Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 23, 2020

February 23, 2020

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February 23, 2020

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Emily

Emily

Cortina

Cortina

Who are your enemies?

Doris Hernandez lost her son Freddie seven years ago, when he was shot and killed on the streets of Chicago by an unknown assailant. By anyone’s standards, her son’s murderer is now her enemy, and it would be perfectly reasonable for her to wake up each morning filled with a burning desire for justice. And she does, but not the kind of justice one might imagine.

Twice a month, Doris sits with us in a circle at Kolbe House with families who have loved ones incarcerated. Mothers talk about their sons being accused of horrific crimes--even murder.

When Doris speaks, her message always centers on one thing: love. With her love for Freddie, she has opened her heart to all who are affected by violence, including those pulling the trigger. She has come to think of them--including her own son's murderer--as her own children. She is building a higher justice--one that seems more in line with God’s plan for humanity.

It is this justice that Jesus illuminates in this week’s Gospel. He begins by calling out the old law of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. To modern ears the old law sounds like an extremely harsh system of punishment, but we misinterpret. It was actually a guide to make sure that punishments were proportionate to the wrong committed, not in excess. It was a reasonable way to administer consequences to laws broken.

But in this Gospel passage, Jesus is calling us to go deeper than reason: turn the other cheek, walk two miles, give not just your outer garment but your inner garment, as well. With these three examples, Jesus is not calling us to roll over and be used by our enemies. Rather, He is calling us to love. He is calling us to radical, creative, nonviolent, love that strips the oppressor of control, restores the dignity of the one oppressed, and opens the door for a transformation of the relationship.

We are all called to apply this approach in our everyday lives, to love those who we consider to be our personal enemies. But we can also apply it to structures in our society, especially the structure of incarceration. In the United States, incarceration has become the go-to punishment used to keep those we have judged to be enemies out of our communities.

How can we apply Jesus' vision of justice to criminal justice and incarceration? Beyond addressing gross injustices in the current system, especially against people of color, responding to Jesus' call would completely transform that way justice is administered in our communities.

A growing consensus around the world--including within the Catholic Church and here at Kolbe House--are promoting a philosophy known as restorative justice. Restorative justice shifts the central focus of justice from punishment to healing. Healing means that the justice process cannot be dedicated to punishing those who have done wrong, but must be grounded in an understanding of the harm caused, so that consequences can be carefully agreed upon to address that harm.

Restorative justice also emphasizes the importance of the community, meaning we all have a role to play.  Peace circles, restorative courts, building relationships with those affected by incarceration, including families and those who have completed their sentences, even changes in the way we talk about people who have committed crimes as if they were villains-- these are some places to start. These are tools that can involve the accused, victims, families, and community members in dialogues that lead to accountability, healing, and safer, healthier communities.

This approach to justice comes closer not only to what Jesus envisions, but also to the law given to Moses in the first reading, not to seek revenge but rather to love, to transform enemies into neighbors.

This justice practices the kindness and mercy of God expressed in the psalm.

This justice leans towards the Godly “foolishness” that St. Paul calls us to in the second reading. It is this foolishness that empowers a grieving mother to act out of love for her son’s murderer, empowers us to walk two miles and turn the other cheek.

Yes, Jesus is calling us to a higher level of justice--one that goes deeper than reason, one that lights our hearts on fire with a love that allows us to look at an enemy and see instead a brother or sister.

Hace siete años, Doris Hernández perdió a su hijo Freddie cuando un agresor desconocido le disparó en las calles de Chicago, causando su muerte. Sería razonable para cualquiera de nosotros pensar que el asesino se volviera un enemigo de ella, y que ella despierte todos los días con el corazón ardiendo con deseo de justicia. Y si lo hace, pero no de la forma que podríamos pensar.

Dos veces al mes, Doris se reúne con nosotros en Kolbe House en círculo con familias que tienen familiares encarcelados. Madres hablan sobre hijos que sido acusados de horribles actos--incluso hasta tomar la vida de otro.  

Cuanda Doris habla, su mensaje se centra en una sola cosa: el amor. el amor por su hijo Freddie, abrió su corazón hacia todos los afectados por la violencia, incluso hasta los que aprietan el gatillo. A estos ella los considera como sus propios hijos--aún el que tomó la vida de Freddie. Doris está construyendo una justicia alternativa--una más alineada con el designio de Dios para la humanidad.

En el evangelio de esta semana, Jesús habla de esta justicia. Empieza criticando la ley antigua del ojo por ojo, diente por diente. En nuestro tiempo moderno esta ley antigua parece ser un sistema de castigo muy duro, pero lo interpretamos mal. En realidad servía para asegurar que un castigo estuviera proporcional a su crimen, y no en exceso. Era una manera razonable de administrar consecuencias a violaciones de la ley.

Pero en este pasaje del evangelio, Jesús nos llama a algo más profundo que lo razonable: preséntale también la otra mejilla, concédele también el manto, camina dos mil millas. Con estos tres ejemplos, Jesús no nos llama a dejar que el enemigo se aproveche de nosotros. Al contrario, nos llama al amor. Nos llama a un amor radical, creativo, pacífico--un amor que le quita el control al opresor, restaura la dignidad del oprimido, y abre la puerta a una transformación de la relación.

Estamos llamados a aplicar este mensaje en nuestras vidas diarias, a amar a los que consideramos enemigos personales. Pero también podemos aplicar el mensaje para transformar a la estructuras de nuestra sociedad. Hoy en día, algunos de los más odiados y excluidos--los que la mayoría clasifica como enemigos--son los más de dos millones de hombres y mujeres encerrados en cárceles y prisiones a lo largo de los Estados Unidos.

Y este llamado de Jesús, ¿Cómo puede influir nuestras relaciones personales y sociales con los encarcelados? Encima de corregir las graves injusticias en el sistema actual, especialmente en contra de las personas de color, responder al llamado de Jesús podría significar una transformación completa de la administración de justicia en este país.

Activistas y ministros por todo el mundo--incluyendo dentro de la Iglesia Católica y aquí en Kolbe House--están adoptando una filosofía llamado la justicia restaurativa, que cambia el foco de la justicia del castigo a la sanación. Enfocar en la sanación significa que, en vez de dedicarse al castigo de los que hayan hecho mal, el proceso de justicia debe de fundar en un entendimiento del daño causado, para poder discernir consecuencias que de verdad empiecen a remediar ese daño.

La justicia restaurativa también enfatiza la importancia de la comunidad, lo cual significa que cada uno podemos tomar un papel. Los círculos de paz, las cortes restaurativas, relaciones con los que están afectados por la encarcelación, incluyendo a las familias y los que ya completaron sus sentencias, hasta cambios en nuestra forma de hablar sobre los que han cometido crímenes como si fueran villanos--estos son algunos puntos de partida. Son herramientas que invitan a los acusados, las víctimas, las familias, y miembros de la comunidad a participar en diálogos que resultan en la responsabilización, la sanación, y comunidades más sanas y más seguras.

Esta manera de entrar en la justicia se acerca no solamente a la visión de Jesús, sino también a la ley entregada a Moisés en la primera lectura, de no buscar venganza sino amar, a transformar a los enemigos en prójimos.

Esta justicia también practica la compasión y misericordia de Dios expresado en el salmo.

Y esta justicia también se inclina a la piadosa “ignorancia” que menciona San Pablo en la segunda lectura. Es esta ignorancia que permite que una madre afligida actúe con amor por el asesino de su hijo, porque observa en su alrededor la necesidad de una nueva forma de justicia. Una nueva justicia--una que es más profunda que la razón, y que enciende nuestros corazones con un amor que nos permite mirar a un enemigo y ver en su lugar un hermano o hermana.

First Reading

Lv 19:1-2, 17-18

PSALM

Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13

Second Reading

1 Cor 3:16-23

GOSPEL

Mt 5:38-48
Read texts at usccb.org

Emily Cortina

Emily Cortina

Emily is a married layperson with two young children. She is Coordinator of Outreach and Formation with Kolbe House Jail Ministry of the Archdiocese of Chicago. In this role, Emily is responsible for parish outreach and education, ministry to families affected by incarceration, and formation of volunteers participating in faith-based accompaniment ministry in Cook County jail. She entered this ministry after being introduced to restorative justice through a practicum accompanying youth in juvenile detention with Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation and learning from her husband’s incarceration experience as a Mexican immigrant.

Her past professional ministries include parish family faith formation in Chicago and youth and children’s ministry as an Incarnate Word Missionary in Chimbote, Peru. Both ministries informed her current passion for developing parishes as primary sources for relationship and community development. She earned an MA in Intercultural Ministry from Catholic Theological Union and a BA in Economics and Journalism from Creighton University.

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