"Is There a Better Way?"
June 16, 2025 – Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 5:38–42
Most of us grow up with a certain idea of justice.
If someone pushes you—you push back.
If someone insults you—you fire back.
That’s only fair, right?
It turns out, this way of thinking isn’t new.
Even in the Bible, there was a rule meant to keep things fair:
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus 21:24).
The idea was: don’t take more than what was done to you.
But let’s be honest—do we ever stop at just enough?
Most of the time, we give back just a little more.
But then Jesus comes along and says something completely different:
“Do not resist the one who is evil.”
“Turn the other cheek.”
“Go the extra mile.”
It sounds crazy.
It sounds weak.
But Jesus lived it.
People spat at Him, slapped Him, nailed Him to a cross.
He had the power to stop it all—and He didn’t.
Instead, He said: “Father, forgive them.”
That’s not weakness. That’s strength of another kind.
It’s the kind of strength that doesn’t need to win the fight to win the heart.
Jesus invites us to live differently—not by getting even, but by breaking the cycle.
He’s not asking us to be doormats.
He’s asking us to be free—free from bitterness, from revenge, from always having to “prove something.”
Imagine if you:
Walked away from the insult instead of posting back.
Let go of the grudge instead of planning your payback.
Forgave someone who didn’t deserve it—because Jesus did that for you.
This is the path He walked.
And it’s the path He’s inviting you to follow.
It’s not easy.
But it’s beautiful.
And it leads to a life this world can’t offer.