Telling the truth and getting slapped
Each week we’ve seen how Jesus’ teaching on how the “Kingdom of the Heavens” being “at hand” changes…well everything for us. Â We’re not given rules to live but new life and a new frame of reference to live by. Â Last week we saw how Jesus’ turns up the heat on anger. Â Why be captive to anger? Why be a victim to victimizing someone else?
This week we find out in Matthew 5:33-42 how telling the truth and getting slapped are related.
These two very familiar passages: “Let your YES be YES and your NO be NO” and “Turn the other cheek” seem unrelated at first blush. Â These two ethical statements seem pretty straight forward, “Tell the truth” and “Don’t be violent.” Â I look forward to learning with you how these two passages reveal some of Jesus’ most creative teaching on the Kingdom of God. Â Too often we think of creativity as relegated to the arts or entrepreneurship or eccentricity. Â Jesus shows us that the very way we live draws from God’s creativity to take the status quo of duplicity and death and turn them into truth, life and love. Â And this, of course, makes all the difference in the way we live, every minute of every day.