Justin Appel

“But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.”

Dear Friends,

In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus speaks some particularly difficult words about responding to evil with meekness. Here is a traditional interpretation of the text:

In the first place, from this passage, we understand that Jesus does not want us to respond to evil with more evil. If somebody perpetrates an act of violence on us, we should not respond in the same manner. Instead, the well-known picture of being struck on the cheek suggests an alternative response, not an angry in-kind reaction. Jesus teaches us to curb our own impulse to revenge.

So, instead of reacting with evil impulses, we might instead decide to regard the evildoer with a prayerful stance. We can recognize that we share a bond of humanity with those who cause us pain, and that we, in fact, also contribute to the evil in the world—evil that causes all to suffer. I am not entirely separated from the sins of others, but I share responsibility for the sinful conditions in which we all live.

Do I manage to respond with anything like this meekness? When I stop to consider it, I cannot but feel conscious of my failures to react meekly. All too often, I have responded to insults in a petty, angry, self-centered manner—and that realization can only be humbling.

Jesus speaks, not only to our outward response, but to the attitude of our hearts. As we respond prayerfully to insult and injury, God can allow us to respond peacefully. In fact, by the grace of God, we may see the bigger picture, in which we can feel sorrow for the other person—not the sorrow of prideful recognition, but a sense of solidarity, a realization that my sin is the cause of the other’s sin. In this case, our prayer can become prayer for the world, and our redemption can be connected to the redemption even of those who grieve us.

Yours in Christ,

—Justin