Ice cream, chocolates, candy…don’t they sound great! Many of us crave sweet things. In just a little more than a weeks, some of us will be giving them up as our sacrifice for Lent. Sugary treats may not be a healthy option but they trigger the release of feel-good chemicals in our brains that provide us with a momentary rush of pleasure. Interestingly enough, so does the thought of getting even with someone who has hurt us. Neuroscientists have discovered that revenge really is “sweet” for that part of our brain responsible for reward, which also governs vengeance. Just like sugary snacks, thinking about how we get back at someone is a strong urge. And, some might argue that revenge is justifiable. After all, it is provoked by someone else’s wrongdoing.
Revenge may seem to be sweet but it is really only bittersweet. It doesn’t try to reform the offender’s behavior but only to inflict pain. And, the sweetness is only momentary. After the initial “sugar rush,” there are feelings of remorse and despondency. Research has found that an act of vengeance merely intensifies our focus on the wrongdoer and makes us brood even more on what they have done to us. In the end, we’re really no happier after we get back at someone. It’s the result of original sin, a curse we carry with us since the time of Adam and Eve, the prototype of humanity who thought they knew better than God.
God teaches us to love and to leave judgement to him. As we heard in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us to even love our enemies. Boy, that’s a hard lesson, isn’t it!?! The idea sounded absolutely preposterous to the people of his day. After all, they were suffering under the oppressive occupation of the Romans and they felt fully justified in despising their oppressors. Revenge is enshrined in Jewish law; that’s where we get “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” The commandment to “love your neighbor” was also part of Jewish law but they were very restricted in their understanding of who was their neighbor; that’s why Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Jesus teaches very clearly that everyone is our neighbor and that we are to strive to live in peace with everyone – even our enemy! He goes on to give some very practical examples of how to respond to provocative situations: do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic!
This may sound crazy but notice, he begins with “to you who hear, I say,” and ends with “be merciful as your father is merciful.” He recognizes that this is a hard lesson and only those of us who are willing to listen with open hearts will hear what he has to say. And, he calls us to remember how merciful God is to us in our sinfulness. God forgives the ungrateful, shows kindness to the undeserving. We, who recognize that we are made in the image and likeness of God, are called to love as God loves; unconditionally.
Now, everyone gets annoyed from time to time. Anger is a natural reaction and sometimes it’s a healthy response to danger. Sometimes, a loving response is to stand up to unhealthy or dangerous behavior. Sometimes, we need to be clear in helping others understand the consequences of their actions. That is not revenge, however. Godlike love restores, teaches and heals; it does not harm or destroy. It also recognizes that we are all God’s beloved children. As we heard in today’s first reading, even David recognized that Saul, who was trying to kill him, was the Lord’s anointed one and so he would do no harm to him.
More important than feeling love for our enemies is showing love to them. It was by watching how Jesus loved that the people of his day began to understand what God is truly like. When Jesus, with his dying gasp, forgave those who crucified him and jeered at him, the Roman officer responded in amazement, “In truth, this man is a son of God.” All who imitate the loving forbearance of God are recognizable as God’s sons and daughters. Others can see God’s likeness in us whenever we love as God loves us. And, as we hear in today’s Gospel, God forgives us as we forgive others. Jesus uses a wonderful analogy of someone who deals out a generous measure of love and forgiveness, in turn being given an even more generous measure, packed together, shaken down and overflowing; that’s how generous God is to the merciful heart.