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"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person, but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."
- Matthew 5:38-48
On Monday, we began reading the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chs. 5-7). Yesterday, we read that Jesus preached, "You have heard that it was said, to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Furthermore it has been said, "Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person, but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away." My study bible says here: "Jesus warned His disciples not to resist violence with more violence (contrary to Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20, Deut. 19:21). Evil, and the evil person, can be overcome only by good. This keeps us free from anger -- from being poisoned by the evil directed against us and its destructive forces -- and instructs others through Christian forbearance. It brings both us and our enemy under the yoke of God's love. This teaching does not, however, contradict a state's right to protect its citizens and to punish criminals."
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person, but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away." My study bible says here: "Jesus warned His disciples not to resist violence with more violence (contrary to Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20, Deut. 19:21). Evil, and the evil person, can be overcome only by good. This keeps us free from anger -- from being poisoned by the evil directed against us and its destructive forces -- and instructs others through Christian forbearance. It brings both us and our enemy under the yoke of God's love. This teaching does not, however, contradict a state's right to protect its citizens and to punish criminals."
"You
have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate
your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse
you, do good to those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that
you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on
the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even
the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only,
what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?" My study bible says, "Here is another radical command of Jesus: to love our enemies as a true expression of the life of the Kingdom. Having freed us from hate, sadness, and anger, He offers the greatest possession of all -- perfect love. That is a gift which can only be possessed by the one who, by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit, manifests God's love for all. Such love calls us to bless, do good, and pray -- even for enemies. Love of neighbor is the sign of having become a true child of God. Love is not merely an emotion. It is a divine grace -- an uncreated divine energy -- which inflames the soul and unites it to God and to other people (see 1 John 4:7-21)."
"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." A comment reads: "This verse summarizes Jesus' teaching on God's standards. The Christian should grow into the perfection of the Father (Eph. 4:3). . . Christ is our guide, and He is able to bring us to participate in the very life of God, which is love."
When we begin to understand that Jesus wants us to always participate in God's love, we start getting a sense of peace that's much fuller than simply a kind of a calm, an absence of violence. It is a living reality, the Kingdom at work and living within us and among us. We participate in an energy much greater than we are, whose work we can't fully know. And this love encompasses many things that help us to become what we can in its grace, its embrace. If we think of God's love as a kind of fire of energy that burns invisibly all the time, in us, among us, around us, we begin to get an idea of what this means and of how it works, even to add things to us -- like self-control and behaviors of a type we couldn't really master on our own. To do good and to love your enemies, it seems to me, doesn't necessarily mean what we think it means on more worldly terms. God's love may change us, give us struggles and problems to wrestle with -- call on us to cast things away from us ("If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out." See yesterday's reading.) Those whom God truly loves are faced with challenges for growth, becoming much more than the persons they may have begun as, or the persons the world would make them. We look at the Beatitudes and see Jesus' blessings are spiritual ones. Love is what a loving parent does when they are willing to meet the challenge of disciplining properly (like, for example, encouraging regular completion of homework from school, brushing teeth, or eating healthy foods), not simply indulging a child's whims. Love wants what is truly best for us. Therefore when we pray for our enemies, what we're praying for is what is best for them in God's sight, we're praying for redemption and salvation, not simply indulging or overlooking bad behavior. God's love also takes us above and beyond the immediate strife-driven situation, setting us in a place where it's not just a struggle between ourselves and a perceived enemy. It's no longer an automatic eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Praying sets God in the middle, at the top of a triangle, brings in a third party, so that we can have a view from that angle and not simply feel stuck with our situation. We are also asking for guidance for that situation for ourselves, asking how best to proceed, for strength in bearing whatever it is we bear, and for the grace to do so in the best way, protecting what we love and what is most important. This is what praying for our enemies can actually do for us. Let us think about God's love as a corrective and redemptive sort of energy -- symbolized as fire (as in the fiery tongues at Pentecost) that burns away what we don't want, with the power to change and input what it calls for in all situations, and the power to work in us to guide us through them so that, even through difficulties, we may grow as God's children and receive what we couldn't receive otherwise. Let us remember that God's love adds substance, something that God wants to give us -- and that would include growth and wisdom even for our enemies if they are willing to accept it. What "God's image" looks like in others isn't up to us; when we pray for others we place them in the hands of God. Let us remember, also, that there are commentators who see in this Sermon a teaching about the politics of the time, as the Jews were under Roman rule. Compelling someone to walk a mile in that context is about what happens under military occupation. Jesus doesn't call His followers to be doormats, but instead to be prudent and wise, and to put themselves firmly in God's care in all ways. Love is not about self-harm, or a lack of personal dignity, an acceptance of abuse. It is quite the opposite. This is what we call upon when we call for God's love, and we pray for the way of God's peace.
"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." A comment reads: "This verse summarizes Jesus' teaching on God's standards. The Christian should grow into the perfection of the Father (Eph. 4:3). . . Christ is our guide, and He is able to bring us to participate in the very life of God, which is love."
When we begin to understand that Jesus wants us to always participate in God's love, we start getting a sense of peace that's much fuller than simply a kind of a calm, an absence of violence. It is a living reality, the Kingdom at work and living within us and among us. We participate in an energy much greater than we are, whose work we can't fully know. And this love encompasses many things that help us to become what we can in its grace, its embrace. If we think of God's love as a kind of fire of energy that burns invisibly all the time, in us, among us, around us, we begin to get an idea of what this means and of how it works, even to add things to us -- like self-control and behaviors of a type we couldn't really master on our own. To do good and to love your enemies, it seems to me, doesn't necessarily mean what we think it means on more worldly terms. God's love may change us, give us struggles and problems to wrestle with -- call on us to cast things away from us ("If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out." See yesterday's reading.) Those whom God truly loves are faced with challenges for growth, becoming much more than the persons they may have begun as, or the persons the world would make them. We look at the Beatitudes and see Jesus' blessings are spiritual ones. Love is what a loving parent does when they are willing to meet the challenge of disciplining properly (like, for example, encouraging regular completion of homework from school, brushing teeth, or eating healthy foods), not simply indulging a child's whims. Love wants what is truly best for us. Therefore when we pray for our enemies, what we're praying for is what is best for them in God's sight, we're praying for redemption and salvation, not simply indulging or overlooking bad behavior. God's love also takes us above and beyond the immediate strife-driven situation, setting us in a place where it's not just a struggle between ourselves and a perceived enemy. It's no longer an automatic eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Praying sets God in the middle, at the top of a triangle, brings in a third party, so that we can have a view from that angle and not simply feel stuck with our situation. We are also asking for guidance for that situation for ourselves, asking how best to proceed, for strength in bearing whatever it is we bear, and for the grace to do so in the best way, protecting what we love and what is most important. This is what praying for our enemies can actually do for us. Let us think about God's love as a corrective and redemptive sort of energy -- symbolized as fire (as in the fiery tongues at Pentecost) that burns away what we don't want, with the power to change and input what it calls for in all situations, and the power to work in us to guide us through them so that, even through difficulties, we may grow as God's children and receive what we couldn't receive otherwise. Let us remember that God's love adds substance, something that God wants to give us -- and that would include growth and wisdom even for our enemies if they are willing to accept it. What "God's image" looks like in others isn't up to us; when we pray for others we place them in the hands of God. Let us remember, also, that there are commentators who see in this Sermon a teaching about the politics of the time, as the Jews were under Roman rule. Compelling someone to walk a mile in that context is about what happens under military occupation. Jesus doesn't call His followers to be doormats, but instead to be prudent and wise, and to put themselves firmly in God's care in all ways. Love is not about self-harm, or a lack of personal dignity, an acceptance of abuse. It is quite the opposite. This is what we call upon when we call for God's love, and we pray for the way of God's peace.
