The Lord tells us in today’s gospel, “To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well” (Luke 6:29). Turning the other cheek is one of the Lord’s most misunderstood teachings.

To understand the Lord’s teaching, we need to imagine the physical action the Lord describes. If I were to strike someone on the cheek, I would use the outside of my right hand to strike their right cheek. If the person asks me to strike him on the other cheek, I could not do it. I could not strike his left cheek as violently as I did his right cheek. That is the point.

The Lord himself gave us an example of turning the other cheek. This happened during his passion, during his unjust trial. After answering the high priest’s question, the Lord received a slap from one of the guards. After the strike, the Lord was not passive. He did not stay quiet. And he did not insult the guard. He said to him, “If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” (John 18:23).

Everyone experiences injustice at some point. From the Lord own experience with injustice, we may learn how we are to handle one of the most difficult situations we may encounter in life. The Lord teaches us to deal with injustice in two ways: first, asking a question, and second, to do it with kindness and love.

The Lord asked the guard for an account of the wrong done to him. With his question, the Lord denounced what was unjust. This is very important. Now, the way the Lord asked the question was as important as the question itself. The Lord did so without anger, without violence, indeed with kindness. This is so important.

When the Lord asked the question, he did not wish to ignite an argument but rather to neutralize resentment. The Lord wanted to extinguish hatred and injustice together, seeking to restore the guilty brother. This is so important. When turning the other cheek, our attitude should be dictated not by hatred but by love.

The Lord teaches his disciples to do this because he knows this is the best way. We must turn to him to receive this kind of love so that we may follow his example.