Are You Kidding Me?
Matthew 5:38-48
I Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23
Shannon White
Wilton Presbyterian Church
February 24, 2014
Are you kidding me? As we continue on with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, it is quite possible that if the first
two selections we’ve read over the last two weeks haven’t driven you over the edge, this one certainly clinched
it. The question, Are you kidding me, is certainly reasonable to ask.
In our litigious, get-even, protect your $*&# at all costs, stand-your-ground, overly cautious, post-9/11
age…how is this passage even feasible? If we are to really follow Jesus’ teaching, doesn’t it make those of us
living in this age look like doormats, gullible and spineless wimps, rather than those who would inherit the
Kingdom of Heaven? It’s hard to be kingdom-conscious when we have real world demands staring at us in
the face.
But then again, ask someone about this passage who cares for a loved one with a long-term illness, or someone
who has participated on a Midnight Run or who has experienced what happens during prison ministry with
inmates, and perhaps we can come up with enough curiosity to consider this passage again as plausible, albeit
difficult to attain.
Maybe for you, as it did for me, this passage brings to mind those who sat at the counters in Woolworth’s
decades ago, while angry white people pushed, shoved and shouted horrific words into the ears of those who
were trying to practice these principles. In fact if it does, it’s because, as I found out upon researching for this
sermon, this is the very passage which is the basis for the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr., and
other who lead our country through that period of tremendous revolution used this text as the basis for their
philosophy of non-violent resistance.
Non-violent resistance is in no way passive. Ask anyone who has been part of such a movement and they’ll tell
you there is specific training, such as those who were part of that stand-off in Woolworths, the marches, the bus
boycotts and other events all essential to the Civil Rights movement. They clung onto the fact that Jesus never
taught passivity in the face of evil. Jesus also never taught that violence is the appropriate response to evil.
For some context, let’s look at what this passage meant back in Jesus’ day. Remember, the people to whom
Jesus was speaking were not those in power. They were peasants. The first verse referring back to the
retributive and harsh justice of Hammurabi’s code (sic 1790 BCE), brings the beginning of a new vision.
Scholar Walter Wink, in his book Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of
Domination, interprets the passage as showing the ways to subvert the power structures of that time
period. Wink says that at the time of Jesus, striking someone deemed to be of a lower class with the back of the
hand was used to assert authority and dominance. If the persecuted person "turned the other cheek," the
discipliner was faced with a dilemma. The left hand was used for unclean purposes, so a back-hand strike on the
opposite cheek would not be performed. An alternative would be a slap with the open hand as a challenge or to
punch the person, but this was seen as a statement of equality. Thus, by turning the other cheek the persecuted
was demanding equality.
Wink continues with an interpretation of handing over one's cloak in addition to one's tunic. The debtor has
given the shirt off his back, a situation forbidden by Hebrew law as stated in Deuteronomy (24:10–13). By
giving the lender the cloak as well, the debtor was reduced to nakedness. He notes that public nudity was
viewed as bringing shame on the viewer, not just the naked.
Wink interprets the succeeding verse from the Sermon on the Mount as a method for making the oppressor
break the law. The commonly invoked Roman law of Angaria allowed the Roman authorities to demand that
inhabitants of occupied territories carry messages and equipment the distance of one mile post, but prohibited
forcing an individual to go further than a single mile, at the risk of suffering disciplinary actions. In this
example, the nonviolent interpretation sees Jesus as placing criticism on an unjust and hated Roman law as well
as clarifying the teaching to extend beyond Jewish law.”
“The Kingdom of God is not some ideal beyond history, but is rather the sovereign power of Love present and
active in history. Jesus taught and lived out the implications of this faith as a member of a conquered people
who were living under foreign domination.” The early Church continued this witness for hundreds of years,
refusing to sanction war and violence or ultimate allegiance to the states.
That all changed when it was convenient…It was after Emperor Constantine became a Christian in
approximately 300, that the Church became officially recognized by the state; thereafter the way of nonviolence came to be thought of as a specialized calling for only a few, not a national undertaking….Later it
would resurface as a movement forged by groups such as the Franciscans, Anabaptists and Quakers.
Those who have followed this text as one which lays out the principles of non-violence boil say this is what it
teaches:
6 Principles for Nonviolence
1. Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
2. Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding.
3. Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice not people.
4. Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform.
5. Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate.
6. Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice.
Based on Martin Luther King Jr’s Stride Toward Freedom
The King Center, Atlanta, Georgia
That may be all well and good, but does it work in contemporary society? One example…is from Chiapas,
Mexico back in the late 1990’s. At that time the government was seeking to repress a largely non-violent
struggle by the Mayan people for the restoration of lands, resistance to NAFTA, and resistance to what they
considered the establishment of a legitimate democracy. In 1997 there had been a massacre of 45 people in
Acteal. Many of the residents became pacifists through their study of Gospel texts, such as today’s text and
subsequently the teachings of Gandhi. They formed a group called “Las Abejas” or The Bees. The group, most
of whom are Roman Catholic, but 10 percent are Presbyterians, is firmly committed to prayer, and their
decisions are generally made after a great deal of prayer and fasting. The result they seek? Social change. The
members of Las Abejas have followed the lead of Bishop Samuel Ruiz, who at the funeral of those killed in the
massacre encouraged Las Abejas "that they should not seek vengeance, but that Christianity offers forgiveness
as the path of peace." This text…their teaching.
Here’s another example of how principles of non-violence have worked. This time among Eskimos. When a
war with another tribe is about to start, a poetry contest is held between the two best poets of each tribe. The
jury is comprised of equal numbers from each tribe. So the winning poet wins the war—decided by both sides.
They have shifted from fighting physically to competing with words.
And another example…Lest you think this text encourages abuse. In one group of African women, there is an
interesting way of dealing with the violence one of their members might receive at the hands of her husband.
When a woman has been mistreated, she goes to a woman’s club to which she belongs and tells the other
women about it. The women go to the village square with their rhythm instruments. There they play and sing
the story of the abuse. Before long, the whole village knows what the husband has done. (If any of you have
heard the group “Sweet Honey in the Rock”…this is their style as well.) Singing the story is used as a non-
violent but very proactive means of social change and justice. (The two previous stories were provided by John
Oliver in Nonviolence in the Arena September 1999)
Interestingly, those who led the resistance to overthrow of Mubarak in Cairo in 2011, pulled on the ideas of
Martin Luther King Jr and Ghandi…and thus this scripture as well. In fact, the MLK’s Montgomery Story was
translated into Arabic in 2008, and is considered to have provided much inspiration to uphold peaceful
measures for the mostly non-violent actions of the people in ousting the Mubarak government.
There is a story I came across by an Egyptian writer which was written for children called, The Cairo Story. It is
written in the form of a comic book, a form which is fairly common and accessible in Egypt, especially for the
large amount of people who can’t read. The idea behind the story is to make sure future generations know what
happened at Tahrir Square in order to promote a future based on non-violent actions. The author says, “Children
who see violence on the streets in Egypt or in the news media in America see justifications for violence as an
appropriate mechanism to solve problems. This project is an effort to promote an understanding of a nonviolent
alternative for people of all ages.”
The story is fictional but could be real. It’s written in cartoon form with pictures. The characters are Kamilah, a
young girle and her older brother, Khaled. Khaled studied law and is now unemployed. He tells the story of
their history to his young sister.
Khaled tells Kamiah about the work of Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, who talked about “Satyagraha” defined
a “soul or truth force”…a type of resistance which is for the strong, not weak of heart. He also tells her about
Nelson Mandela, who was in prison for many years before leading his people to a new government.
The story continues. Khaled cannot find work. Others were getting more and more frustrated as well. The April
6th Youth Movement began organizing strikes on Facebook for more rights for industrial workers. While the
Kefaya movement had opposed Mubarak for years, they had not been able to mobilize the country until that
time. Youth movements in Serbia and other countries were their examples for them…
Then on January25, Khaled tells Kamiah he is going to the square. “Khaled asked me if I wanted to go along.
When we got to the Square, it was already filled with people, shouting and clapping, holding up flags and
banners. Khaled was right, it was like a big party. People were marching through Cairo like they did in
Montgomery, and Calcutta, and Johannesburg…and more started joining in!”
(for more, see: http://cairostory.wordpress.com/story/ )
Do you remember the joy and amazement of people all around the world at the power of social media as an
organizing tool for revolution…in a non-violent way? Word had spread from Tunisia which had already taken
such action…and it was like a house of cards falling…
And now young people in Kiev are hoping for the same type of movement. But there has already been violence
and bloodshed. The principles of some, which had begun with non-violent acts, have been usurped by militants
using force. God only knows how that will progress.
Does this text work in individual circumstances? Yes…the whole movement of truth-telling began in feminist
and other groups in the 1990’s, who had worked through their oppression enough to speak truth to power as a
means of resistance. People began to tell others about abuse they had suffered in their homes or in churches
many years before, for example (that’s the early stage of unveiling sexual misconduct by clergy).
Whistleblowing became more acceptable (The term coined in the 1970’s by Ralph Nader. But legal protections
have been around since the 1770’s during the Continental Congress.)
As for loving your enemies, and praying for those who persecute you. That’s a very useful tool that I have used.
Those who have caused me great pain in the past have been some of my greatest teachers. And in praying for
their happiness, somehow I am freed.
So, perhaps we need to rethink the question, “Are you kidding me?” It’s legitimate in the face of all of the
people who have taken these words and acted upon them. REALLY? That’s astounding to me, that people
would put their livelihoods and even their lives on the line for such an outlandish set of guidelines written so
long ago. They have had great courage, but in the process have accomplished GREAT things which have lasted
for the benefit of many.
So my friends…Jesus does it yet again. He turns what we think is rightside up, upside down. That’s the good
news of the life-giving, life-affirming truth of the Gospel. Praise be to God that Jesus wasn’t kidding!
Amen.