It’s a common scenario.  Someone gets off the subway, or walks across a parking lot and suddenly there’s a mugger, demanding his wallet.  It happened to Julio Diaz.  He got off the train in the Bronx when a teenage boy came toward him with a knife.  “He wanted my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, ‘Here you go.”  Diaz said.  Then when the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, “Hey wait a minute.  You forgot something.  If you’re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.”

 

The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, "like what's going on here?" Diaz said. "He asked me, 'Why are you doing this?'"

 

Diaz replied "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me ... hey, you're more than welcome.

 

"You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help," Diaz says.  The two went to Diaz’s favorite diner and sat in a booth.  Over the meal, they talked.  When the bill arrived, Diaz told the teen, "Look, I guess you're going to have to pay for this bill 'cause you have my money and I can't pay for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I'll gladly treat you."

 

The teen "didn't even think about it" and returned the wallet, Diaz said. "I gave him $20 ... I figure maybe it'll help him. I don't know."  Diaz says he asked for something in return — the teen's knife — and he gave it to him.[1]

 

I don’t know about you, but that’s not the ending I would have expected.  It could have gone wrong in so many ways, but Julio took the initiative to transform the situation.  There was a potential for enmity between the boy and the man, but instead they shared table fellowship.  There was a potential for violence, but instead the teenager gave up his weapon.  I wonder if Julio is familiar with Jesus’ teaching, especially with the Sermon on the Mount.

 

We heard two sections of the Sermon on the Mount this morning. In two thousand years of Christian history, there have always been some people who believed that Jesus didn’t really mean what he said here.  There have always been some people who thought that his ideas were unrealistic for mere mortals like us; an alternate lifestyle where lust and divorce and judging others are unknown, where everyone tells the truth, and the courts are unnecessary because people settle their differences amicably without the need for lawsuits.  There have always been some people who thought that Jesus was describing heaven or some ideal time in the future when the kin-dom of God has fully arrived. 

 

I beg to differ.  I believe that Jesus may be describing an alternate lifestyle, but it is extremely practical and definitely intended for everyday living by everyday people. 

 

The best place to see this is in verses 38-48 which Kathy just read. This passage of Scripture is familiar to most of us.  These are not easy words: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.  And the famous “if anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other one.”  That one sounds the most foolish.

 

Let’s remember that Jesus is speaking to the peasants, the working class people of Palestine.  What we have in this passage is a saying "turn the other cheek"  which had one meaning in its ancient cultural setting, but over time has come to mean something totally different because we no longer live in that culture. So let's get into that culture to try and understand this as fairly as we can.

 

God bless Matthew for his careful writing.  Everything hinges on the fact that Matthew writes, “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek . . .”

 

In Jesus’ time, your left hand was used for personal hygiene and since, there wasn't always a lot of water to wash with, it wasn't used for anything else.  Everyone was right-handed in those days.  Using your left hand in public was a huge no-no.   

 

In order for someone to strike you on the right cheek with their right hand, they would have to use with the back of their hand. This is the type of blow that a superior deals to an inferior  -- in that culture, a master to a slave, a husband to a wife. It is a way of putting the subordinate back in their place.  It was intend to humiliate a person. It might hurt to receive such a blow, but it does not have the same significance as a blow to your left cheek.

 

The person who back hands you expects you to submit to them, to accept your place in the pecking order.  But if, instead of submitting, you turn your face so that they must strike your left cheek, you have just signaled something very different.  You have signaled that you want to be treated as an equal.  Now they have a choice – to hit you with a closed fist or an open palm on your left cheek.  That is the kind of blow dealt to a worthy opponent and it may just make them stop and think.

 

Jesus is speaking to people who whose lives are burdened with systematic oppression.  He is empowering them to assert themselves, to change the system.  This is not about a future pie-in-the-sky life, but right now.  He gives three practical illustrations. The first one was turning the other cheek.

 

Next he says that if someone sues you for your coat; give him your cloak as well.  Back then, life was easier, people wore just two pieces of clothing – underclothes and outer clothes.  The coat was a person’s outer garment.  It was often also their blanket at night.  Sometimes it was the only thing a poor person had to put down as collateral on a loan. 

 

Jesus’ audience is made up of poor people.  They know that they’re going to be dragged into court for indebtedness and that the law is on the side of the wealthy. And Jesus says in that situation, when they take away your outer garment, give them your undergarment too. Jesus says “strip naked in the courtroom.”  Nakedness was taboo in Israel, but the shame was upon those who caused or viewed the nakedness.  So the debtor would be shaming the one who took away his clothes.  His actions said ‘You want my cloak?  Here, take everything!  Now you’ve got everything I have except my body.  Is that what you’ll take next?”  It is another way to make the creditors stop and consider their actions.

 

The final example is about the Roman soldier.  The Roman soldier could legally force anyone to carry his pack for one mile, but just for one mile.  The pack weighed 65-85 pounds, so this is not a light chore.  Jesus is saying “when you come to that mile marker, you keep going.”  That turns the tables on the soldier. He is no longer in charge because you are willing carrying the pack, but you are violating military law.  What if his centurion finds out?  Now the situation is changed and there is the possibility of an unexpected outcome.  

 

Jesus was asking something very difficult of his first listeners and of us.  He was asking us to do the work of loving those who mistreat us.  Contrary to popular belief, turning the other cheek is not about being a passive victim.  It is about confronting the other person with the wrong they have done to you, by holding a mirror up to their offensive behavior.  It is a way of treating enemies with respect -- because it assumes that if they knew what they were doing was wrong they would try to change it. Loving our enemies is hard work; it means campaigning and struggling with them so that they give up their hate and become reconciled.  

 

It is hard work because it also means giving up our own hate.  If we understand this passage to mean that it is OK to assert ourselves, not be doormats, that’s good, but that’s only half of what it means. It also means that we have to recognize the worth of the people who hurt us.  We can confront them, but in ways that give them an opportunity to change and then we are to forgive and welcome them back into our lives.

 

We began worship today with the song “This Little Light of Mine.”  It’s a song that seems to focus on individuals, on the personal light we each carry.  But it is also a song that became one of the great civil rights anthems, a song that people sang as they joined together to shine the light on racism, to confront their enemies non-violently and dismantle the segregation system. 

 

Jesus said “You are the light of the world. . . . Let your light shine.” 

 

He speaks to us as individuals, like Julio faced with a mugger.  He also speaks to us as a group.  Working together, we can combine our lights and transform oppressive situations into places where peace and justice become possible.

 

You have undoubtedly been following what’s happening in Egypt.  You may remember that on New Year’s Day, a bomb in a church in Alexandria killed 23 people.  The bomber was presumed to be Muslim.   A week later, thousands of Muslim people showed up at the church to protect the Christians who were celebrating Christmas on the date we call Epiphany.  In too many places in the world, and even usually in Egypt, Christians and Muslims are perceived as enemies.  But Muslims offered themselves as human shields to safeguard Christians in worship.  And then, did you see it? That fabulous picture of Christian Egyptians linking hands around the square in Cairo while the Muslim protestors were in prayer, protecting them.  Yes, there is still violence.  Yes, there is still danger  -- but what amazing outcomes might we yet see?      “Pray for your enemies,”  Jesus said.  “Be creative. Find opportunities to transform the situation.  Let your light shine.” 

 

Martin Luther King Jr said “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

 

Too often we respond to violence with violence.  But violence cannot drive out violence, it only results in more violence.  In very practical, everyday terms, Jesus offers us another way. 

 

We know the names of armed conflicts.  We remember violent, tragic days like December 7, 1941 or September 11, 2001.  Unfortunately, we don’t often know the stories of non-violent change.

 

One of those stories happened in October 1989.  Across East Germany that fall, people had been meeting in churches on Monday nights.  They were part prayer meeting, part political rally.  After these meetings, the people would go out singing with candles, usually to the city square.  In some cities, the authorities tried to suppress the demonstrations, but the movement continued.  Then one night, 70,000 people showed up at St. Nicholas church in Leipzig, and they spilled out of the church into the streets. 

 

Among them was Birgit Scheffle.  "We all carried lighted candles," said Scheffle.  "When you walk with a lighted candle you must use both hands. One hand holds the candle, the other keeps the flame from going out. So, you cannot throw a stone at soldiers, and soldiers can see that you cannot throw a stone.  . . That day marked the beginning of the end of East Germany."  Scheffle said “The soldiers were ready for everything, but not that people would come with candles and prayers."[2]

 

It’s been called the Revolution of the Candles[3].  And one month later, they tore down the Berlin Wall. 

 

This little light of mine/I’m gonna let it shine.

 

Sisters and brothers, hear the good news:  Jesus said  “You are the light of the world.  Let your light shine.”

 Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.  Amen.

 

Benediction

 

Carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn.

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, go light your world

Take your candle, go light your world.