Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is Genesis 16-17 and Matthew 5:27-48.
There was a lot to choose from in today's reading. I love the fact that often the people in the Bible are not shown only at their best, but as flawed human beings, with "spinach in their teeth," so to speak. Sarai was impatient that God's promised child wasn't there yet, so she gave her servant to her husband for him to marry. Poor choice on Sarai's part. Poor choice on Abram's part to go along with it! I'm not letting him off the hook! I actually feel sorry for Hagar in all of this. She had no options. "Here, I'm giving you to my husband as a brood mare. Get knocked up, and once your child is born I'm going to raise him as mine, since I didn't have my own." What kind of a deal is that? And then Hagar (understandably) is resentful of Sarai, so Sarai treats her like you-know-what so that she'll take off and they won't have to deal with her anymore! This is definitely not one of the stories I'd like people to be telling about me forever and ever.
We want people to think well of us and see us at our best. We want people to see our children being well-behaved in public. We would never consider raising our voices at our kids in public the way we sometimes do in private because someone might see us and think we're big fat jerks. Which sometimes we are. Or at least I am. And while the chances of anyone reading any stories about me thousands of years from now are basically nil, I would naturally want to make sure that the stories were good ones. And yet, when I read the stories in the Old Testament, it strengthens me to see that those people were human, with flaws and weaknesses, who made mistakes and messed up just like I do. It makes them more real, somehow, to see their humanity so clearly. And yet God did great and amazing things through them and for them. So maybe it's time to stop worrying so much about "putting a good face on" for everyone else, because no matter how we dress it up, God still sees what's underneath the surface. Maybe it's time to work harder on the inside, and what's on the outside will automatically be the better for it. Another good reason to read the Bible every day!
Which brings us to today's portion of the Sermon on the Mount. Good, good stuff in these verses!
I've struggled quite a bit with the "turn the other cheek" verses at times, as I once heard a portion of a discussion where someone was vehemently insisting that these verses mean one should not defend oneself if one is attacked, for example. I just can't swallow that. I mean, I know we're to pray for our enemies and forgive them, but if someone were about to hurt one of my children, or try to rape me, I'm sorry, but I'm not just going to stand there (or lie there) passively while it happens. Seriously. I sometimes felt like maybe I was stubbornly clinging to my human nature in this area.
I was really glad to find this sermon on www.bible.org. It's called Love Without Limits by Keith Krell. This portion of the sermon really made me breathe a sigh of relief. (I encourage you to read the whole thing, if you are interested and have the time. It's not as long as it looks, and provides excellent insight into this passage.)
In 5:39b–42, Jesus provides four illustrations of what it means to not retaliate against an evil person. In His first illustration in 5:39b Jesus says, “but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” This verse is often used to prohibit any form of self-defense. But is this Jesus’ intent? First of all, notice that Jesus specifically mentions “the right cheek.” Approximately 90% of the people in the world are right-handed. [Bring a young man on stage and provide the following slow-motion visual demonstration.] I am right-handed and if I punch you with my right hand, I will hit you on the left cheek. If I try to hit you on the right cheek with my right fist, I won’t hurt you one bit. Jesus is not referring to a situation where another person is attempting to punch your lights out. He is speaking of a slap across the right cheek with the back of the right hand. Second, in Jesus’ day a slap to one’s face was considered a gross insult by the Jews, and was among the most demeaning acts one could inflict on another person. Slapping someone on the cheek was a sign of contempt and did not pose a serious safety threat. It was considered a terrible insult. Receiving the back of the hand meant that you were scorned as inconsequential—a nothing. If a man struck you with the back of his hand instead of punching you in the mouth, you could collect twice the damages because an insult was worse than an injury in Jesus’ honor-shame society. Even today, the Irish often say, “The back of my hand to you,” which means, “You are scum.” Third, Jesus is not describing a physical attack and telling us to roll over and “play dead.” You should not encourage your children to be beat up by bullies. Nor should you stand by and watch while an innocent person is attacked. You should not let thieves, murderers, and terrorists have their way in our society. When necessary, you should seek to protect yourself, your family members, and victims of injustice and cruelty. But what Jesus is saying is this: When someone insults you, do not seek revenge. You should not trade insults, even if it means you receive more. You must avoid retaliation and personal revenge! When you love without limits, you are like God. (emphasis mine)
Now that makes sense to me! Hopefully it was helpful for you too. There was lots more I could post about, but then we'd be here all day, and I don't know about you, but I have other things (or should I say people)that require my attention today too! Have a great day.
Tomorrow's passage: Genesis 18-19 and Matthew 6:1-18.
9 comments:
Good thoughts. I appreciate the excerpt from the sermon you posted. That passage in Matthew humbled me greatly today. I have been struggling with "not loving" a particular "enemy" in my own life and God totally revealed through this passage how He requires me to act. Even a sinner can say hello to someone who greets them back - we are called to greet and love even those who do not. Yup, this one was for me!
I came to roughly the same conclusion reading the Matthew portion. Not the details about insults/injuries, but that Jesus was talking about retaliation, not self-defense. It's one thing to exchange defensive blow for blow while being attacked (physically OR verbally), but it's entirely another to run after someone who's wronged you in the past ~ whether recently or distantly ~ sneak up from behind, and stab them in the back.
I've always felt sorry for Hagar, too. She really has no say, no rights. What I find amazing in her story is that God came to her. HE gave her dignity and worth and restored her to Abraham's household. We don't really know anything about Hagar and Sarai's relationship after Hagar returned, and most likely, it wasn't a smooth one, but God promises to look out for Hagar and bless her if she will go back and submit herself to her physical masters. Given the worth of women in those days ~ especially SLAVE women ~ I think it's really cool that the place was named for her encounter with God.
I really like what you said about not being so concerned about putting on a good face for everyone else. I think that serves several purposes. We should be focusing on cleaning up our insides rather than whitewashing our outsides (I don't mean physical appearances, but rather the behaviour we exhibit only when others are watching with the intent of making ourselves look "perfect"). No matter how good we are at hiding our inner sins and struggles from those around us, God sees what's inside and it's HIS judgment of us that counts, not that of the world.
But there's another reason not to hide our inner struggles from the world. Have you ever decided not to post a particular Facebook status because some old acquaintances from high school might think that your life is not as good as you'd like them to think it is? Perhaps that's not a problem everyone faces, but I know I'm not the only one who thinks that way. Many of us feel the need to show those around us only what is going well in our lives. But what about all the messy stories in the Bible? Is there benefit to sharing the messy stories of our lives? I can say without a doubt that my relationships with people have deepened exponentially immediately after I've given up my perfect facade and shared my flaws and challenges. I'm not saying that we should run through the streets listing off our faults at the top of our lungs, but there is MUCH to be said for showing others that we know we're not perfect. We receive encouragement and accountability from others, and others receive encouragement in knowing that they are not alone in their imperfection. The benefits of sharing our struggles are plentiful.
I'm a pastors wife, for the first time and I struggle so much with putting on a good face for others. Take this morning, for instance. I just had outpatient surgery yesterday and I did not tell too many people at church. One of the ladies from church works at the hospital and saw me leaving after my surgery. I felt for sure she would tell her mother, who lives in our neighborhood and that dear woman would show up with soup. So what did I do? I got cleaned up and put on a bra! Oh for pete's sake! Who's trying to impress who? And what would mean more to those who saw me? Trying to be my best, or just being myself? But I hear you about the wanting to appear the perfect parent in public. I too struggle with that. It's a hard call. And our kids know it too. They know they can yank our chains a little bit more in public because we will be passive. I still remember my father being all wonderful in church, but oh, when we got in the car all masks were off. It's a balance, one of which I am sure I will struggle with.
Great thoughts Miriam. I really appreciate that sermon quote as well. It definitely makes more sense that way.
Self-defense has no wrong motive behind it. Whereas retaliation or revenge certainly does.
On the Sermon On the Mount part:
I found another online written out sermon that had a little more of how this teaching could be backed up (and who etc). No offense, but I don't just blindly believe something, so I had to check it out. I had never heard of the backhanding before. So I googled it and found a few interesting reads. One said this:
"Sadly, then, like now, men occasionally struck women. In those patriarchal times, women were considered at least a step or two beneath men on the hierarchy of being. Remember the Tenth Commandment: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, or wife, or slaves, or ox, or donkey. Women were the possessions of men, and they were ranked just below houses and, thankfully, two full notches above donkeys. So there was no problem with slapping around your wife. But there was an acceptable way to do it. You backhanded her. It was entirely inappropriate to make a fist and belt your wife. The proper method for disciplining her was to backhand her a good one—striking her, obviously, on the right cheek.
The ultimate insult you could pay another man—the way you could humiliate and degrade another man in public—was to backhand him as if he were a woman. It was a way of saying, 'You are so far beneath me, you are not even worthy of being struck like a man'.
If that is not bad enough, let me explain the other possibility of what it would have meant to be struck on the right cheek. Remember Jesus’ great line about what defiles a person? When people are arguing over what foods are proper to eat, Jesus says, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” His meaning, of course, is that our words define us—not our dietary habits.
But as often is the case, his disciples don’t quite get it, and he has to explain it to them. So Jesus says, “Whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer.” That is pretty graphic stuff, and we don’t hear that part of the teaching preached too often. But it is a great example of how Jesus uses humor to make his points. What Jesus doesn’t mention is how one cleanses oneself after this natural biological function. But to be as discreet as possible, let me assure you that said cleansing took place with the left hand. Thus, in that culture so obsessed with purity and cleanliness, the left hand was considered unclean. So even more insulting than a good backhand to the right cheek would be to strike a person with the left hand. Again, the insult of being struck on the right cheek is painfully clear.
So what does it mean for Jesus to tell people that if they are struck on the right cheek to turn the other also? Remember, who was Jesus’ audience? Who did he tell these stories to? The people who were getting backhanded! Consider this: if a Roman man struck another Roman man with his fist, the fine was the equivalent of about $40. If he backhanded him, the fine was $4,000![1]—100 times as much! To backhand another person was literally the ultimate insult. But the fine for backhanding a person who was beneath you on the social ladder—the fine for that was nothing. Masters could backhand slaves, husbands could backhand wives, parents could backhand children, and Romans could backhand Jews.
And this is the part of Jesus’ teaching that is lost on modern audiences. Jesus is not calling for passivity in the face of this abuse of power. Jesus is calling for people to stand up against their oppressors and demand respect. The act of turning the other cheek denies the aggressor the power to humiliate. The person who is struck says, in effect, “I deny you the power the humiliate me. I will not cower in the face of your evil. I will not flee from your hatred. I am a human being just like you, and I refuse to allow you to demean me.”
If anyone wants to read the rest it is here:
http://www.ucchurch.org/sermons/9_28_03.htm
Thanks for posting this Miriam. Great thoughts. One of my biggest struggles is letting things go and even if it is not that I am actively seeking revenge. My thoughts and actions occasionally do show the grudge that I hold. Good thoughts in these comments as well-food for thought indeed.
Very interesting Sarah, thanks for that!
Thanks for your comments everybody - there's a lot there to think about!
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