RETALIATING WITH LOVE
The Gospel MATTHEW 5:38-42
Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”
The Media                "Hotel Rwanda" beginning session
In 1994 when the Hutu and Tutsi tribes were at war, Hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina of the Hutu tribe was married to Tutsi tribe member Tatiana. Trained in Belgium, he was the manager of the hotel called Des Milles Collines in the capital city of Kigali, Rwanda. He thought his life was normal until he found himself in the middle of total and incredible hatred that made absolutely no sense at all. The whole war was ridiculous, and Paul would have thought nothing about it had it not been for the fact that he suddenly had to be concerned about the number of people who were killed and whether his family could be kept alive or not.
How does a Christian act toward genocide that is being carried out in front of one’s very eyes? What does one do when one is so overpowered that all that can be done is to watch and say, “There is nothing we can do.” Does a father of a family sit back and watch his family be slaughtered? How is it possible to apply Jesus’ words against retaliation when someone is about to kill you? What can you do?
 
Simply put, you prepare to die, and you do the best you can do as you prepare. No doubt such was the thought of Paul Rusesabagina as he watched his wonderful world completely fall apart. But he refused to do nothing. He followed Jesus’ advice and “gave” as much as he could, given the circumstances he was in.
 
We thank God that we are in a country where genocide cannot happen. But even though we do not have the atrocities that happened in Rwanda, we have instances of revenge and retaliation. On the level of day-to-day living, the desire to retaliate is also a part of our own world. We want to get back at someone who has done something to us or to our families. We want to speak evil words about people who have spoken ill of us. We relish the idea of revenge for what has happened to us. We enjoy the thought of “payback time.”
 
There is a lesson to be learned as Paul Rusesabagina dealt with genocide in his country. It is the lesson of Jesus Christ. We deal with what happens to us, even if it is evil, and as we deal with it, we do our best to “give” to others, even in the worst of times.                           
THOUGHT
What is the root cause of the desire to retaliate?
 
PRAYER
Good and gracious God, we live in very difficult and complicated times, mainly because we have not understood completely the messages of your Son. We know that there are horrors in the past, we know that there are horrors even now. As we live in our own small worlds, help us learn your Son’s message not to seek revenge. Be with us, we pray.

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©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America