Turn your Cheek or Forgive
February 23, 2025
Are you fretting? Are you fretting over what comes next to Social Security, our democracy, the rule of law? I must admit it is hard not to fret with the firehose of extreme efforts going on right now. Yet three times our psalmist reminds us to fret not, “do not fret.” So, I looked up the word fret. It means “to be constantly or visibly worried or anxious.” I believe we are a fretful nation right now. Americans just want costs to come down, safety for our children, the ability to earn a decent living and a government that keeps us safe. Safe in the skies, safe air and water, safe use of our personal information, safe borders, safe health care and research. Yet it feels like we are living through the other definition of fretting, “to gradually wear away (something) by rubbing or gnawing.” The something here is our way of life, our democracy with the freedom of the press, the checks and balances of our system of government and aligning with our allies. The final “do not fret” reminds us that it only leads to evil. I take that to mean bad things for us, our mental health and our ability to be responsive. So, let’s find one thing we will work to address and be faithful in that; climate change, midterm elections or support for those being deported. (If you want to know more about immigration support 5 of us went to a training on how to help and would love to talk to you more about it.) As we each do our small part, let us trust in the Lord, commit to the Lord, be still before the Lord. Then lean into the promise that the wrongdoers will soon fade like the grass. I think the season of chaos will last for a while, but it will come to an end.
Into this reality let us hear Jesus’ words to us from Luke 6:27-38.
When Cooper was in third grade he was bullied. Class management was so bad the teacher took a mental health leave of absence. Now mind you, Cooper was the tallest kid in his class, but he did not always pick up on social cues. So, he was often picked on. The culprit in this case was Jack Martin, who we learned had a bad home life and liked taking it out on others at school. With two parents as pastors, we taught Cooper about turning the other cheek. If something happens talk to the teacher but don’t hit back. We were called into the principal’s office, had several teacher conferences, but we stuck to the gospel message. We were trying to teach Cooper Christian values. If I had it to do all over, I would have told him to hit Jack right in the face. Ultimately, I did say that, but that was after years of struggle that followed Cooper into middle school. Once Cooper stood up for himself, most of the bullying stopped.
You might ask, so how is that a good story about turning the other cheek? It wasn’t. But it also highlighted what often gets left out of this lesson which is the audience Jesus is preaching to. This is part of the Sermon on the Plain, where Jesus is speaking to his newly called disciples and a multitude of those who want to follow him. As you recall from last week, this is the great equalizer message, seeking to have everyone be on par with each other. So, to us as followers of Jesus we are to live by the turn the other cheek teaching, with one caveat. It applies within the community. Jesus is setting the tone for the realm of God, the community he is building, how to be true followers of Jesus. The Pharisees and scribes are not there? The Roman soldiers are not there, only followers.
One commentator writes, “Luke perceived many Jewish leaders and Romans as hateful, even as enemies. Instead of responding to various forms of threat with corresponding recrimination, the Realm (of God) calls for attitudes and actions that seek the good of the other, and, hence, that build up the community. Luke’s form of nonviolence in this passage thus goes beyond non-retaliation. The disciples are to take positive steps that promote the welfare of the parties with whom the community is in conflict. (Working Preacher, Ronald J Allen).
Yet we could be overwhelmed by all the things Jesus is asking us to do: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, pray for those who persecute you, do not judge or condemn, forgive and give. Karma and the Golden Rule are also there; the measure you give is the measure you get back and do unto others. All of this sets a wonderfully high bar for Jesus’ followers, a way to create a new kind of community, God’s intended plan for the children of God. But it does not mean we are to turn the other cheek to an abusive husband or allow a bully to bully us. Start with nonviolent means of resolution, but sometimes the only way to stop force is by force. That is because, as the Psalmist reminded us, there are wrongdoers and evil in the world.
Jesus also teaches us to love, to do good and to lend. To flesh that out he asks, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” In essence that is the status quo, even sinners do that. Interestingly that the work “credit” here is “charis” which means “grace.” When we love in a transactional way we have failed to show God’s love, God’s grace which is bigger and better than the world gives. Yet, “a closer look at such transaction-based behavior reveals the problem: In such a world, what you do dictates what I do. When we return hate with hate, the original hate has won! It inspires and directs our actions. This is not to be. In the reign of God, what we do is not directed by what others do to us. In the reign of God, what we do is a response to the God who alone fills us” (Working Preacher, Mary Hinkle Shore).
Former Boston Red Sox Hall-of-Fame third baseman Wade Boggs hated Yankee Stadium. Not because of the Yankees; they never gave him that much trouble but because of a fan. That’s right: one fan. The guy had a box seat close to the field, and when the Red Sox were in town, he would torment Boggs by shouting obscenities and insults. It’s hard to imagine one fan getting under a player’s skin, but this guy had the recipe.
One day as Boggs was warming up, the fan began his routine, yelling, ‘Boggs, you stink’ and variations on that theme. Boggs had enough. He walked directly over to the man, who was sitting in the stands…and said, ‘Hey fella, are you the guy who’s always yelling at me?
The man said, ‘Yeah, it’s me. What are you going to do about it?’ Wade took a new baseball out of his pocket, autographed it, tossed it to the man, and went back to the field to his pre-game routine. The man never yelled at Boggs again; in fact, he became one of Wade’s biggest fans at Yankee Stadium. Love your enemies. It might change them, and we know it will change you.
(Sermons.com, Phil Thrailkill, Loving Like God Loves)
Love your enemies, turn the other cheek, do not judge. Yet sometimes we are pushed too far, and we must stand up for what we believe in. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “We are to brave great dangers for great things, for instance the common welfare, justice, divine worship, and so forth.” God may demand that we take a stand when confronted with evil. Several lawyers have done that recently including NYDA Danielle Sasson, and federal prosecutor Ed Sullivan who have resigned to protect the rule of law. They showed moral courage. Rev. Cameron Trimble writes, “Faith has always demanded this kind of courage. The prophets knew it when they stood before kings and called for justice. The disciples knew it when they chose Jesus’ teachings over empire. Mystics have known it in every age—those who gaze deeply into love cannot help but defend it.
We are all called to be both prophets and mystics. The mystic in us is the lover, the one who says “Yes”—to life, to goodness, to what is sacred. The prophet in us is the guardian, the one who says “No”—to what threatens love and justice. A life of faith requires both. Without love, our resistance turns brittle. Without resistance, our love turns shallow. The world will always make courage costly. It will reward silence and punish truth-telling. It will tempt us with the false security of compliance. But…some things are worth the risk—justice, the common good, the sacred.
So, when the moment comes—and it will—where will you stand?” (Piloting Faith blog). Amen.
A Prayer for Courage Rev. Cameron Trimble
O God of justice,
O Spirit of truth,
You whisper in the quiet places of my heart:
Do not be afraid.
Give me the courage to be faithful—
not to comfort, but to conscience,
not to power, but to love,
not to silence, but to the cry for justice.
Let me not be so afraid of loss
that I lose myself.
Let me not be so eager to belong
that I betray what is sacred.
Make me bold enough to say “No”
when the world asks me to bow to injustice.
And tender enough to say “Yes”
to the beauty, the love, the sacredness of life.
Walk with me when I am afraid.
Hold me fast when the cost is high.
And remind me—
that the truth, in the end, will set us free.
Amen.
