Jesus calls us to be courageous as we live God’s commandments. This is one of Jesus’ great teachings which people throughout history have failed to comprehend. Jesus inspires us by his willingness to go to the cross without withdrawing a single word of his teachings. His courage and love for the people, even the poorest and “lowliest,” inspire us to be courageous. In the Matthew’s Gospel in the “Sermon on the Mount” Jesus tells us to “turn the other cheek,” to carry a soldier’s armor two miles instead of just the one as Roman law required, and to even “love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you.” There is no way to live according to Jesus’ teachings if we are not courageous.

      Jesus’ own life is the example we must imitate. Jesus was repeatedly misinterpreted, misunderstood, and falsely accused. Others tried to “trap him” and look for ways to catch him doing something that might demonstrate that he was misleading the people. Through all of this Jesus remains steadfast in proclaiming good news to the poor, liberty to captives, and offering sight to the blind, etc. He does not let the religious or civil leaders to provoke him to violence or vengeance.

      As we try to fulfill Jesus’ teachings we must not make the oppressor, or the “enemy,” to become a scapegoat for our anger. We cannot simply call “them” evil and then do violence by our words or deeds. We do not deny that there are persons who are unjust, or worse, toward others. Still, we must not perpetuate the injustice, the evil, or the hatred by responding in the same way. Courage and generosity are two characteristics we will have to foster in order to create peace and justice and avoid falling to the sins of revenge or violence.

      In my homily of February 19 I cited Mahatmas Gandhi as he is depicted in the movie Gandhi. Gandhi was greatly influenced by the Gospels and the teachings of Jesus. He sounded very Christ-like in the movie when he spoke against a discriminatory law: “I am asking you to fight, to fight against their anger, not to provoke it. We will not strike a blow. But we will receive them. And through our pain we will make them see their injustice. And it will hurt, as all fighting hurts. But we cannot lose. We cannot. They may torture my body, break my bones, even kill me. Then, they have my dead body. Not my obedience.” (Ghandi, the movie – scene in theater in South Africa).

Peace Fr. Andy