Go The Extra Mile

𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝟏𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟐 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟔:𝟏-𝟏𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟗𝟖:𝟏-𝟒 “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟓:𝟑𝟖-𝟒𝟐

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏.” (𝒗.39) 

         Tit for tat is a term that connotes equivalent retaliation, measure for measure, blow for blow or what is referred to in ancient times as eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. It simply means exacting revenge in the same measure as the wrong done.

         This was the law that the Jews followed in those days (𝑳𝒆𝒗 24:19-20; 𝑫𝒆𝒖𝒕 19:21) but its original intention was not to turn the Jews into bloodthirsty hounds but simply to limit the act of vengeance and help the Jewish courts administer punishment that was neither too strict nor too lenient.

         This law, however, was abused by some Jews to justify their personal vendettas against their enemies or those with whom they were in conflict. But the original intent was not to give the individual the right and or privilege to exact vengeance but to help the judge and the courts determine the corresponding penalty that is equivalent to the wrong done.

         In fact, there were interpretations made to indicate that this ancient Jewish law was written down to serve as a warning for wrongdoers and for the people to think about the consequences of their actions. It can even be said that this law served as a reminder to the Jews to be merciful towards others and these reminders were also written down for the Jews to observe: “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆.” (𝑳𝒆𝒗 19:18).          

         The Book of Proverbs also says: “𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚, 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒕; 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒚, 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌.” (𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗 25:21) This means that even if this provision on “𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦, 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩” was included as part of the ancient Jewish law, it’s intent was merely to serve as a warning and or as a precaution for the Jews to always be aware of their actions.

         What is sad and unfortunate is that this ancient law is still being quoted even up to this present age to justify personal vengeance or “𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴” as a response to the wrong that may have been committed against us.

         The Gospel reading today is a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount and here we hear Jesus contradicting the issue of just retribution with a surprising revelation of how God wants us to treat others, especially those who have been unfair to us. To the amazement of those listening to him, Jesus spoke of a new standard based not just on the requirements of justice that was practiced in those days but an amendment to the then existing law that was based on the law of grace and love.

         The words that Jesus spoke was unheard of as he literally revised the law whose intention was to teach the people to be merciful to others into a new law that was founded on grace and loving-kindness. Jesus made clear that there should be no room for retaliation of any kind even in self-defense as he admonished the people “𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍.” (𝒗.39).        

         Jesus commands us not only to avoid returning evil for evil but that we must seek the good of those who wish us ill. This means that we are to humble ourselves and accept insults, as Jesus did, with no resentment or malice. It also means doing more than what is expected of us. This means that we need to rise above the level of expectations when we are confronted with insults, intrigues, wrongdoing, and persecution and that we must respond with grace and cheerfulness.

         When we are wronged, the human tendency is always to get even. But what Jesus is telling us in this Gospel reading is to good to those who wrong us. Our Lord commands us that we should not keep score of whatever wrongs done to us but to just love and forgive.

         This reminds me of someone who accused me of wrongdoing and as I sat down to iron out our differences my accuser came out with a list of wrongdoings that I allegedly committed against him. The dialogue never led to a resolution as the person concerned would not accept anything beyond the mindset that he has already created for himself. Still, I humbled myself and apologized for whatever wrong I may have committed against him. But I never heard the person say he was accepting my apology. And the dialogue ended the way it started.

         While being patient and forgiving may indeed be hard and difficult to do, you must remember that you are a supernatural being and that you can rely on God to give you the strength to love as he does and instead of seeking vengeance, it would be a much better proposition if you can just pray for those who may have hurt you. In simpler terms, even when you find yourself on the edge in your relationship with others, God prefers that you stretch your patience further.

        How you will respond to difficult situations such as when others wrong you or hurt you will define your character, and this is what makes a Christian stand out in the crowd. To be a Christian is to be different from everyone else because a Christian is someone who is filled with Grace in the way we treat others not because they deserve it but because this is the way God wants us to treat others – with loving kindness and mercy.

        In other words, what Jesus is asking us to do when faced with such situations is simply to go the extra mile, to stretch our patience further until our tolerance is replaced by grace and love toward the other person.

        When you are encountering difficulty in forgiving others, you only have to look at the cross of Jesus Christ and you will be freed of malice, hatred, revenge, and resentment and Christ Himself will give you the courage to return evil with good. It is this kind of love and grace which will give you the power to be healed of your hatred and bitterness that will eventually save you from your own destruction.

        Let me end with this prayer: “𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 - 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘫𝘰𝘺, 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘶𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘝𝘪𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘈𝘔𝘌𝘕! (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 16, 2025)