On a vacation trip to Washington DC, my family visited the National Archives to see the original copy of the Constitution.  It was not that memorable.  However, in another part of the building, the Archives had an exhibit of WW II posters that had been displayed to encourage people to support the war effort against Germany and Japan.  This was memorable.

Many of us have seen  ‘Uncle Sam’ pointing his finger at us seriously with the caption, “I Want You for the US Army.”  His eyes seem to follow you wherever you go.  Creepy.  Then there is the woman showing her biceps.  “We Can Do It”.  Kind of Sexy.  What I had never seen were the posters reminding the American people to never let their guard down.  The artwork was amazing, but I found it most disturbing.  The Japanese especially were caricatured as rats with elongated noses and little round glasses carrying bayonets or as gorillas with massive heads and huge teeth, Captions read, “This is the Enemy” or “They’re Coming Here.”  Nobody cares about rats.  In fact, most people want rats exterminated.  Dehumanize the enemy and there is no remorse about killing them and no second thoughts about incinerating them.

Jesus’ teaching about loving our enemies (Matthew 5:43ff) challenges the act of dehumanization.  Our enemies are people too.  How easy it is to forget that simple and obvious truth.  How easy it is to internalize the propaganda and live it out.

While I was reading today’s Scripture,(Matthew 5:38-42)  I was taken back to the story of Lamech in Genesis.  Lamech had carried out vengeance to an extreme (killing a man for hitting him).  So in one sense, “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth’ seems controlled, reasonable, limiting.  But Jesus takes the prohibition to the limit–actually putting revenge in reverse.  Rather than responding with violence, respond with nonviolence.  Why?  Violence for violence doesn’t challenge the culture of violence.  It confirms it.  A new response is required if we are going to be citizens of the kingdom and people of Shalom.

But is Jesus advocating that we be doormats?  I don’t think so.  A doormat does nothing.  Jesus expects an action.  Action implies ability and power.  Walter Wink in his short book, Jesus and Nonviolence, gives very helpful insight into how the actions Jesus suggests actually push the aggressor into the light so the injustice is exposed.  Jesus is not suggesting we “lay down and die” in the face of aggression.  He is proposing a new strategy that challenges the aggression without violence.

When I began my ministry at Kimball Avenue, I met a woman who had carried a terrible secret for more than 70 years.  She was convinced she had committed the “unpardonable sin” when she was 19 years old.  She was divorced.  Her marriage had lasted only a few months, and even her closest friends in the church never knew she had been married.  But she had sinned terribly and she was certain that God would send her to hell.    I tell the story because the church turned Jesus’ statements about divorce into a new legalism that did more violence.

Jesus’ extreme limits on divorce (Matt 5:31-32) are not intended to do violence, but to prevent violence–especially violence against women.  Only men had the legal right to initiate a divorce.  Jewish law gave men great leeway in determining just cause for divorce.  Divorce is about power.  The threat of divorce is a means of coercion and manipulation.  “Do what I tell you, or else…”  And a woman who didn’t cooperate ended up on the street without any means of support–forcing her into compromising situations.  I have often wondered how many of the “prostitutes” that Jesus ministered to were actually women who had suffered the violence of divorce and had been cast aside.

While we have “balanced” power in domestic relationships–women have the same rights of divorce as men–I believe Jesus’ statement still is relevant.  Jesus is not just talking about the legal issues around divorce.  He is addressing abuse of power and coercive use of power.  Just because we have the right to do something doesn’t automatically make it right.  Power is a dangerous thing.  Putting limits around power protects the vulnerable.

It’s OK as long as no one gets hurt.  Ever heard that line?  What harm is there in looking?  What harm is there in fantasy?  Nobody gets hurt, right?

When Jesus affirms the prohibition of adultery and then extends the prohibition to wandering eyes  (Matthew 5:27-30), I believe he is chipping away at the “as long as nobody gets hurt” logic.  The reality is that someone always gets hurt.  There is no such thing as “private sin.”   A wandering eye is indicative of a wandering heart.  A wandering heart has set out on a search for something new, something more fulfilling, something more exciting without regard for existing relationships–the epitome of self-centeredness.  The moment I entertain the fantasy, I have done harm to my partner by severing the emotional ties that bind.

I can’t remember the last time I called somebody an idiot or a moron.  My problem is that I’m much more passive aggressive.  I can make people feel stupid by a roll of my eyes or by body language.  My non-verbal communication can be as destructive to relationships as physical violence.  Psychological violence doesn’t heal quickly either.  Jesus’ statements in Matthew 5:21-24 don’t let me off the hook.  I could tell myself that I’m following the letter of Jesus’ words (I’ve never called someone ‘Raca’), but the spirit of Jesus’ words are about destruction of my brother or sister–no matter what form it takes (murder, anger, strong language, non-verbal communication).  The important thing is making (and keeping) good relationships.  And that requires honesty and humility and frequent apologies.

Crowds are powerful.  A crowd can topple a government (Egypt), can push for justice (civil rights), can destroy people’s lives (Reginald Denny).  Today’s Scripture reminds us to “not follow the crowd in doing wrong” (Exodus 23: 2).  First, we have a have a strong sense of what is right and wrong in order to not participate in wrong.  But even when we know what is right and wrong, it takes a great deal of courage and moral fortitude to resist the impulse to go with the flow.  Crowds can quickly turn on those who dare to object.  Refusing to go with the crowd can end up being lonely.

However, one person is also powerful.  Just one person refusing to participate in  wrong can call the crowd the reflection and can be a catalyst for empowering others who are questioning the wrong,  shifting the balance of power.  Think Rosa Parks.

I’m reminded of the song I learned as a child.  Dare to be a Daniel; dare to stand alone. God, give us courage.

My parents were strict observers of the Sabbath.  At the time, I would have called them ‘rigid’, ‘legalistic’, or ‘fanatical.’  We understood very clearly what we could not do on Sunday.  Shopping was definitely out.  So was eating in restaurants.  Work?  Even mowing the lawn was forbidden!  And do not even think about entertainment–even something as innocent as miniature golf was anathama.  At the time, I didn’t understand it much less appreciate it.  And I certainly didn’t raise my kids with the same set of rules.  However, reading the 10 Commandments again today (Deuteronomy 6), I found myself wondering if my parents weren’t on to something.

Though they would not have put it in these terms, my parents were acting in a subversive way in response to the systems of economic greed that forces people to work, work, work.  Though unions (God bless ’em) have negotiated a 40 hour work week, more and more people are working longer and longer hours without increased pay (thanks to ‘salaries’), and are expected to always be plugged in to their work through cell phones, email access, web connection, the ‘Cloud’,  being ‘on call’, etc.  Home is not a place for rest, it is now an extension of the office.  Vacations are not relaxing if we are expected to check our email on a daily basis.  Sabbath rest?  What is that in our culture?  Rest is for the lazy!

Pharaoh’s forced labor was oppressive and violent to the well-being of the Hebrews.  Released from the oppression, God establishes a rhythm of work and rest for everyone–even the animals.  I need Sabbath rest and I also need to ensure that others get it too.  Maybe a return to Blue Laws is unnecessary, but in our culture where the economy of greed is King, maybe it’s time to unplug myself from the system and remember who is really King.  That makes not shopping on Sunday sound pretty subversive.

Fear immediately puts us on the defensive.  We’re suspicious.  We mistrust.  We attempt to put ourselves in an advantageous position.  We marginalize, We malign.  Fear of others always results in violence toward others.  And fear coupled with power makes an explosive cocktail. Pharaoh (Exodus 1:8ff) is afraid–afraid of too many foreigners who may or may not remain loyal to Egypt and afraid of losing his lifestyle and power.   His fear–coupled with his power–results in oppressive public policy–enslavement, harsh working conditions, and ultimately infanticide.  While I don’t have the power to make public policy, I always have an opinion.  What policies do I support? Not support?  And how do my own fears of change and loss inform my opinions?  And who am I willing to violate to make sure I keep what I have?

The planets maintain their orbit around the sun because of the gravitational forces at work.  Without the enormous mass of the sun, we would simply fly off into space in search for some new gravitational center.  And that would result in the destruction of life on the planet.  Life is maintained due to the link of the earth to the sun.  There’s probably a lot more to it than that, but that’s what I remember from 4th grade science.

Romans 1:28-32 suggest that what is true in the physical realm is also true in the spiritual.  Without the gravitational pull of God (the moral center), we fly off in search for a new moral center.   The problem is that no other gravitational spiritual core can provide life.  If we reject God, we reject order, stability and wholeness–peace.  If we reject God, we will become gods for ourselves–doing whatever is right in our own eyes.  If we reject God, we can expect a complete breakdown in our relationships with one another, our relationship with the rest of creation, our relationship to ourselves.  And we all know where that path ultimately leads.

Corruption, violence, evil, wickedness, oppression.  Sounds like a description of Chicago.  It is actually a description of the world of Noah’s day (Genesis 6:5ff).  God’s response?  Regret and a deeply troubled heart; and a decision to hit the reset button.  Makes me wonder what God is feeling toward 21st century conditions of oppression, aggression, political and moral corruption, systemic injustice.  God’s finger IS on the reset button.   Oppression and violence does not have the final word.  God has promised a new creation that will come, not through the annihilation of  humanity by water, but through the transformation of humanity by the water and the blood.  God has said, “I will make all things new.”  And in Christ, the reset button has been pressed.