Friday, December 08, 2006
Turning the Other Cheek
“You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” (Matt 5:38-42)
Imagine these scenarios:
I used to read these verses and not realize how thought-through the examples were. I assumed that they were somewhat arbitrary, but as I prepared for this sermon, I could see that these examples covered different categories of mistreatment. The slap on the face points to physical violence or insults to our personhood or character. Someone suing and taking your tunic cover situations where there are wrongful attacks on our possessions. The third one – someone forcing you to go one mile – relates to the curtailment of personal liberties, or coercion to do something you may not want to do. With these examples, Jesus leaves us very little by which to justify exceptions for disobeying His call to “not resist”.
So where does that leave us? Is Jesus really asking us to be passive?
Some bible commentators imply that Jesus is calling us to be pacifist stance towards mistreatments done to us. But I would suggest to you that Jesus is asking us to take action, rather than being passive. Listen to what Jesus is saying here: Turn your right cheek, give your coat, and go the second mile.
Christ is, in effect, calling us to respond, and in one sense, retaliate. But we retaliate not to return the offence, but with goodness and grace. There is nothing passive here. Sometimes, we approach these passages in the Sermon on the Mount as something to be adhered to, or even look at it as impossible standards that we should be attaining but actually can’t or don’t. We grit our teeth, and feel we need to endure the scourge on our backs. I know that I do.
However, by looking at it this way, we miss the point completely, and this robs the gospel of its full power. I started off preparing for this passage thinking that this was a verse about not taking revenge. But as I opened up the passage more, I discover that at its core, is the gospel story.
Imagine these scenarios:
- A person criticizes you, or ridicules your faith in a sarcastic manner – how do you respond?
- Someone has hurt you in the past. But an opportunity presents itself to help them. Do you freely oblige, or do you think, “I can’t be bothered, why should I help a person that has hurt me?”
- Imagine your employer legislating that Christians can no longer wear crosses, or be able to speak about your faith in the workplace. What should be the biblical response?
- How does one respond to a situation like with what is happening with the Christian Unions in Britain?
With these scenarios, Jesus says to us: do not resist – And this poses us with a dilemma as to whether this an unqualified non-resistance to ill-intent? Is Jesus really advocating absolute passiveness when we are wronged, or when evil is committed against us? Does it mean we have to give up our rights completely, and be a doormat? If you answer ‘no’, where do we draw the line?
Note that this verse is not saying that we should not prevent injustice or defend against what’s done towards us, but when the offence is already committed, the response, and the manner of response becomes important and that is what Christ is saying here. There is a difference between a posture of defense, versus to actualy mount a retaliation against the person who is attacking you – and here, it’s the striking back bit that Jesus is putting a finger on… For most of us, we do not take revenge by physically hurting someone or killing them. By we do so usually in more subtle ways – the cold shoulder, a word here and there against another person’s character, or even not helping when you are in a position to.
Note that this verse is not saying that we should not prevent injustice or defend against what’s done towards us, but when the offence is already committed, the response, and the manner of response becomes important and that is what Christ is saying here. There is a difference between a posture of defense, versus to actualy mount a retaliation against the person who is attacking you – and here, it’s the striking back bit that Jesus is putting a finger on… For most of us, we do not take revenge by physically hurting someone or killing them. By we do so usually in more subtle ways – the cold shoulder, a word here and there against another person’s character, or even not helping when you are in a position to.- “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”
I used to read these verses and not realize how thought-through the examples were. I assumed that they were somewhat arbitrary, but as I prepared for this sermon, I could see that these examples covered different categories of mistreatment. The slap on the face points to physical violence or insults to our personhood or character. Someone suing and taking your tunic cover situations where there are wrongful attacks on our possessions. The third one – someone forcing you to go one mile – relates to the curtailment of personal liberties, or coercion to do something you may not want to do. With these examples, Jesus leaves us very little by which to justify exceptions for disobeying His call to “not resist”.
So where does that leave us? Is Jesus really asking us to be passive?
Some bible commentators imply that Jesus is calling us to be pacifist stance towards mistreatments done to us. But I would suggest to you that Jesus is asking us to take action, rather than being passive. Listen to what Jesus is saying here: Turn your right cheek, give your coat, and go the second mile.
Christ is, in effect, calling us to respond, and in one sense, retaliate. But we retaliate not to return the offence, but with goodness and grace. There is nothing passive here. Sometimes, we approach these passages in the Sermon on the Mount as something to be adhered to, or even look at it as impossible standards that we should be attaining but actually can’t or don’t. We grit our teeth, and feel we need to endure the scourge on our backs. I know that I do.
However, by looking at it this way, we miss the point completely, and this robs the gospel of its full power. I started off preparing for this passage thinking that this was a verse about not taking revenge. But as I opened up the passage more, I discover that at its core, is the gospel story.
Isn’t our own disobedience essentially us slapping God in the face when all He had wanted for us was good things? Aren’t our transgressions against the Lord a curse upon his name? Isn’t the retaliation of mankind the whip that scarred the back of Christ? But yet in all this, God’s response through Jesus was love and sacrifice, not retaliation and judgment. That’s what our Saviour has done. We’ve slapped Him, and He’s offered the other cheek. We’ve hit Him, and He’s embraced us. We’ve taken His tunic, but He’s given us the robes of righteousness. Jesus has not taught this verse; He is the manifestation of this verse. And we cheapen it by treating it like some optional moral core that we have to follow.
I would encourage you to now consider broken relationships in your own lives where there has been mistreatment, perhaps injustice – where there is not only unforgiveness, but also a desire to want to punish the persons involved for something they have done (or not done). I want to challenge you to bring it under the light of this part of God’s word. In the passage, Christ is not merely saying, “don’t take revenge”. He is saying to us: “Don’t withhold good from those who have offended or hurt us.”
This is not merely something we perform externally - this is who we are in faith, and what we have to become in Christ. May we take heed, and stand firm in the wisdom that God gives us in His word in this matter if we are to walk in the way of our Saviour.
“Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8, NLT)
-- (Condensed from a talk given at Westminster Chapel, London)
Related Posts:
I would encourage you to now consider broken relationships in your own lives where there has been mistreatment, perhaps injustice – where there is not only unforgiveness, but also a desire to want to punish the persons involved for something they have done (or not done). I want to challenge you to bring it under the light of this part of God’s word. In the passage, Christ is not merely saying, “don’t take revenge”. He is saying to us: “Don’t withhold good from those who have offended or hurt us.”
This is not merely something we perform externally - this is who we are in faith, and what we have to become in Christ. May we take heed, and stand firm in the wisdom that God gives us in His word in this matter if we are to walk in the way of our Saviour.
“Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8, NLT)-- (Condensed from a talk given at Westminster Chapel, London)
Related Posts:
Labels: Christian Living, Discipleship, Evil, Forgiveness
Continue to read "Turning the Other Cheek...."# posted by Sal : 11:29 a.m.
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Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Dark Spirituality
My grandmother's recent passing has brought about encounters with what I would term dark spiritual forces.You may find it difficult to believe this, but my family has been experiencing weird happenings. I also had not given it much thought myself until recent incidents made me reflect more closely on what the Word of God has to say on the matter.
The devil and his associates often adopt a silent, offensive posture that does not necessarily announce itself eventhough its presence is operating. Let me explain these specific happenings.
- Divination giving birth to temptation
My uncle, who flew in from another state because of my gran's situation, keeps "receiving random inspiration" for numbers to feed into lottery draws and he has won at least three times for amounts around USD4000 over the past 3 months leading to my gran's passing. Pure chance, or is there more at play here? My sense is the latter. Even during my gran's funeral, he was still looking out or talking about receiving winning numbers. The lack of respect aside, I believe there is a spiritual bondage that is propagated through these chance incidents.
- Manifestations of the spirit of the departed
The culture of my ancestors believe that the "spirits of the departed" return home after a week. And sure enough, this Monday past, one week since my gran passed away, my uncle and the maid both reported incidences which they claim as gran returning to give her "last rites". In one instance, my uncle reported hearing a clock feebly ringing. After investigation, he found that it originated from a disused woundup clock eventhough it was not wound up. In another, the maid reported that her blanket had been pulled away from her and the presence of a cold entity in the room.
- Fearful dreams
In the words of my brother regarding a recurring dream two days in a row a week after: "Gran was laying in an open casket.... then she actually woke up and started to walk, calling out to me. I felt fear... didn't dare to get close... then she stood up and started walking away... while calling me... then she fell and hurt her head (i.e. a cut on her right head). I then rushed over, and that's when i woke up."
All these incidents sound convincing and I do not doubt that the incidents happened. The question for me is what is the source of the phenomena?
We often think that reality is shaped by what our mind internally sees from external stimuli and internal subjective perception. But in the book "The Twilight Labyrinth" by George Otis Jr., he describes our human vulnerabilities and need "to compensate for the psychological uncertainty of modern life by creating entirely new structures of reality." He further describes "felicitious demons who appeal to the empty, fearful and fallen sons and daughters of Adam" (Chap 6 - "Enhancing the Lie", pg 151):
- "These posturing spirits are highly skilled at exploiting our vulnerabilities while concealing their own identities and intentions. If we do not believe in the reality as defined by the one true God, these dark spiritual forces will work as "manufacturers and entrepreneurs of reality" to craft an acceptible but erroneous version of the world that deviates from the truth of God. After all, 'What is daintier food to the spirit of evil, than turning men's minds away from the true God by the illusions of a false divination?'"
The dynamics of deception are described in the book as follows (p.g. 168):
- "The enemy knows that subjective illusions, if they are to remain effective, must be set up or given credibility by objective realities. Spirits (or ancestors) must occasionally be observable; idols must hear and deliver; astrological predictions must sometimes come to pass. To help him meet these objective expectations, he relies on a vast army of demonic agents capable of oscillating between spiritual and material dimensions."
God's Word reminds us:
- “…be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a lion seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith…” (1 Peter 5:8-9)
- “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Eph 6: 10-13).
For me, the conclusion is clear. Fight as the Lord calls me to fight. Never forget I am still on enemy territory and be prepared for God's eventual call for me to take up arms to go into battle when the time comes. Make sure I do not disqualify yourself by giving way to compromising footholds. It's a sombre thought and a reminder for me to batten down the hatches - I hope you do too.
Labels: Evil, Supernatural
Continue to read "Dark Spirituality...."# posted by Sal : 3:04 p.m.
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