Friday, October 03, 2014

That's too far

Jesus’ four examples of how to behave “nonresistantly” to “evil” persons emerge from the concrete experience of subjection to Rome. The four examples, and they may be in descending order of severity of offense, concern being insulted, being sued in court, being conscripted to support the Roman military, and being asked to help others with money. In each instance Jesus advocates grace beyond retribution and expectation. He does not advocate passivity but active generosity that deconstructs the system because of the presence of the kingdom. Surrendering one’s rights for the good of the other manifests the Jesus Creed and its variant, the Golden Rule of 7:12.— Sermon on the Mount, page 126

<idle musing>
I like that! "He cones not advocate passivity but active generosity..." Talk about countercultural! I'll bet if we as Christians did that the world would be crashing down the door to find out more...well I can dream, can't I?
</idle musing>

No comments: