Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In light of the rollout of the Annual Catholic Appeal this weekend, I am going to use my letter this week to offer some reflection on the readings from Sunday.
Our first reading, is in some ways, “in media res” or already in progress. We’re picking up the story somewhere in the middle and as such, there’s a ton of context that is both missing and important. It’s a time of strife in Israel, with two individuals vying for authority over the people. On the one hand, we have Saul, the current King. On the other hand, we have David, killer of Goliath and a young upstart. But what’s interesting and is on full display in the readings is the fact that both men have been chosen by God for various purposes. Saul was the first King of Israel and is considered to be anointed by the Lord for such a purpose. David led the Israelites in their struggles with the Philistines and will eventually become King of Israel himself. In a sense, it’s hard to figure out who exactly is right and wrong in the struggle between the two men. Both are worthy of respect and honor for who they are and the positions they hold.
As you can probably tell, I almost never comment on what’s currently happening in politics. It often requires a tremendous amount of nuance and discourse to effectively talk about what are sensitive and at times, inflammatory issues. Rarely, it’s cut and dry or black and white; as such, I tend to remain out of such discourse, fearing that anything I say will only frustrate and upset people, rather than encourage and educate as I would intend. But our readings this weekend remind us of a deeper truth that applies to both politics and beyond.
The Gospel presents several situations of seeming self-sacrifice; turn the other cheek, offer your tunic, go the extra mile. In the context of the original culture, these are all both extraordinary and counter-cultural. Striking the other cheek with an open hand instead of the back of one was a sign of being equals, and not dismissive. Did it still hurt? Sure, but the meaning is completely different. In Jewish society, it would be ridiculous to take a person’s tunic and keep it. By offering it, the person is humbling the individual who is insisting of their cloak. In Roman law, a soldier could press a citizen into carrying his pack for a mile, but no further. By going that second mile, the citizen would have gotten the soldier into tremendous trouble.
All these things speak to the deeper truth; of equality, of mutual respect. Yes, there are challenges in society. Yes, we may differ in our opinions on them. But all of us have a responsibility to see and honor the dignity of those around us, regardless of how they look, what they believe, how the speak, or any other arbitrary difference that exists between us.
Peace and Goodness,
Fr. Dan
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