Matthew 5:38-48
I have probably heard more nonsense spoken of this passage than any other in the bible. And the current `With Love to the World` is no exception. It says about the passage: Jesus` advice is to let the oppressor have his way and leave vengeance to God. Absolute nonsense! Not only do you end up with perpetuating injustice but you also end up with a violent and vengeful God – and if one thing is clear from Jesus’ teaching and life it is that God is nonviolent – as was Jesus himself, with the supreme example being that of the cross. As the title of John Dear’s book says `Our God is non violent`. Our God is a loving God, not a violent God. I still shudder when I remember the words of George Bush as he sent the troops to war in Iraq. `And may God bless America`. The idea of God blessing the violence of the Iraq war is the height of heresy. Our God is non violent!

Non violence, moreover, isn’t about doing nothing. It is about acting in a non violent way to change the situation. It is about wresting the initiative from the aggressor. Jesus gives an example. In those days a Roman soldier had the right to command a Palestinian to carry his pack for up to a mile. Can you imagine the scene? The Soldier says at the end of the mile `OK you can give me back my pack`. `Oh no,` the guy says. `I insist on carrying it until you reach the end of your journey.` The Soldier recognises that he is going to be in trouble if he is found making people carry the pack for more than a mile and would think twice in the future of compelling someone to carry his pack.

Reacting to the situation non-violently is what it is about. Jesus was non violent. He revealed and embodied a non violent God. He lived a life of non violent love and calls us to do the same. It is what is known as `the way of the Cross`. The cross was not some bargain struck with a vengeful God. It was the embodiment of the non violent love that lies at the heart of the universe. So be it – and may those of us who seek to follow Jesus of Nazareth take up our cross.