Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
“When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to them as well.” - Matthew 5:39b.
Bullying seems to be in vogue these days. From the highest echelons of American power to its lowest citizen. Dehumanizing-name-calling hardly gets in the way anymore of whether someone approves or disapproves of another.
Turn the other cheek? It is essential that, as we read/hear the scriptures, we place them in the context of the time and place from which they came. Knowing the particular literary form is also absolutely essential so as to not misinterpret what the inspired writers intended.
Today Jesus is using a common rabbinical teaching tool known as “hyperbole” in order to accentuate an important point. In fact, our blessed Lord uses hyperbole throughout the Sermon on the Mount. The “turn the other cheek” passage gets an inordinate amount of air-time. But here are just five of many other examples of hyperbole that are found in the Sermon on the Mount:
- … If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away… (5:29) Jesus is speaking hyperbole to emphasize the fact that we must eliminate all obstacles to serving God.
- … if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away… (5:30) Is anyone “out on the stump” (pun intended) encouraging folks to cut off hands in the name of Jesus?
- … give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you (5:42). He uses hyperbole in teaching that we Christians should be known for our generosity.
- … when you give alms do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret… (6:3-4) The truth is, our Lord emphasizes that we should give for love of God and neighbor’s sake, not to be “seen of men” as a matter of pride.
- … when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret…(6:6) Did Jesus really condemn praying in public? He was using hyperbole to emphasize that prayer should never be a performance to be seen to impress others.
The entire Sermon on the Mount can be summed up in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first his kingdom and all these things shall be yours as well.” God must come first in every aspect of our lives.
So when it comes to turning the other cheek, Jesus is not saying we should be doormats. Nonviolent, yes, but not punching bags to be abused and treated cruelly. Always remember, as Pope Leo XIV says time and time again, that the dignity of the human person is at the heart and soul of all Christian morality and life.
—Timothy J. Cronin