Daily Retreat 06/19/06

2006 Jun 19 Mon: Ordinary Weekday/ Romuald, ab (Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time)
1 Kgs 21: 1-16/ Ps 5: 2-3ab. 4b-6a. 6b-7/ Mt 5: 38-42

 

From today’s readings:  “The LORD forbid that I should give you my ancestral heritage....  Heed my call for help, my king and my God!...  When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well”

 

Laws of Retaliation

 

Centuries before the time of Moses and the 10 Commandments, King Hammurabi of Babylon promulgated his famous law code, one of the earliest written texts of systematic legislation.  Hammurabi’s work represented a step forward for universal justice, since ideally all citizens would receive equal application of the norms of the kingdom, and there was less danger of perversion of justice by the whims of magistrates and rulers.

 

But many punitive aspects of the Code of Hammurabi were excessive - those who stole substantial amounts were punished with execution, and even petty thieves were condemned to bodily mutilation.  So, the Old Testament principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” was actually another step forward in the order of justice, since it prohibited inordinate punishment and established a logical standard for retribution.  This rule, juridically titled lex talionis (Latin for “law of retaliation”) is foundational in many legal systems even today.

 

Jesus, however, in bringing the fulfillment of the Old Law, advocated another step forward, to the level of mercy and forgiveness.  His purpose was not to criticize the lex talionis as excessive - in point of fact, judges of that time already employed common sense in cases of personal injury, generally subjecting the offender to a proportionate fine in penalty, rather than strict mirror mutilation.  But Jesus taught that even the lex talionis could be advantageously superseded, as the actions of His life and redemptive death proved.