Today's Journal
TURNING THE CHEEK
Jesus taught some difficult things and one of them is this remark about non-retaliation when someone pops you on the cheek:“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also” (Matthew 5:38-39)
When Jesus said to turn the other cheek… that’s not the way we learned to deal with bullies when I was growing up out in the country. We were much more into law: eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
Violence in the mind and emotions are really dangerous things… because they easily transfer to violence to do physical harm. Provocation can trigger this in a moment… like a good cheek slap. What it takes to resist this is a lifetime of transformed behavior by the power of the Holy Spirit…and even then to resist is often to squeak by in body, but not in mind or emotions. The whole principle is about as popular as a TV reporter interviewing a coach in the middle of a big game.
It takes a desire for peace to ever make this reality.
I’m headed over to the other side of the Pond for some Cuban Coffee and Roz’s Cinnamon Rolls and try to imagine what it would actually be like to offer my other cheek to someone.
“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also.” Jesus