Preaching the Scriptures

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 5:38-48 The Third Way What is happening here? Seriously, what is happening? Turn the other cheek? Give your cloak as well? Go the second mile? What kind of advice is this? Given the options of fight or flight, it seems that Jesus is casting a strong vote for flight – just flight a little too late. Were one to follow this advice they would fly away with tired legs, a pummeled face, and no clothes. Generally, you want to do the flight, if that is the option you choose, before you are hit in the face. What is happening here? Seriously. This is a dangerous passage. One might even be so bold to suggest that Jesus' advice to an impressionable crowd is irresponsible. Do you have any idea how many people – mostly women and children – throughout history have been abused under these instructions? Told to turn the other cheek. Told not to resist their abusers. Instructed in the name of Jesus to quietly and passively...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 5:1-12 The Song of the Resistance He lived in polarized times. And as he ascended the mountain, he knew the crowd was waiting for his endorsement – because that's how things go in polarized times. Both sides want your allegiance; everyone needs to know if you are one of them. One side was the Empire, the most powerful nation on the planet – a war machine with a superior economy – all led by a jealous, insecure Emperor who lined the streets with the bodies of those who stepped out of line, his perceived enemies. On the other side were his people, an occupied people longing for freedom and power, and they were looking for a Messiah to lead the revolution, a king to lead them to victory; their swords were sharpened; they just needed their new King David. And they had their eyes on him, on this Jesus. Both sides wanted his allegiance; both wanted his heart and his soul. And so the crowds gathered as he climbed the hill. An...