If it were my daughter who was shot playing in her front yard, I can’t imagine that I would be able to turn the other cheek. When I am downtown I do not give to panhandlers who ask of me, but walk right on by. When I saw the World Trade Towers came down from my back porch in Jersey City on 9/11 the last thing I was inclined to do was to love my enemies. I must confess to these things despite the words of Jesus. “When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well.” “Give to the one who asks of you.” “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” I profess to be a Christian. I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. I pray every day “Thy will be done.” And yet, I have a hard time living up to these words, these commandments of Jesus. Does this make me a bad person? Or a bad Christian?
Maybe I can excuse myself since Jesus did not live in Chicago. I want to tell Jesus, if you live in Chicago and your turn the other cheek it looks like that cheek gets shot off too. If you live in Chicago and you give to those who ask, pretty soon you wouldn’t have anything left and you’d be the one doing the asking. If you live in Chicago, you need really clear lines if you are going to stay safe. Would you give us those commandments Jesus, if you lived in Chicago? But on further reflection, when Jesus lived a king could decide to slaughter all the innocent children under two years old in Bethlehem. When Jesus lived he no doubt heard his mother pray, “The Lord will fill the hungry with good things and send the rich away empty.” When Jesus lived the Roman occupiers where so oppressive to the Jewish people that several hopeless wars were fought that eventually led to the complete destruction of Jerusalem. So I don’t know Jesus is going to cut me any slack. I think he is going to say that even in Chicago I must turn the other cheek, give to those who ask, forgive my enemies.
Do you feel the same challenge that I do? How are we going to respond when we realize that Jesus meant what he said? The wisdom of this world – that we have to protect ourselves from all of those hostile elements, can we say “bad dudes,” out there — runs clean counter to what Jesus asks of us. Must we become fools, as St. Paul says in the letter to the Corinthians? Why would Jesus want us to act in a way that might lead to regular cheek slaps, empty wallets and more buildings blowing up? The answer to that question lies in Jesus’ reminder that we are “children of our heavenly Father” who “makes his sun rise on the bad and the good and causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” Our Lord wants us to understand that God created the world to be in harmony, where everyone has the opportunity to share in divine blessings. Jesus wants us, his followers, to do a re-boot, to operate in the way that God intended creation to operate from the beginning. The command to “love our neighbors as ourselves” is designed to reverse the cycle of violence that characterizes the wisdom of the world. The followers of Jesus are supposed to look at things the way that God does.
And, when we look around us, we find that this is not just pie-in-the-sky Pollyanna thinking. No, we find evidence all around us of people who take the command of Jesus to heart. Did you notice, for example, how the families of the nine victims murdered at the shooting in Emanuel AME Church in Charleston reacted? In Court, Felicia Sanders, held up her Bible. “This is my Bible. It’s all blood-stained…but I’ll cherish this Bible. It reminds me of the blood Jesus shed for me, and for you, Dylann Roof,” she added. “I still forgive you. That was the easiest thing I had to do.” Some here will remember the training in non-violence that they received during the civil rights era. The willingness to resist hatred and bigotry with non-violent love created a whole new era. More recently, did you see the item on the news the other day that a house where a hate crime against Muslims has been made into a memorial. Painted around the porch are these words of Dr. King: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” And every day I am impressed at the people from here and from, literally, across the country who give of their time to help in the food pantry. I was awed on Christmas Day when dozens of people spent a good portion of the holiday providing a luncheon to their neighbors in need here at St. James. These examples and others inspire me. They say that the vision Jesus has of a world which reflects God’s grace and glory is taking shape one step at a time.
Which helps us to understand the last commandment found in the gospel for today: “Be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” At that point we might want to throw our hands up in exasperation? How can I be perfect? Doesn’t Jesus know what a mess I am, how limited I am, how many faults and failings I have? Of course he does. After all, he shared a frail humanity with us. We should understand the verb “be” in the sense of “become.” Become perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. Work on it. Take one step at a time. Do something each day to reflect better God’s mercy in the world. Maybe today I’ll forgive a wound that has festered in my heart. Tomorrow I’ll reach out to someone who is hurting. The next day I’ll let an immigrant know they are welcome. Yes, we aren’t perfect. But if we work at becoming perfect day by day we will truly be children of our heavenly Father and the sun will rise on all of us.