LEX TALIONIS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 11^th Monday in Ordinary Time is, “Lex Talionis” - “The Law of the Talon.”

TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s First Reading from the 1^st Book of Kings tells us the nasty story about how Ahab and Jezebel steal another person’s vineyard. They frame Naboth and have him stoned to death. Then they take his land.

Today’s gospel from Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount has comments about the Lex Talionis - “talon” being the word for claw. The Lex Talionis was basically: “when someone claws our eye out - or knocks one of our teeth out” - we have the right to retaliate by knocking the other person’s eye or tooth out in fair exchange.

Jesus - to stop the bloodshed - to stop the violence - goes the extra mile on all that - and tells us not to resist evil. Turn the other cheek. If someone wants your mink coat - give that person your diamond necklace as well.

Imagine if someone countered Jesus when he said that and told the story of Ahab and Jezebel - which we heard in our first reading -  and asked if we should give all tyrants what they want and never resist the Hitler’s of this world.

That’s a question we all need to face when it comes to violence and horror stories.

Today’s Gospel - today’s readings - can get us in touch with some pretty basic human emotions. Today’s readings challenge us to look at some nitty gritty stuff - some basic human responses to how we react when someone hurts, injuries, ignores or puts us down.

Today’s readings can get us in touch with feelings that erupt within us when we want to get back at others.

The other person annoys us with a remark. They ignore us. They bother us with loud music. They slam doors in our face. They reject us.

And we react by wanting to return them the disfavor.

JESUS AND THE HAMMURABI CODE

Relief of the Hammurabi Code in the Louvre

Jesus quotes the Lex Talionis from the Hammurabi Code. “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

This was a good law - dating back to 1754 BC.   It was created to limit revenge - to fix exact compensation for an injury.

The human tendency is to escalate. It’s the tendency to come up with a more brutal retaliation - doubling our response. You take one eye, I’ll take both of yours.

Down through history there have been folks who scream out: “Wait a minute.”

Mahatma Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye makes us all blind.”

Gandhi also said, "Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation with good."                                        

Gandhi chose the way of non-violence and was killed on January 30, 1948.  A man named Nathuram Godse thought that Gandhi was hurting Hindus by being friendly with Muslims. So he shot Gandhi and killed him. Notice the year: 1948.  Read the papers this week in 2016.

Martin Luther King Jr. also chose the way of non-violence and he too was killed.

JESUS - NEW TESTAMENT

The New Testament is called “NEW” for a reason.

Jesus gave us a new law. He tried to eliminate the old  law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Jesus called for patience.

Jesus said, “Don’t insist on personal rights.”

Jesus said, “Don’t get back with hate.”

Jesus said, “Respond with love.”

Jesus said to “Turn the other cheek.”

In his day, people knew what cheek to slap for starters: the right cheek.

The back of the hand was still more insulting.

On page 52 of Robert Bractchet’s, in his A Translator’s Guide To The Gospel Of Matthew, says this about the text, “one cheek ... the other cheek.” It is probable that the language is purposely chosen. A person’s right cheek is ordinarily struck with the back of the hand of the one doing the striking, which was a particularly insulting way to strike a person. So if possible, the biblical language should be retained in translating.”

“That was a slap in the face!” is still an euphemism in use.

Joachim Jeremias in his commentary on the Sermon on The Mount says that a slap on the face was the insult given to one judged a heretic.

In the literature about this Sermon on the Mount text I noticed someone saying that there was a Jewish law that you must give your cloak if that would be all another would have for a cold night.

Also, a person could also be pressed to carry a soldiers pack - as they walked down the road. Remember Simon of Cyrene being pressed into service to carry Jesus’ cross.

Commenting on Leviticus 29; 18 Dr. Moses Aberbach tells of two men who were agricultural workers. One asks the other to borrow a sickle and the other refuses.  The next day the one who refused to lend the sickle asks to borrow an axe from the one who had asked to borrow the sickle. He answered “No. You refused to lend me your sickle when I asked to borrow it.” That was retaliation that was equal.

But if he asked for a grinding stone and was refused,  now that would be bearing a grudge - that is, if he responded, “No, because you refused to lend me your axe or sickle yesterday.”

Today’s gospel also talks about loans. There were a lot of problems with loans. Farmers would have crops that died or dried up because of droughts. As a result, they would need to borrow. Sometimes money lenders would charge interest rates that were 100 - 200 %

Or merchants and business people would  lose everything because of shipping problems: sinking, pirates, unplanned on taxes - or this or that.  

So all this is real - back then and up to now.

DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

I read with interest Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s comments on this section of Matthew in his book, The Cost of Discipleship. He calls for non-violence. He calls for turning the other cheek. He calls for the principle of non-resistance. He gives all the regular objections: that you will be crushed by the state, stupid, that you will be walked on. He says that this is what Jesus stressed. He ends by saying that Jesus did not come to give a political blueprint. He ends by saying that Jesus died on the cross by the state.

I checked the year when Bonhoeffer wrote this book. It was first published in 1937. I wonder what his thoughts were those last few years under Hitler. He resisted. Yet he still said, “When Jesus calls a man, he calls him come and die.”

CONCLUSION

So this morning, that’s some stuff on revenge and retaliation.