In the Gospel this morning, Jesus quotes the Old Testament when he says, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” A great deal many people in the world today will use this sort of glimpse into the Scriptures to claim God was a God of vengeance and revenge. The reason this statement seems so harsh is its a view of what pure justice would require. Justice without mercy. The thing is, this wasn’t a statement on revenge but rather a cap on violence. It was an example of justice tempered with mercy, something the people of that world weren’t doing on their own.
In a world much more brutal and dangerous than our own “Wild West,” retaliation and vengeance were often exorbitantly greater than the original crime. This law made it clear that if someone knocked out one of your teeth, you were hardly justified in knocking out all of theirs. A tooth for a tooth and nothing more! It gave a limit and an end to violence, ending the cycle of retaliation and hate that often came and still comes from the human heart today.
Jesus takes us deeper into the purpose behind this biblical precept by telling us that we aren’t simply to refrain from retaliation but to forgive. Forgiveness is the only way to truly end the endless and destructive cycle of violence and hatred. That’s not an easy life to live. It also doesn’t mean we have to be a doormat. It does mean that we have to let Christ live in us so that our actions reflect the deeper meaning, the Spirit and Life of the Law.
What does that look like in the modern world? When surrounded by those who despise our faith? When the government itself seems intent on slowly eroding the morality of our children and our homes? I want to offer you this movie: “Popieluszko“. A young man in our parish gave it to me and asked that I share it with others. This copy is available for someone to take home and share with others. It shows us the actions of a modern-day martyry, standing up to the corrupt government and, yes, giving his life for it.
I want as many people as can to watch this movie. When and if you do, pay close attention to this quote when it happens. SPOILER: At one point, everyone wants Jerzy to stand up to the communists. To name them by name, call out their sin publicly. They want the corrupt politicians to be shamed and for the common man to know exactly who it is they are fighting against. He looks around at everyone gathered there and says with all these people around him, how is it none of them understand. Then they use this line, one that father Jerzy spoke himself: “I am fighting evil, not victims of evil”
That’s powerful. We are fighting evil, not those evil has twisted and corrupted, but the evil itself. Give it a watch. I have a copy if you want to borrow it, I’ll buy another if need be. If you want to know what living the Gospel looks like, there is a modern example. One our Catholics in the United States of America needs to see now, maybe more than ever. Jerzy taught us that true freedom is within, and no one can ever take it away. May God give us the strength to live out our faith with the same courage and humility that Father Popielusko did.