Last Thursday I decided to get some preaching practice at George W. Truett Theological Seminary’s Fall Festival of Preaching. Later I’ll be writing about the “Moses Complex” I generally have when preaching. It’s the only area in my life that I wonder “Who am I to be sharing the scripture?” That’s for another day though. This is just the sermon as it’s written (a bit more of me is added as I speak, not enough). I was very thankful that so many people were encouraging, and loved the content, as well as offered ways I could expand on the content. I owe the NIV, and Donald Kraybill for this sermon, a lot.
Turn the Other Cheek: Peacemaking and God’s Will
On June 26th of this year a 49 year old black man named James Anderson was beat up by 7 white teenagers before being run over and killed by 18 year old Deryl Dedmon. The incident was caught on camera and uploaded to CNN where it made waves across blogs and the media . As evidence unfolded, the story became even harder to hear. The seven teens did not know James Anderson; they were simply looking to beat up a black man and he was the first they found. His family has openly shared their struggles through this tragedy and has asked the courts a favor concerning Deryl Dedmon’s conviction.
How does scripture help the family of Mr. Anderson respond to their loss and to face the brutal hatred that broke their family? Barbara Anderson Young, James’ younger sister spoke to the media: “the punishment for those with hate in their hearts should be one tempered with love.” They came forward and asked the state not to impose the death penalty against Dedmon.
Let us turn to Matthew 5:38-48 and read:
“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 anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Is this how the Andersons responded to what the passage calls Christians to do?
We can find a few hints about the background world in which this was written by Looking at Jewish culture, If a coworker punched you on the cheek, he owed you a fine. But to slap someone across the right cheek the way Jesus describes here is more than an angry reaction; it is intended to humiliate. While this slap probably physically hurt a lot less than being punched, the fine was one-hundred fold.
If the relationship was not between equals but between master and servant, there was no fine. The servant could either fight back and be beaten or stand humiliated without recourse.
If we consider what Matthew 26:52 says: “Put your sword back in it’s place,” isn’t this advocating a passive acceptance of violence entirely? The humiliated servant in the corner who refuses to fight back has technically kept the peace. But he suffers hurt and anger in his heart, the master has also lost the ability to be empathetic. But Christ calls us to more.
What kind of answer was “turning the other cheek”? Jesus was not referring to stand in the corner without one’s dignity. He was offering a third way. He meant to expose the violence and deny the system of social stratification that was routine. He brought in a new basis for the servant to retain his dignity that did not attempt to humiliate his master.
This is restorative love that we can practice in the new Kingdom. This is the reason for non-violent resistance used by Baptist Preachers like Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement.
The family could have learned to forgive James Anderson’s killers without asking the state not to kill him, but they believed Jesus asked more than simply an attitude change. This love requires action.
We can create other examples to illustrate the concept: This love would tell us not to give Hamas, but it would also command us to build a hospital for their communities. Or it means offering to pay the probation fines of the drunk driver who drives his car into your living room so he can focus on the work of overcoming addiction.
What does this mean for the rest of us? The example above is extreme: many of us do not have murdered family members. How can we “be Perfect”. When scripture speaks of blessing those who curse us, praying for those who exploit and abuse us, offer the other cheek to those who hurt and humiliate us, how can we make practical sense of it? Furthermore, how are we to respond to those who hurt not us, but the innocent?
Turning the other cheek is active. It is being a peacemaker. It isn’t a coincidence Jesus addresses this in the Beatitudes listed in the same chapter. Here the servant who has offered his cheek has a new serenity of his own: his master no longer has the power to humiliate him. He has allowed peace to rule in his heart.
As Christians, we no longer have to wait for situations to happen to us in order to respond. We are told to go out, to create peace. This is a central implication of the Great Commission: Go Out! Jesus says, Go out! Don’t just baptize and make disciples, but teach them to obey everything I have taught you. Teach them this peace, that both frees the heart from the bondage of all the grudges you previously held and restores relationships between you as a community. Grace not only makes us new, but it creates a new order in the world.
This doesn’t come naturally, does it? Many responses to the Anderson family have wondered if this means they didn’t truly love their son, their brother. It is not in the human will to respond to death with love. Most of us respond with fear and with creatively violent plans of revenge that still make us look like the better person.
And again, we are lost at the place where Jesus says, “Be Perfect, as Your Father is Perfect.” This is why the next thing Jesus teaches us is how to pray: “Lord, Let your Kingdom come, Let your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Let us rest in the Lord’s peace that comes through doing his will, as residents not of this world but with our comfort tied into the reality of the Kingdom. We are not “one-upping” the Will of God by promoting non-violent corner-standing. Neither are we living as Christ commands if we respond with the quick solution of violence. Let us do no more, but do no less as we end together with the Lord’s prayer.
Let us end with this prayer together.
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen”