"How is the time of God's favour; now is the day of salvation."

Reflecting on this verse gives one a sense of consolation and gratitude that every opportunity we have in our daily life is an invitation to express our loving responses, whether in joyful or difficult situation. As such St. Paul addressed the Corinthians and encouraged them to continue to practise the virtues that can overcome hardships that they were confronted with. Jesus emphasised one such virtue in the act of forgiveness.

The Gospel reading uses 4 illustrations to clarify Jesus' point. In the first, a man strikes another in the cheek which is a painful and insulting experience. Jesus' disciples will gladly endure the insult.

Secondly, the outer cloak was an inalienable possession (Ex.22:26. Dt.24:13). Jesus' followers will gladly part with that. For the third example which refers to the Roman practice of commandeering civilians to carry the luggage of military personnel a prescribed distance one Roman 'mile', Jesus' disciples, under such circumstances must not be spiteful or vengeful but helpful - willing to go a second mile. The fourth illustration requires a generous spirit (Dt.15:7-11) against the retaliation experienced. However in Mt.5:42, this does not mean we allow others to take advantage of our generosity and kindness. This is an important to note and challenges us to continue to strike towards genuine acts of love, mercy and compassion.