Matthew 5:38-47
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. 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, 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. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?”
I sometimes think that we are so accustomed to hearing these words that they have all but lost their force. “Turn the other cheek.” Yeah, sure. “Love you enemies.” Sounds nice – why not?
But take note: these are the words that lay bare the very heart of Jesus’ vision of God’s coming kingdom. And if you take them even a little bit seriously you quickly gain a sense of just how different this kingdom is from the kingdoms of the world.
Except it’s not just different. It’s crazy. At least that’s what astute readers of this passage and opponents of Christianity have pointed out over the centuries. Karl Marx, for instance, once wrote that, “The social principles of Christianity preach cowardice, self-contempt, abasement, submissiveness and humbleness.” Ayn Rand similarly held Christianity, and particularly the kingdom ethics Jesus preached, in utter contempt as folly and weakness, writing, “If any civilization is to survive, it is the morality of altruism that men have to reject.”
Quite frankly, it’s not that difficult to sympathize with their point. Turning the other cheek and returning hatred with love is no way to get ahead in this world. For the rules of this kingdom are well known – it’s a dog-eat-dog world where only the strong survive.
But that’s just the point. Jesus isn’t trying to modify the rules of the world. He’s not, contrary to prosperity preachers, inviting you to figure out how to make the most of this world. And he’s not even inviting you to find a safe space amid the challenges of this world. Rather, he’s starting a revolution by calling the rules of this world into question and, at the very same time, redeeming this world that will put him to death.
He calls the powers of the day into question by describing an entirely different way to relate to each other, inviting us into relationships governed not by power but by vulnerability grounded in love. “’An eye for an eye’ makes all people blind,” Ghandi would similarly say almost two thousand years later. Here Jesus invites overcoming the urge to retribution with loving submission and forbearance.
Yet he isn’t satisfied with merely overturning this world. For the very essence of his critique – that we were created not merely for justice but also for love – is the only possible hope for those enmeshed in the orders of the world. Strength eventually fails. Power corrupts. And survival of the fittest leaves so many bodies on the ground. Love alone transforms, redeems, and creates new life. As Martin Luther King, Jr., a student of both Jesus and Ghandi, once said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
So if you are inclined to read over these familiar words too quickly, eager to get on with the story, I urge you to slow down. For in these few crazy sentiments Jesus lays before us the plans for the kingdom he proclaims and the revolution he starts. And so before joining either, we should probably know just what it is we’re getting ourselves in for!
Prayer: Dear God, transform us with your gospel that we might be converted to the power of love and committed to the strength of vulnerability. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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