Dedication Day
Matthew 5:38-48 23 February 2014
Elizabeth M. Deibert
O Spirit of Truth, come to us, open our hearts and minds, so we may hear
your Word of life and be renewed by your power, through Christ our Teacher,
Savior, and Lord.
Most people in the world today agree
that we need to reduce violence in our society, and if serious about this, we will
deal with the roots of violence that exist within each of us. We need to embrace 'inner disarmament,'
reducing our own emotions of suspicion, doubt, hatred and hostility toward our
brothers and sisters. ― Dalai Lama XIV
The trouble is we think violence not
my problem. It is belongs to society or
to some other group in society. We do
not even see how we condone it with certain attitudes of retaliation and
self-defense. “I don’t get mad. I get even.” “Do unto others first, before they do unto
you.” “Stand your ground, instead of
standing down.” Well, these words today
from the Sermon on the Mount are a radical call to the opposite of all that
retaliation mindset. This is the call
to radical peacemaking, to perfection, as Jesus calls it. This is the kind of perfection that comes
from being like Christ our God.
Matthew 5:38-48
38 “You have heard that it
was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
39 But I say to you, Do not
resist an evildoer.
But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other
also;
40 and if anyone wants to
sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well;
41 and if anyone forces you
to go one mile, go also the second mile.
42 Give to everyone who begs
from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it
was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 But
I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may be
children of your Father in heaven;
for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
46 For if you love those who
love you, what reward do you have?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 And if you greet only
your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?
Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
48 Be perfect, therefore, as
your heavenly Father is perfect.
(New Revised Standard
Version)
When you decided to follow Jesus, you
gave up rights and took on responsibilities.
You are called to die to self. ‘An
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” Jesus quotes the law of retaliation found
in three Old Testament passages (Exod 21:24; Lev 24:20; Deut 19:21). Some say that the Old Testament Law was savage, but
actually, it was the beginning of mercy and an equalizer of justice. If I poke
out his eye, he gets mine. This law
limited disproportionate revenge. In other words, people could only get back
what they lost. When wronged, we tend to
line up forces of family and friends to retaliate. If a person cuts off my ear,
I want to cut off his head. And if I cut off his head, his brother will kill
me, and if he kills me, my brother will kill his brother, and pretty soon we
have a clan war. Of course, Jesus’ teaching generally goes above and beyond the
Law. He declares, “But I say to you,
do not resist an evil person…” The word translated “resist” in this context
means “do not render evil for evil.” Jesus is talking about revenge, not
self-preservation. He isn’t telling us to be weak and passive; He’s telling us
not to be vindictive. Obviously, this is a high standard to live up to! Christian discipleship is not for spiritual
wimps!
Jesus provides four illustrations of what it means to not retaliate against an evil person. In His first illustration he says, “but
whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” Jesus
is not referring to a situation where another person is attempting to punch
your lights out. He is speaking of a slap across the right cheek with the back
of the right hand. You see, in Jesus’
day a slap to one’s face was considered a gross insult. It was among the most demeaning acts one
could inflict on another person, but not a serious safety threat. If you got hit with the back of a hand instead
of being punched in the mouth, you could collect twice the damages because an
insult was worse than an injury in Jesus’ honor-shame society. Even today, the
Irish often say, “The back of my hand to you,” which means, “You are scum.” So let’s be clear: we are not encouraging our children to
be beat up by bullies nor our women to be battered by husbands. Nor should we stand by and watch while an
innocent person is attacked. When necessary, you should seek to protect
yourself, your family members, and victims of injustice and cruelty. But what
Jesus is saying is this: When someone insults you, do not seek revenge. You
should not trade insults, even if it means you receive more insults.
Jesus instructs His disciples that if
someone tries to sue for their shirt, they should let him have their “coat” as
well. This cloak was the outer robe, which was an indispensable piece of
clothing that the poor used for a sleeping cover. It was possible in Jesus’ day to sue others
for the very shirt on their backs. However, no one could take another’s cloak.
So even if you lost your shirt in court, and your opponent asked for your cloak
and won it, he had to return it every evening for you to sleep in. That was the
law. Evidently, Jesus was giving advice
to the poor among His followers—those who had been reduced to the garments on
their backs because of persecution for their faith. His teaching is simply this: “As they sue you
(no doubt falsely) for your shirt and win it, give them your cloak too, even
though they cannot legally take it.” Jesus makes a startling demand of His
disciples. They must reverse the dynamic and disrupt the unjust power
structure.
Jesus’ third illustration is “go the
extra mile.” In the first century, Roman
soldiers had the authority to force civilians to carry their loads for one
mile. Obviously, the Jews held to the
letter of the law on this. They counted every single step. When they got to one
thousand they stopped, put down the pack, and left the Roman to carry his own
load or find another victim. The Jews despised the Romans making them carry
their loads. I can just see some slave saying, “Fine. I may have to carry this
soldier’s stuff, but I’ll be sure to drop it in the mud when I get to end of
that mile. Jesus says, “Give your
opponent more than he has the right to demand. Ask him, ‘Is there anything else I can do to
help you?’” You should demonstrate a humble servant’s heart and cheerfully go
beyond what is expected or demanded.
In Jesus’ fourth illustration he says,
“Give to the one who asks of you, and
do not turn away from someone who wants to borrow from you.” This
illustration has to do with the law of lending. In Deuteronomy 15, we learn that debts
were canceled every seven years. The borrowers loved this. The lenders were not
quite so enthusiastic. If I was a lender and someone came to me for a loan in
the sixth year, I would think twice before giving it to him. If he didn’t pay
it off quickly, my loan would turn into a gift. The closer the seventh year
got, the more tightfisted they became. But Jesus said they were not to allow
the seventh year to govern them. Whenever a person had a need, God’s people
were to give generously. After all, the people in Jesus’ day were not asking
for home-improvement loans. They needed money for food. In our day and age, it
does not mean that a Christian banker should never refuse a loan application,
no matter how bad a person’s credit report looks. Nor should you be compelled to loan money to
irresponsible people again and again, even if you know they won’t make an
effort to pay it back? No.
It is tax season. Do you like paying taxes? Many Americans
resent it. The government supports all
kinds of social programs that feed, house, and educate the poor. I wonder if Jesus would suggest that in
addition to paying your taxes with gladness that you also pay the second dollar
by giving your time and your money through church to projects that feed, house,
and educate the poor.
The primary way you demonstrate that
you are Christ’s disciple is by your love for others, particularly your
enemies. Jesus says, “You have heard
that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy. But I say
to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Here, love
is not simply praised, it is commanded. This requires supernatural strength. It has
been said, “To return evil for good is devilish; to return good for good is
human; to return good for evil is divine.” Now if you have been raped or
molested, you don’t have to be friends with your enemy – that could be
unhealthy and dangerous. Biblical agape
love requires that you are concerned about the welfare of even your enemies.
This means that you will do things that will benefit and not harm them.
How do you know if you really love
your enemy? You can be confident that you love your enemy when you pray for him
or her. Start praying today for that person
whom you despise. Why should you love
your enemies? “so that you may
be children of your Father who is in heaven; who causes the sun to rise on the
evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” And
you are probably thinking, “Wait a second, I thought I already was a son or
daughter of God.” The focus of this verse is not on attaining a relationship
with God, but rather on being a person who shares the characteristics of God.
That is the meaning of the Semitic idiom “son of.” We would say, “Like father,
like son.” We say of a son, “He’s a chip off the old block.” Of a daughter we
say, “She’s the spittin’ image of her mother.” When you love your enemies and
pray for those who persecute you, you are like God who is so gracious that He
gives good things even to those who rebel against Him.
Jesus poses two pairs of rhetorical
questions that get to the heart of the matter. He says, “For if you love
those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do
the same? If you greet [bless] only your sisters and brothers, what more
are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” Jesus
declares that friendship with one’s friends is nothing exceptional. Everyone
does that…even the tax collectors who in Jesus’ day were despised because they
worked for the Roman government. They
were viewed as traitors.
But is there something about your
love that cannot be explained in natural terms? Is there something special and
unique about your love that will make people wonder about you?
Jesus concludes this passage with the
summary: “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is
perfect.” Jesus makes it clear that the goal of Christianity is perfection.
You are called to be like Jesus, the only one who lived a perfect life.
Mahatma Gandhi studied Christianity
in England and was impressed with Jesus, but never became a Christian because
he wasn’t impressed by faith of the Christians he met. Gandhi tried to incorporate Jesus’ wisdom
into his own life. Civil war broke out
between the Muslims of Pakistan and the Hindus of India. Gandhi is lying on a
cot after weeks of fasting in protest to this war, when he is approached by a
distraught Hindu man. His only son,
still a little boy, has been shot and killed in the conflict. His heart is full
of sadness, bitterness, and revenge. Gandhi can barely speak, but tells the man
how to heal his own heart. “Find a little Muslim boy whose father has been
killed. Take that boy as your son, and raise him as a Muslim.” The Hindu man
walks away completely disappointed. Apparently
he thought the weeks of fasting had weakened Gandhi’s ability to reason. It
made no sense. This was the radical kind
of peacemaking that Gandhi learned from Jesus. And this is kind of radical peacemaking to
which we are called.
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