Confronting Evil
Is there a difference between reacting and responding?
Jesus sets up what seems to be a difficult spectrum of possibilities here. Anything from people who want to hurt you to those who want to borrow from you…?1
It’s one of the conundrums of the gospels. Jesus himself follows this very paradigm: letting those who want to hurt him do so, to the point of death. Is he asking his followers to the very same thing? What about situations of abuse? It’s one thing to let someone harm me, but what if it leads to or includes the harm of others in my care with less agency than me (my spouse, my children, etc.)? Are we really to let bullies do their thing?
No. We know from the entirety of Jesus’ teachings that he abhors the likes of bullying. He reserved some of his strongest words for those who would hurt people - Tie a rock around your neck and go jump in a lake.
But…Jesus is certainly calling for a radically different response to evil than retaliating against all things. He is for sure teaching that an eye for the eye only exacerbates the strife of the world, adding to the cycle of violence between people. And, he is setting the mold for cruciformity. We might even consider that he’s calling people with more agency, power, and authority to a particular paradigm. Such distinction takes discernment.
But Jesus did not simply come to confront and stop evil. He came to establish paths of healing, restoration, and peace. Retaliation does no such thing.
Matthew 5:28-42
“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you that you must not oppose those who want to hurt you. If people slap you on your right cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well. When they wish to haul you to court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too. When they force you to go one mile, go with them two. Give to those who ask, and don’t refuse those who wish to borrow from you.”
Prayer
God,
A new day! Thank you!
As I face it, help me to be proactive and responsive rather reactive and incendiary. Where people are being hurt, make it stop. And give strength to those who can’t find their way out at the moment.
Help us to break cycles of violence and retribution. I am particularly thinking of my very own words in situations only I am in. But also, help us with privilege and power to faithfully respond to larger institutional movements that prefer retribution.
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.
I generally try to stay away from too much technical stuff regarding the original language (Greek), etc. in Jesus Daily, but today’s passage calls for it. I generally love the Common English Bible. I find it both faithful and readable. But here, for the word most translations render as “evil person,” the CEB uses “someone who wants to hurt you.” Certainly, an “evil person” may want to hurt us. But for particular contexts, the way it’s handled here could appear to insist that people stay in abusive situations. I pray that anyone in such situations hears this clearly: Jesus is not saying that you must stay in abusive situations. Read the rest of the entry for more.