Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
June 14, 2021
Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 365
Reading I
Brothers and sisters:
As your fellow workers, we appeal to you
not to receive the grace of God in vain.
For he says:
In an acceptable time I heard you,
and on the day of salvation I helped you.
Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.
We cause no one to stumble in anything,
in order that no fault may be found with our ministry;
on the contrary, in everything we commend ourselves
as ministers of God, through much endurance,
in afflictions, hardships, constraints,
beatings, imprisonments, riots,
labors, vigils, fasts;
by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness,
in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love, in truthful speech,
in the power of God;
with weapons of righteousness at the right and at the left;
through glory and dishonor, insult and praise.
We are treated as deceivers and yet are truthful;
as unrecognized and yet acknowledged;
as dying and behold we live;
as chastised and yet not put to death;
as sorrowful yet always rejoicing;
as poor yet enriching many;
as having nothing and yet possessing all things.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (2a) The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
In the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A lamp to my feet is your word,
a light to my path.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“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.”
Reflection: STUPIDITY OF THE WORLD
Do not resist an evil doer? Irrational! This is what intelligent people who read this passage would say. Read this to the Indian and Pakistani Governments, or to the Chinese, the USA and Russia, or to the two Koreas! They will laugh at you and think you are mad. The most reasonable thing is to build a stronger army than the opponent. We will spend all the money of the poor and starve them to death but will not compromise an inch of our land to the enemy. That is rationality, in political circles and in the logic of mass hysteria that politicians manage to create. In the same way two brothers will fight over a small border fence and will spend all the money on lawyers rather than do a little give-and-take with each other. So, the suggestions of Jesus are simply impractical in the real world, or just irrational! Or are they? On the other hand, is the fight between two brothers for years, spending their inheritance to defeat one's own sibling over a small piece of land, rational? When a country spends 30% of its GDP on defense and 2% on education and 2.5% on health care, is that a rational country? The collective irrationality of the world, whether it be countries or individuals is just staggering. I am reminded of some wise man's statement: 'There is a limit to man's intelligence, but not to his stupidity!' The wisdom and the rationality of the words of Jesus are obvious for those who have eyes to see!