love for man that by becoming man he follows him even into death, and so reconciles justice and love” (Deus Caritas Est, 10). Instead of trying to build mercy upon justice, we need to build justice upon merciful love. In more practical terms, this means that instead of trying first to be just and occasionally dispensing mercy to those we think deserve it or a second chance, we need to have hearts full of merciful love that seek justice and righteousness. Instead of debating whether or not to forgive the brother or sister who has offended me, I need to be ready always to forgive, hoping that this will move and soften their heart and be a step towards reconciliation and true justice.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the just one sent by the Father to justify us and restore us to righteousness. You are the merciful one sent by the Father to forgive our sins and be a model of merciful love for us to imitate. Fill my heart with your righteousness and pour out your mercy upon me today.

Living the Word of God: How can I have a mercy-first attitude in my daily life that seeks true justice and reconciliation? Do I have a justice-first mentality that needs tempering? How can I be more merciful and just with my spouse, my children, and my coworkers?