The
holy gospel according to Matthew (5:38-48)
Jesus
said:
38“You have
heard that it was said,
‘An
eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
39But I say
to you,
Do
not resist an evildoer.
But
if anyone strikes you on the right cheek,
turn
the other also;
40and
if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat,
give
your cloak as well;
41and
if anyone forces you to go one mile,
go
also the second mile.
42Give
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.’
44But
I say to you,
Love
your enemies
and
pray for those who persecute you,
45so
that you may be children of your Father in heaven;
for
God
makes the
sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and
sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
46For
if you love those who love you,
what
reward do you have?
Do
not even the tax collectors do the same?
47And
if you greet only your siblings,
what
more are you doing than others?
Do
not even the Gentiles do the same?
48Be
perfect, therefore,
as
your heavenly Father is perfect.
The
gospel of the Lord.
-----
“Do
not resist an evildoer.” Or,
translated differently, “Do not repay evil for evil—do not violently resist
violence.” Do not let evil frame
your actions.
Jesus
lived as a Jew in 1st century Palestine, which was under the
military occupation of the Roman Empire.
Because of this, the Roman Empire could make laws about what anyone in
Palestine was allowed to do—Jew or Roman.
Cultures
over the millennia have relied heavily on honor and shame to enforce rules and
prescribe actions and interactions.
Honor and shame work differently in our context, where wealth and fame
can buy and create honor, than they did in first century Palestine.
In
Jesus’ day, honor and shame had very clear causes and people’s daily
interactions were guided by avoiding shame. For example, if a slaveowner, or a Roman wanted to put a
slave or a Jew “in their place.” They could hit them. Not just any old hit, though. They couldn’t use their left hand, because it was reserved
for certain unclean tasks—and you could get kicked out of meetings just for
gesturing with a left hand, let alone using it.
So,
with the right hand, there were two options: backhanding someone or punching
them. Punching was an interaction
between equals, so if your purpose was to put someone—like a slave or a Jew—in
their place, then backhanding them was the way to do it—it wouldn’t cause
physical injury so much as it would insult or humiliate the recipient, marking
them clearly as your inferior. So,
when you backhand someone with the right hand, which cheek is the recipient?
The
right cheek.
“if anyone
strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.”
So,
if I was hit with the right cheek, it would be disgraceful, but if I turned to
offer my left, and that person wanted to hit me again—with the right hand, of
course—how would they have to do it?
With
a fist, just as they would if they were hitting an equal.
As
theologian Walter Wink puts it, “By turning the cheek, then, the ‘inferior’ is
saying: ‘I'm a human being, just like you. I refuse to be humiliated any
longer. I am your equal. I am a child of God. I won't take it anymore.’”[1] This doesn’t mean that the “inferior”
won’t be further harmed, but they are no longer acquiescing to their oppression
and the master or Roman can no longer “put them in their place.”
This
does not—and let me be very clear about this—does NOT mean that someone who is
in an abusive relationship should stay in that abusive relationship. This does NOT condone the violence
being perpetrated. Instead, it is
the beginning of resisting violence on God’s terms.
Another
tricky use of honor and shame comes into play with clothing as well. In first century Palestine, debt was a
big problem. Because of the Roman
Empire’s policy of heavy taxing to fund wars, combined with high interest
rates—think credit card or payday lending rates, but not quite that
high—landowners, who had inherited their land for generations, were facing
insurmountable debt and losing their land—their livelihood.
The
creditors, by Deutoronomistic law, could sue a person in their debt for their
coat, or outer robe, as collateral on the loan. After gouging the debtors with high interest rates to take
their land and make it part of a large estate, owned by an absentee landlord,
and taking their coat, giving the cloak as well—the literal shirt off their
back—exposes the economy of the day for what it is: a system that forces people
into situations of utmost destitution.
And,
the brilliance here is not only that this shock, like turning the other cheek,
gives the creditor, the one with the power, the chance to truly see and
recognize the harm the system they are perpetuating does to people, but it also
brings shame onto the creditor.
You see, when someone in first century Palestine was naked, the shame is
on those around them—on the creditor more than on the one who is naked.
One
of the other laws of the time allowed Roman soldiers to force Palestinians,
like Jesus and the crowds he was talking to, to carry their luggage or do
whatever they wanted for one mile—no more. If the person were to walk more than one mile, it would be
an infraction of military code for the soldier. The centurion, or commander, would then dole out an appropriate
disciplinary action—a fine, a flogging, or whatever he felt like.
So
the sight of a Jew, forced to carry a soldier’s bag, reaching the milemarker
and continuing, throws off the balance of power between the occupying Roman
soldier and the Jewish Palestinian.
All of a sudden, the soldier is wondering if the Jew is insulting his
strength, implying that the soldier is incapable of carrying his own bag, or if
he’ll be spotted and disciplined for this infraction. Either way, it is not hard to imagine the comedic spectacle
of a Roman soldier trailing a Palestinian Jew laden with Roman military
equipment, begging to be given his bag back.
Throughout
today’s gospel, Jesus, a poor first century Palestinian Jew, is talking to his
people with whom he shares the oppression of the Roman Empire by laws and
customs that exploit the marginalized and dehumanize in their oppression. Jesus is giving people ways to resist,
ways to not give in to the evil being enacted and legalized against them, ways
to follow God’s ways, God’s valuing of each human life, God’s ways of exposing
the injustice at work.
This
week, in a beautiful and courageous demonstration of God’s economy, God’s
values, immigrants throughout this country put Jesus’ words into our context for
us. When Executive Orders seek to
ban many immigrants, build a wall against others, and terrorize communities
with Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, the message is clear:
immigrants are unwanted here.
But
Thursday, immigrants said, “You don’t want us here? Let’s see how you do for just one day without us.” The Davis
Art Museum at Wellesley College in Massachusetts went so far as to take down or
cover all of the artwork done by immigrants, putting up labels instead that say
“Created by an immigrant.” Not everyone participated in the
#DayWithoutImmigrants, but enough did that businesses closed for the day. We know that dairies and farms cannot
function without immigrants—now others do as well. This is how we #resist—on God’s terms.
March
8th there is a call for women to strike as well. What will that look like, if half the
country doesn’t come to work? What
will be the next way that we resist systems that work to divide us? How will we creatively resist an
economy that spends billions on wars and weekend trips and yet wants to cut
funding for those most in need?
Will
we see Burt and Ernie, Big Bird and Elmo panhandling on the streets because of
cuts in public television? Will
the copper coins of the widow’s mite be stacked in front of government
buildings because health care costs take every last penny? What if Mexico and other countries
decided to impose the restrictions on us that we are imposing on citizens of
their countries, making it harder for us to travel there?
How
do we follow God’s way? How do we
not repay evil for evil—not violently resist violence? How do we keep evil from framing our
actions—framing them in the way of God instead? How do we follow Jesus today?
Amen.
[1] The Powers that Be: Theology for a New
Millennium, Walter Wink, 1998. Much of the information for this sermon comes from Walter Wink.
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