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Ah! Wait! What?
From Matthew 5: 38 "You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; 40 and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; 41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. 42 Give 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.' 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 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. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Jesus said He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it, and as that's being done, a lot of people wonder what in the world He's talking about. It was, after all, Moses who gave us the law of controlled retribution; "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." People sometimes don't get along and sometimes someone will hit someone. In Moses' time, that usually meant the family or entire clan of the one injured would go and kill all of the members of the hitter's family. So, Moses in his wisdom said if someone takes out your eye, then your family can go and take that guy's out. If it's just a tooth, well, then you knock his tooth out. And that seemed to work pretty well if you like the idea of people hitting people and injuring them. Let's check the news: A man in Florida does not like loud music coming out of an SUV and warns them he'll shoot in the car. The music gets turned up louder and the man shoots and kills a teenager. In another place, a man is watching a movie and the guy in front of him is texting while the movie is on. The man bothered by the texting asks the texter to quit. The texter says no, he's going to keep texting and the first man goes to his car, retrieves a gun and kills the man. Jesus' take on this law is that people should get along even if one party has to give in to the other. Is it worth losing your life just because you're right? If someone hits you on your right check, let him/her hit you on the left one as well. And this goes against what most dads teach their kids. "If somebody hits you, you hit 'em back!" Hmm. Then, Jesus continues (Does He never stop?!) The law of Jesus' time and place was that Roman soldiers had police authority and they also had judge, jury and executioner authority. If a soldier who usually walked with a heavy pack, grew tired of carrying such pack, he could tap you on your shoulder with the flat side of his spear. That was an order for you to stop and do what the solider asked. He could ask you to carry the pack for him for one mile. After one mile, the soldier was either well-rested or could find another citizen to carry his pack. If you refused, the soldier could turn the spear and with the business end of the spear finish your life. Jesus asks, is it worth it? To stand up to a soldier and say, "I ain't carrying nuthin' for you!"? Jesus say, astonish the solider or the one asking of you something and go the second mile. They won't and don't expect that. They'll be amazed and blessed by your helpful attitude.
This Sermon on the Mount changed the perspective of those hearing and receiving this sermon. Give to everyone who asks something of you, even those who want to borrow from you. AND, Jesus continued, you know those who go out of their way to make your life unbearable, love them! Common thinking, the worldly thinking was to hate them back! Jesus says, nonsense, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be the children of your Father in heaven." Do the unexpected! What good do you do if you love those who love you? And if you're friendly only to your immediate family, what amazing, unexpected thing have you done? Even those who don't know God do that! And here's the shocker: "Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." If we were made in the image of God, our image should reflect perfection. Wait! What? Who in this world is perfect? The one who never gives up trying to be.
Live your life to bless others and soon you might find others wanting to imitate you. Last night, Nellie was listening to a youth choir from El Buen Pastor UMC- Edinburg sing. Our five year old grandson, Liam, asked, "How does someone learn to sing like that? I want to sing like that!" If good singing inspires little ones, imagine what good living will do for others.
PRAYER: Amazing God, You are awesome and perfect. We admit we're not and sometimes feel so far from perfection we want to give up. But give us strength to be like Jesus taught; to love and pray for everyone, and to resist evil in doing the unexpected. May we never give up. This we pray in Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
