Daily Catholic Lectio
Mon, 15 June 2026
XI Week in Ordinary Time
1 Kgs 21:1-16. Mt 5:38-42
Do Not Resist the Evildoer
When someone thinks evil against us or causes us harm, our natural reaction is to return the same treatment. We want to repay hurt with hurt. This was the principle found in the Old Testament law: “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
At first sight, this law seems to contain a certain justice. It limits revenge. A person may repay only what was done to him and no more. In this way, it prevents violence from escalating. Yet at the same time, it has a weakness. It can make us become like the person who harmed us. It allows evil to continue its cycle and gives violence a new life.
Jesus proposes something very different. He says: “Do not resist the evildoer.” He calls us to overcome evil with goodness. If someone strikes one cheek, offer the other. If someone takes your cloak, offer your tunic as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go two. In each example, Jesus invites us to do something extra.
Here, Jesus is not asking us to approve of evil. Nor is He asking us to ignore injustice. Rather, He is teaching us to confront evil without becoming evil ourselves. We do not resist the person; we resist the power of evil. Such a response can open the door to conversion and transformation.
There is no guarantee in this world that doing good will always bring us good. Abel did what was right, yet he was murdered in the field. We often have to live among people marked by anger, jealousy, and violence, just as Abel lived alongside Cain.
We encounter such a Cain-like figure in today’s first reading.
Naboth is a simple man who owns a vineyard. King Ahab desires it and, through the schemes of Jezebel, takes it by force. Naboth is falsely accused and put to death. He suffers loss and death despite having done nothing wrong.
In this case, God intervenes and justice is eventually restored. The innocent man is vindicated, and the wicked are judged.
In our own lives, however, God does not always intervene in such visible ways. Sometimes injustice seems to prevail. Sometimes the innocent suffer. Sometimes goodness appears to lose.
For this reason, Jesus’ command, “Do not resist the evildoer,” may seem difficult and even unreasonable. It can appear as though it gives more power to those who do wrong.
Yet Jesus is teaching something deeper. The evil of another person must not destroy the goodness within us. Another person’s hatred should not make us hateful. Another person’s violence should not make us violent. Another person’s dishonesty should not make us dishonest.
The disciple of Christ is called to break the chain of retaliation. We are not responsible for another person’s actions, but we are responsible for our own response.
Today, let us remember this simple truth: because another person chooses evil, I do not need to become evil. Because another person refuses goodness, I do not need to abandon goodness.
The victory of the Gospel is not that evil disappears immediately. The victory of the Gospel is that evil does not succeed in conquering our hearts.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
A Yesni Prays Initiative
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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