June 15, 2026
Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 365
Reading 1
Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel
next to the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria.
Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden,
since it is close by, next to my house.
I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or,
if you prefer, I will give you its value in money.”
Naboth answered him, “The LORD forbid
that I should give you my ancestral heritage.”
Ahab went home disturbed and angry at the answer
Naboth the Jezreelite had made to him:
“I will not give you my ancestral heritage.”
Lying down on his bed, he turned away from food and would not eat.
His wife Jezebel came to him and said to him,
“Why are you so angry that you will not eat?”
He answered her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite
and said to him, ‘Sell me your vineyard, or,
if you prefer, I will give you a vineyard in exchange.’
But he refused to let me have his vineyard.”
His wife Jezebel said to him,
“A fine ruler over Israel you are indeed!
Get up.
Eat and be cheerful.
I will obtain the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.”
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and,
having sealed them with his seal,
sent them to the elders and to the nobles
who lived in the same city with Naboth.
This is what she wrote in the letters:
“Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people.
Next, get two scoundrels to face him
and accuse him of having cursed God and king.
Then take him out and stone him to death.”
His fellow citizens—the elders and nobles who dwelt in his city—
did as Jezebel had ordered them in writing,
through the letters she had sent them.
They proclaimed a fast and placed Naboth at the head of the people.
Two scoundrels came in and confronted him with the accusation,
“Naboth has cursed God and king.”
And they led him out of the city and stoned him to death.
Then they sent the information to Jezebel
that Naboth had been stoned to death.
When Jezebel learned that Naboth had been stoned to death,
she said to Ahab,
“Go on, take possession of the vineyard
of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you,
because Naboth is not alive, but dead.”
On hearing that Naboth was dead, Ahab started off on his way
down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite,
to take possession of it.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (2b) Lord, listen to my groaning.
Hearken to my words, O LORD,
attend to my sighing.
Heed my call for help,
my king and my God!
R. Lord, listen to my groaning.
At dawn I bring my plea expectantly before you.
For you, O God, delight not in wickedness;
no evil man remains with you;
the arrogant may not stand in your sight.
R. Lord, listen to my groaning.
You hate all evildoers.
You destroy all who speak falsehood;
The bloodthirsty and the deceitful
the LORD abhors.
R. Lord, listen to my groaning.
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."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061526.cfm
Commentary on 1
Kings 21:1-16
Today we have the story of Naboth’s vineyard—an example of
corrupt and shameless use of power. The main characters are King Ahab and his
Sidonian wife, Jezebel. We have seen both of them before and the general
impression is that Ahab is weak, while his wife is corrupt and ruthless. It was
she who introduced the worship of Baal into Israel and had wanted to avenge the
execution of the Baal priests by killing Elijah.
The story begins on a reasonable enough note. King Ahab asks
Naboth to exchange his vineyard which adjoins the king’s property for another
one or, alternatively, to be given its value in money. This property was in
Jezreel, where Ahab had a second palace, in addition to his main one in
Samaria.
In spite of his position, the king could not confiscate
land. The king’s power in Israel was limited by the Law, so Ahab was unable
simply to take over privately held land (as was customary with Canaanite kings,
not to mention some kings and governments in our own time!).
Naboth, however, refused because the ownership of the land
was a sacred tradition handed down through generations. Naboth’s refusal to
dispose of his land was based on the conviction that the land belonged to the
Lord and that a perpetual lease had been given to each Israelite family. This was
to be jealously preserved as the family’s permanent inheritance in the promised
land. (One of the central issues in the ongoing strife between Israelis and
Palestinians today is precisely who has prior right to the ownership of the
land, especially where outsiders had come in and taken it over.)
Ahab, like many people of power when they do not get their
way, went into a sullen depression and refused even to eat. In some ways, of
course, his behaviour arose out of his respect—or his fear—of the Law which he
did not want to violate.
His wife, Jezebel, however, saw things differently. As a
Canaanite, she was not used to seeing kingly power challenged and she
satirically mocked her husband’s weakness. “Do you now govern Israel?”—a
sarcastic remark of incredulity spoken by one accustomed to the dictatorial
practices of Phoenician and Canaanite kings, who would not hesitate a moment to
use their power to satisfy personal interests—something we see all too often
even in our time. She tells him:
Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful; I will give you
the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
Writing in the king’s name, she shamelessly sent off letters
to the aristocracy and the leaders of the people ordering them to proclaim a
fast (as if there had been a national calamity) and to put Naboth on trial (as
its cause), accusing him of cursing God and the king, both charges carrying the
punishment of death by stoning. In effect, the leaders of the community become
collaborators in the crime; they could very well have known or suspected the
real circumstances.
In addition, they were told to produce two witnesses (as
required by law) to make the charges stick where a capital offence was
involved. These “scoundrels” were to give false testimony in order to give a
veneer of legality to the proceedings. Naboth was to be accused of cursing both
God and king, for which the mandatory sentence was stoning. It seems also that
the possessions of those condemned to death went to the king—the main purpose
of the whole charade.
It is possible that there may, in fact, have been some form
of calamity at the time, such as a drought or famine, which gave Jezebel the
excuse to get rid of Naboth. She wanted to create the impression that a
disaster threatened the people, a disaster which would only be averted if they
would humble themselves before the Lord and remove any person whose sin had
brought God’s judgement on them.
Everything was done to the letter as Jezebel, in the name of
the king, had ordered. The two witnesses gave their false testimony and Naboth
was stoned outside Jezreel, as the law required (recall that Jesus, too, was
brought outside the city for his execution). From references in the Second Book
of Kings, it seems that Naboth was actually stoned on his own land and his sons
were stoned with him. This eliminated the heirs who might make claim to the
land, thus leaving it for the king to take over.
With the vineyard now ownerless, Jezebel told her husband,
as king, to exercise his right and take it over for himself. The reading ends
with Ahab going down to Naboth’s vineyard to take it over but, as we shall see
in tomorrow’s reading, there is an unpleasant surprise in store for him.
This story has overtones of the trial and death of Jesus
much later on. Jesus himself, in a parable, will tell of tenants who will take
over a vineyard and kill the son of the owner. Jesus, too, will be accused of
cursing God and the Roman emperor and will be executed—not by stoning, but by
death on a cross. In his case, too, scoundrels will be brought forward to make
charges of blasphemy against God and sacrilege against the Temple. And like
Naboth, the execution will take place outside the city.
We need to be constantly on our guard that people are not
falsely accused even if it is ‘only’ a matter of gossip, but even more so if it
is a serious matter. And we might ask to what lengths we would be prepared to
go simply to have something we want but do not need.
We too live in a world where there is a great deal of
scapegoating (the ‘blame culture’) and corrupt justice at many levels of public
and private life. Let us not be part of it in any way.
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Commentary on
Matthew 5:38-42
We continue Jesus’ interpretations of some commands of the
Mosaic Law as he pushes that law to a higher level of understanding. The saying
from the Old Testament, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” is not, as
it may seem to be saying, an encouragement to take revenge. It is part of what
is known as the lex talionis (the principle of reciprocal
justice), by which punishment for an assault was to be restricted to not more
than the suffering experienced. The passage in Exodus says:
If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life,
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn,
wound for wound, stripe for stripe. (Ex 21:23-25)
Jesus calls for a very different kind of response. He tells
us to offer the “evildoer” no resistance. He makes the famous recommendation to
turn the other cheek. As well:
…if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give
your coat as well, and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second
mile. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to
borrow from you.
It is unsurprising that even in Christian circles not a
great deal of time is given to this text. Is it to be taken literally? Are we
really to allow people to walk over us and offer no resistance at all?
I think the answer is both yes and no. For many in our
modern world, turning the other cheek seems the ultimate in ‘wimpishness’ and
cowardice. Turning the other cheek is certainly not the way of countless
‘heroes’ in our movies and on our TV screens.
But Jesus did. During his trial before the Sanhedrin:
…they spat in his face and struck him, and some slapped
him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?” (Matt
26:67-68)
And Jesus’ response was silence. This was turning the other
cheek. Was this weakness or was it strength? Which is easier to do under great
provocation: to practise self-restraint and keep one’s dignity or to lash out
in retaliation? By lashing out, one comes down to the same level as one’s
attackers (of course, this is quite different from self-defence.)
In another account of Jesus’ trial, after having given an
answer to a question:
…one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the
face, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?”
(John 18:22-23)
Jesus replied:
If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I
have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?
Here Jesus does respond to the attack but on a totally
different level. The physical and unreasonable attack on an unarmed person is
actively responded to on the basis of reason and non-violence. Jesus is not a
victim here; rather, he is in control. And this is true of the whole experience
of the Passion. His executioners behave in the most barbaric way, but Jesus
never loses his calm and dignity right up through the very end. And that is why
we worship him as our Lord and Master. He asks us to follow in his footsteps.
Revenge, in all its various forms, is the easier way, the
more instinctive way, but it is not the better way. The way of ‘intentional’
non-violence (i.e. not passive) is, in the long run, far more productive, far
more in keeping with human ideals and human dignity. We have more than enough
evidence in our world of the bankruptcy of a never-ending cycle of violence and
counter-violence. We see it all over. Yet violence does not pay and revenge is
not sweet.
Turning the other cheek is not at all a sign of weakness. It
requires great inner strength, self-respect and even respect for the dignity of
one’s attacker. Jesus is calling us a long way forward and upward from “an eye
for an eye”.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o2112g/
Monday,
June 15, 2026
11th Week of Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Almighty God, our hope and our
strength, without you we falter. Help us to follow Christ and to live according
to your will.
Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 5: 38-42
Jesus said to his disciples: 'You have heard
how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer
no resistance to the wicked. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right
cheek, offer him the other as well; if someone wishes to go to law with you to
get your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone requires you to
go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks you, and if anyone
wants to borrow, do not turn away.
Reflection
Today’s Gospel forms part of a small literary unit which goes
from Mt 5: 17 to Mt
5: 48, in which is described how to pass from
the ancient justice of the Pharisees (Mt 5: 20) to the new justice of the
Kingdom of God (Mt 5: 48). It describes how to go up to the Mountain of the
Beatitudes, from where Jesus announces the new Law of Love. The great desire of
the Pharisees was to live in justice, to be just before God. And this is the
desire of all of us. Just is the one who succeeds to live where God wants
him/her to live. The Pharisees tried to attain justice through the strict
observance of the Law. They thought that with their own effort they could
succeed in being where God wanted them to be. Jesus takes a stand concerning
this practice and announces the new justice which should exceed, surpass the
justice of the Pharisees (Mt 5, 20). In today’s Gospel we are reaching almost
the summit of the mountain. Only a little is lacking. The summit is described
in one phrase: “Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5: 48), on
which we will meditate in tomorrow’s Gospel. Let us look closely at this last
degree which is still lacking to reach the summit of the Mountain, of which
Saint John of the Cross says: “Here reign silence and love”.
•
Matthew 5: 38: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
Jesus quotes a text of the Ancient Law saying: “You have heard how it was said:
Eye for eye and tooth for tooth!” He shortened the text, because the complete
text said: “Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, foot for foot, burn
for burn, wound for wound, blow for blow” (Ex 21: 23-25). Like in the previous
cases, here also Jesus makes a completely new rereading. The principle “eye for
eye, tooth for tooth” was already found in the origin of the interpretation
which the Scribes made of the law. This principle should be overthrown, because
it perverts and destroys the relationship between persons and with God.
•
Matthew 5: 39ª: Do not give back evil for evil
received. Jesus affirms exactly the contrary: “But I say to you do not offer
resistance to the wicked”. Before some violence received, our natural reaction
is to pay the other one with the same coin. Vengeance asks for “eye for eye,
tooth for tooth”. Jesus asks to pay back the evil not with evil, but with good.
Because if we do not know how to overcome the violence received, the spiral of
violence will take up everything and we will not know what to do. Lamec said:
For a wound received I will kill a man, and for a scar I would kill a young
person. If the vengeance of Cain was worth seven that of Lamec will count for
seventy-seven” (Gen 4: 24). And it was precisely because of this terrible act
of vengeance that everything ended in the confusion of the Tower of Babel. (Gen
11: 1-9). Faithful to the teaching of Jesus, Paul writes in the Letter to the
Romans: “Never pay back evil with evil; let your concern be to do good to all
men. Do not allow yourselves to be overcome by evil but overcome evil with
good” (Rm 12: 17, 21). To be able to have this attitude is necessary to have
much faith in the possibility to recover that the human being has. How can we
do this in practice? Jesus offers four concrete examples.
•
Matthew 5: 39b-42: the four examples to overcome
the spiral of violence. Jesus says: “rather
(a)
if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him
the other as well;
(b)
if anyone wishes to go to Law with you to get
your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
(c)
And if anyone requires you to go one mile, go
two miles with him.
(d)
Give to anyone who asks you, and if anyone wants
to borrow, do not turn away” (Mt 5: 40- 42).
How are these four affirmations to be understood? Jesus
himself helps us to understand. When the soldier hit him on the cheek, he did
not offer the other cheek. Rather, he reacted with energy: “If there is some
offence in what I said, point it out, but if not, why do you strike me?” (Jn
18: 23) Jesus does not teach us to be passive. Saint Paul thinks that paying
evil with good “you will make others be ashamed” (Rm 12: 20). This faith in the
possibility to recover the human being is possible only beginning from the root
which comes from the total gratuity of the creative love which God shows us in the
life and the attitudes of Jesus.
Personal Questions
•
Have you some time felt within you such a great
anger as to want to apply the vengeance “eye for eye, tooth for tooth”? What
did you do to overcome this?
•
Does life in community, living together, favor
today in the Church and in us the creative love which Jesus proposes in today’s
Gospel?
Concluding Prayer
Give ear to my words, Yahweh, spare a thought for my
sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God! To you I pray. (Ps 5:
1-2)
