...do not resist an evil person; but whoever
slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone
wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.
Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. (Mat 5:39-41)
There are quite a few interpretations of these instructions.
One points out that the directive following these to love one’s enemies is the
crux of Jesus teaching on retaliation. Another suggest the teaching is in
opposition to the Pharisees who believed the law condoned retaliation. Yet
another takes the point of view that the teaching of Jesus here involves a
loving attitude. It seems to me that all of the various thoughts on Jesus’
teaching have merit, and maybe all must be taken into consideration to give the
full intent of the instruction.
For the time in which we find ourselves, as well as the rest
of the world – in a pandemic; I would suggest another option of interpretation.
Consider the quote by Victor Frankl; “Between stimulus and response there is a
space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In
our response lies our growth and our freedom.” Jesus instructed his
audience what actions were appropriate in circumstances in which they were
being ordered to do something. A slap represented disdain and insult. Taking
one’s shirt as settlement of a suit was hardship. Being forced by a Roman to
carry something was an obligation. The recipient of any of these actions put a
person in an undesirable situation. A slap was designed to intimidate and
debase. Demanding a person’s shirt was demeaning and humiliating. Ordered to
carry some load made a person feel inferior and victimized.
In each of these situations the person on the receiving end
is rendered powerless. Looking at the situations through the window of Frankl’s
statement, the words of Jesus take on special meaning. In the space between
stimulus and response there is choice. The choice of a response will either
intensify negative feeling, or, neutralize them. Jesus taught his followers to defuse
the negative affect of powerlessness. In the act of volunteering a person
reclaims power over the situation. Offering the other cheek, or one’s coat, or
going a second mile, changes the situation from obligation to personal choice.
By doing what Jesus taught the powerless become powerful. The basic reactions
of fight or flight impact responses. The person who falls in the category of
flight will be prone to accept powerlessness as inevitable. Those in the fight
category are going to have difficulty restraining their impulses. Both flight
and fight responses are negative, compared to what Jesus taught. His way is
best, not only because it demonstrates his nature, but because it preserves
one’s dignity and power. Following the teaching of Jesus taps into the
spiritual nature, and as Frankl wrote, “In our response lies our growth and our
freedom.”
