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NIV Matthew 5:38 "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and
tooth for tooth.' 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person.
If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40
And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as
well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two
miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from
the one who wants to borrow from you. 43 "You have heard that
it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell
you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 that
you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the
evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax
collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people,
what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Recently I read a story about an older woman who was
shopping during a rainstorm. “Many years ago, an elderly lady was strolling through a
Pittsburgh Department Store, obviously killing time. She passed counter after
counter without anyone paying any attention to her. All the clerks had spotted
her as an idle “looker” who had no intention of buying. They made it a point of
looking in another direction when she stopped at their counters. Finally, the woman
came to a counter that was attended by a young clerk who politely asked if he
might serve her. “No,” she replied. “I am just killing time, waiting for the
rain to stop so I can go home.” “Very well, madam,” the young man said with a
smile. “May I bring out a chair for you?” And he brought it without waiting for
her answer. After the rain slacked, the young man took the old woman by the
arm, escorted her to the street, and bade her goodbye. As she left, she
asked him for his card. Several months later, the owner of the store received a
letter, asking that this young man be sent to Scotland to take an order for the
furnishings of a home. The owner of the store wrote back that he was sorry; the
young man did not work in the house furnishings department. However, he
explained that he would be glad to send an “experienced man” to do the job.
Back came a reply that no one would do except this particular young man. The
letters were signed by Andrew Carnegie, and the “house” he wanted furnished was Skibo
Castle in Scotland. The elderly woman was Mr. Carnegie’s mother. The young man
was sent to Scotland. He received an order for several thousand dollars’ worth
of household furnishings and with it a partnership in the store. He later
became the owner of a half interest in the store.”[i]
I
can relate to this story not only in limited shopping experience but also as
the Pastor of the church. A young couple had come to church one Sunday morning
with their two small children. One of them got fussy because she was hungry and
probably tired of hearing that Pastor talk. The woman got up to leave the
sanctuary that morning and I stopped her and asked her if she would like a
rocking chair. I went and got her one right in the middle of my sermon. She and
the baby rocked themselves in quiet comfort as I continued my sermon that day.
She and her husband became members of the church because of that simple
gesture.
Often
we are called upon to do what we are asked to do and sometimes we are called
upon to walk an extra mile. Now the meaning of that term has been lost in the
generations since Jesus walked the earth. In his day, if a Roman solder asked
an able-bodied man to carry his equipment, it was the law that you had to do
so. Now the law was built on fairness so you only had to carry that equipment
for one mile at which point your obligation was complete. What Jesus is saying
is that for a Christian, a follower of God, Grace is longer than that first
mile. Grace and Love to a Christian would mean that without being forced, you
would be willing to carry that armor another mile. Now I can imagine what the
reaction would have been in that day and time. For one thing, the Hebrew people
and the Roman army were often at odds with one another. Imagine then what a
Roman guard would think if you offered to carry his gear for another mile. It
might cause the guard to enquire as to why you would be willing offering you an
opportunity to witness to the power of God. I can imagine his surprise because
I have been the recipient of such an act. Going through the tollbooth one day,
I was waved on through. Apparently, the person in front of me had paid my way.
A random act of kindness that surprised me on that day and made me feel good.
Walking
the extra mile is sharing in the gift that God has bestowed upon us through
Jesus Christ. Think about it for a moment. God who loves us, who created us,
wants to interact with us and have a meaningful relationship. Now at first
glance, we do not have much to offer to that relationship. Everything we have,
everything we have earned, and every breath we take is because of that love.
Yet, God still wants to have a relationship with you and me. It is not because
God wants something from us other than our love. It is not that God wants us to
do anything particular. I often wonder how different our world might be if we
all desired to have relationships with one another, expecting little in return
but giving all we had to give. That is precisely what God’s love is like. That
is what Jesus is telling us to do in this parable in Matthew. What is profound
to me is that he is not saying anything new. It is not as if he is changing the
world according to God. Trouble is he is changing the world according to the
leadership of his day. What is troubling even more is that our world seems to
have gotten to the same place as his first century world. Therefore, God is
asking us to go the extra mile. Now I could ask you to do this particular
project or that particular project and there are a number of you that would
jump at the chance to help those in need. This is a very giving and loving
church. However, I am not going to do that at this moment. Rather, what I am going
to ask you to do is reflect on your life. To reflect on the side of your life
that loves one another. Ask yourselves if there are people, you do not love as
much as you love your children, your parents, or your significant other. If
there are and if you are like me, there most certainly are, then ask yourselves
why that is so. Maybe more importantly, ask yourselves how we can let God
change us so that there are not people whom I do not love. When we allow God to
transform our very natures, the very essence of who we are into loving
creatures with the capacity to love one another as God loves us, the world
around us will change. It may take some time. It will take a lot of work. But
it is doable.
So what
causes us to resist or release ourselves to God? The root of the issue is
inherent to our very natures. It is the reason we need divine grace in our
lives. It is us. I have often heard that old adage, I have discovered the enemy
and it is me. Inherent to our very natures is this desire to be in control, to
lead and direct our lives without interference from anyone or anything. We run
into it big time when we hit our teenage years and we have determined at that
moment that we have all the knowledge we need. School cannot teach us anymore
than we need, leaders and teachers, and certainly not our parents who at this
point in our lives are so out of touch with reality and knowledge that they cannot
possibly know enough to help us. Remember those years or maybe you are in those
years. Funny thing about that, the older I get the wiser my parents get.
God is
God today, tomorrow and forever. God is infinite in wisdom if we only surrender
to it. We can be perfect in our relationship with God and others, when and only
when we surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit and let it lead and direct
us. Every time we resist we go down paths that may seem successful for a while,
but then find the pitfalls of humanity. We may lead successful lives and many
do, never once giving God the credit or even believing that God is the one
providing the means of success. Yet, at some point, tragedy, adversity and life
happens and it is then that the divine force of God carries us from this moment
to the next. It is not blind chance.
So what
is it going to be? Resistance to the power of the Holy Spirit or release of
self so that we may be filled with the loving power of God? Are we willing to
walk the extra mile?
[i]
Ready, Keith, A gift of Inspiration, The
Habits of Going an Extra Mile, http://www.agiftofinspiration.com.au/stories/achievement/Habits.shtml
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