"Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands ..." and "Sing to the Lord a new song," goes today's responsorial song.  In what ways do we sing a NEW song?  That question seems to me to be a very good way of picking the fruit of today's first reading and Gospel.
 
The words of Paul in his second letter to his "fellow workers" in Corinth pre-suppose that the Good News has already been embraced by them, and so he does not hesitate to invite them into the paradoxes (or contradictions) of the New Creation: arriving at eternal life by living fully in the present;  proceeding un-armed and so possessing the very power of God; finding glory and honor by accepting insult and dishonor; telling a truth that seems too good to be true and therefore regarded as deceivers; entering into the death of Jesus to find a more abundant life;  mourning and weeping in this valley of tears and thus filled with joy forever; possessing everything by embracing nothingness.  Ironically, dispossession leads to fullness and lavish abundance.  I can ask myself, "How am I doing with this new way?"
 
Then we come to the Gospel, that portion of the "Sermon on the Mount" that we find so provoking, so disconcerting, so challenging!   Resistance and retaliation are the normal ways we deal with hostility, opposition, invasion, and other forms of evil.  Yet, the words of Jesus recommending and inviting us not to resist are clear and unambiguous.  The New Creation is the way of non-violent love.  Once again, as we have done many times before, we give special attention and careful consideration to the call of Jesus, and we beg for a generous and courageous response.

The final sentence of today's Gospel orders a couse of action all of us can follow: "Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow."  That is the least we can do, and it usually is enough.  Let us begin again today with this one small but fruitful command and thus enter more fully into the joy of the Lord.