Welcome back on track to Jesus...not that He ever left me when I went to Texas. Very much to the contrary...He definitely showed up! I'll have more to say about Tiger Lily Weekend soon.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:38-39 (NIV)
“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.”
My disclaimer is - This teaching of Jesus does NOT provide for personal abuse of other people. The complete teaching of this action includes the understanding of Jesus' position as a king, a partially political position, in that He came into our human, political world. Later, we'll see where He taught the Apostles to take a sword with them Here He is instructing them in a tactic (or is it a strategy?) of spiritual warfare. He is truly manifested as the Prince of Peace when you understand the context in which He speaks.
Following is an excerpt from http://winterpatriot.com/node/529 about the recent protests in Egypt:
“Turning the other cheek” has been falsely portrayed as a passive and even submissive practice or strategy but nothing could be further from the truth.
An “eye for an eye” means countering violence with violence; as if this will resolve an issue. Why wouldn't the returned violence be returned again in turn? And so on ad infinitum? Yet this is the recipe preached by Judaism. How has it worked so far? It has worked extremely well for those with a vested interest in ever more violence, the psychopaths) but not for the rest of us. So let's look at the proposed alternative.
It is curious is it not that Jesus would specify the right cheek? It must have had significance for him to mention it. Most people then, as now, are right-handed and unless you are trained in the gentle art of boxing it is usual to strike someone with your right hand. So to strike someone on their right cheek with your right hand, you need to give them a 'backhander'. This is the strike of choice for superiors when dealing with people they consider to be inferior to them and insubordinate to boot. So this is the situation Jesus was teaching on; how to deal with evil people in power. When you turn the other cheek they cannot repeat the backhander, they have to punch you if they want to continue. The trouble for them then is that they lose their superior position, their perceived legitimacy, in the eyes of the audience and are reduced to brawling like common thugs. Which is what they are; thugs in fine clothes. This perceived legitimacy is crucial because any despot knows that the people en masse have the power and not him. Hence all the pomp and pageantry and all the police and military might to impress this idea of superior status and power onto the general populace. Power over others is ultimately an exercise in deceit.
Turning the other cheek is an act at once defiant and yet non-aggressive. It is in no way submissive. This action refuses to acknowledge the legitimacy or authority of the abusive power just as the people of Egypt have done. It does not accept the authority of the attack. It does not submit just like the Egyptians have not submitted. They have instead continued to demand that Mubarak's criminal behaviour cease and that he remove himself from his position of imposed privileged. They have pledged to stand there turning the other cheek until he does.
For more teaching that you probably never heard in Sunday School, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turning_the_other_cheek
Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment