Loving the Unlovable

Loving the Unlovable April 24, 2022 BBC

Matthew 5:38-48

Introduction

Justice! That is the cry of all people, whether justice for themselves or hopefully, justice for all people. We want justice. But what do we mean by justice? Very often when we speak of justice, what we really mean is vengeance. That person who did something so bad should have to pay dearly for their crimes. You can see where that comes from. The Cambridge dictionary defines justice as “fairness in the way people are dealt with.” When something really bad happens, what seems fair to us is that they should suffer.

This is not just an academic question. This area has been struggling through the Mass Casualty Commission. The largest Canadian mass shooting happened all around us. It ended, at least for the shooter, at the Irving gas station in Enfield, a place many of us pass by regularly. After pulling a gun on the police, he was shot dead. Was that the ending we wanted? We are thankful that was the end of his killing spree but is it the ending that we would have chosen? We may have wanted him to have to answer for his crimes, to explain his actions, and to show some kind of remorse toward the families. We may even have wanted him to avoid a quick death and to have to spend life in prison, preferably in solitary confinement.

Mass shootings do not happen often but bad things are happening all of the time. Not accidents but evil acts chosen by individuals. I know too many people who were sexually abused as children. I know of too many people who have been the victims of emotional abuse, whether as children or as adults. How do we respond as Christians? What does Jesus want us to do with the legitimate feelings we have toward those who cause evil? Jesus says much about this and that is what we are going to look at.

Eye For an Eye

Jesus begins by quoting the commandment from the Old Testament: ’Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ Depending on our perspective, that might seem like too harsh or a perfectly appropriate response. There is a quote that is often attributed to Gandhi: “An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind.” That warning aside, we might think that this reflects our need for vengeance when someone hurts us. 

What we should realize is that this verse in the original context was not meant to encourage vengeance but to limit it. People throughout history have tended to respond with more force than was used against them. Bruise my arm? I will break your arm! Burn down my shed? I will burn down your house! Eye for an eye was meant to limit the response of the offended party so that they could not go beyond what was done to them.

Turn the Other Cheek

That would seem hard enough as we want vengeance against those who hurt us or our loved ones. But Jesus takes this to the next level. Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek. This verse has been the source of much misinterpretation. Some pastors and Christian teachers have used this to encourage wives to remain with abusive husbands and endure physical attacks. That is not what Jesus is talking about here. Jesus wants spouses and children to be safe and not to be in dangerous situations. In fact, the slapping of the cheek isn’t primarily about a physical attack. Slapping a cheek was meant has an insult, as a source of humiliation. That might sound better than being punched with the purpose of injury, but in an honour culture, being slapped could lead to losing respect in the community. The expectation would be to respond to the insult in kind. But Jesus says to turn the other cheek rather than hitting back.

What does this mean for us? Some take it as a biblical ban on any use of force against another, including by police and the military. As a military chaplain, you can guess that I do not take it that way. What Jesus is doing here is to get us away from vengeance. Vengeance says, you have hurt me or have insulted me and now I am going to make you pay. Jesus is saying that we are to avoid that, even if it is a natural human response. But that doesn’t mean that there is no room for justice. While we may be willing to ensure insult and even some harm, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t intervene when someone else is being harmed. Justice would insist that we do intervene in whatever way that is appropriate. 

Think about this in terms of the current crisis in Ukraine. It is possible to want to stop a tank from destroying an apartment building full of families without wanting to make all of the Russian people pay out of the outrage you feel over what has happened. Going back in time a century, one of the causes of the Second World War was that the Western Powers didn’t stop at justice after defeating Germany in the First War. They took economic vengeance on Germany, which eventually led to an open door for Hitler.

Outside of a military context, we are regularly confronted with how we are going to respond to those who have hurt or offended us. Vengeance will always be tempting, but Jesus calls us to a different way.

Love Your Enemies

It is bad enough that Jesus asks us to turn the other cheek, but he goes on to require us to love our enemies. Love our enemies? Can you imagine a more difficult command? It is hard enough for us to love people who are mildly annoying but our enemies? 

What we need to realize is that Jesus is not talking about the emotion of love. We cannot just choose to feel love toward another person, no matter who they are. Jesus is talking about a love that is not based on feelings or emotions. It is about what we choose to do.

The idea of loving enemies is summed up when the opportunity to help or to hurt your enemy falls into your hands. What will you do? Again, thinking of military contexts. What happens when you encounter wounded enemy. Do you provide medical assistance? How do you treat prisoners of war? Do you make them pay for what their army has done or do you provide them with good shelter and food? Putting aside the military, what happens if someone asks for a reference for a person who is qualified for a job but they have personally caused you grief. Are you willing to help them experience a blessing? It all comes down to love in action and it has nothing to do with feelings.

Conclusion

All of this sounds very difficult. We might not want to stop at an eye for an eye much less turn the other cheek. We definitely don’t want to love our enemies. How can we possibly do any of what Jesus commands here? And how does this fit with the longing for justice that God has put in our hearts.

Jesus is asking us to do these things, not just as isolated pious acts, but as part of the larger Christian worldview. God is a God of justice. God hates when the wicked abuse and hurt innocent victims. This also means that God has a plan for how that will be worked out. In the Old Testament, it is called the Day of the Lord. It was the firm belief that God would eventually put everything to rights. We don’t exactly what that will look like but we have to trust that God is going to deal with all of the evil in the world from the school yard bully to the mass shooter in the appropriate way. That trust doesn’t mean there is no role for us. I am going to conclude with some words from the Apostle Paul, words that sound very much like a commentary of what Jesus has said to us:

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21)