THE QUALITY OF MERCY as an attribute within human nature is one that lessens rapidly when there is little basis for trust in a given relationship. It diminishes even more quickly when a relationship has been strained by lack of care, and exponentially more so when injury is perceived, and forgiveness becomes the primary aspect that is required for restoration of the connection that once existed. But none of these descriptives are applicable to the circumstances that Jesus is speaking of here: “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them.” (Luke 6:27-32)
Perhaps we encounter a circumstance in which a positive relationship has never existed, or a relationship that indeed was once close has suffered a wound, be it physical or emotional, that is so heinous that it lies outside the norms of human capacity to forgive. Or, the mores of the cultic community historically and culturally have standards that demand justice. “But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” (Ex. 21:23-25)
When we move past the individual relationships into the realm of inter-tribal warfare, and past that to the clash of nations, spoken not of ‘ethnos’ of in the meaning of race, but statehood, we enter a more complex realm, but still must deal with the same issues. In the first, clan against clan enmities have very powerful conditioning that extend past distrust to outright hatred, sometimes lasting generations—perhaps the most extant example of this is the mutual detestation of Ishmael and Isaac, which stretches from the time of Abraham to today. In the second, the saber-rattling between aggressive nations has a long history of conflict and the use of weapons of war, from sword and spear to thermonuclear devices. And in all of these examples, there is an underlying condition of hatred. And Jesus says all of these require of us not just mercy, not just forgiveness, but unfeigned and proactive love. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27-28) Not only that, but passively accept abuse at their hands. “If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Luke 6:29a)
The scales of justice are part of the legal system of every civilized culture, and within them we have a natural inclination towards justice instead of mercy. There is, however, another set of scales in play, and those are weighed in the human heart. In this set of scales there are competing forces that seek to balance the scales, not in a legal context, though that may be involved, but in the complex and confusing realm of human thought and emotion. In one of the two trays of the scales, the weight of an injustice lies heavy, and must be balanced by adding something to the other tray; depending on the degree of the infraction, an apology from the perpetrator may serve, or at the far end of the spectrum, even the death penalty may not be enough. Both trays are being acted upon by the gravity of hatred and desire for vengeance—in actuality those seeking justice have a set of motives that make it difficult, even seemingly impossible, for justice to be served. The affronted person desires internal balance of soul and spirit, and that is never found where shalom has been destroyed by hatred.
And this is Jesus’ point in speaking to these issues. He knows well the Father’s sovereignty: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.” (Deut. 32:35) We are not to get caught up in the snare of hatred—it places us in spiritual bondage—and this Jesus warns against, allegorically, “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” (Matt. 5:25-26) Jesus is not just our savior—he is also our Lord. He calls our spirit upwards and away from human nature, and demands that we conduct ourselves by the principles of the heavenly realm. He does this sometimes in disciplinary fashion, but always out of love. In fact, he does so in the context of the model from his Sermon on the Mount that he asks us to employ: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt. 7:12)
Loving our enemies seems impossible to us, and so it is if we conduct ourselves as the natural man or woman. But just as we have been given a new Spirit, we have also been given new capacities. These added extra-dimensional spiritual breadths, depths, and heights of Spirit endue us with the capability to respond to extremely challenging circumstances in ways we have never employed before. The Psalms say of the Messiah, “Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.” (Psa. 85:10 – NKJV) This same savior tells us, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:15) And so, we timidly approach the uneven scales, and with trembling hand pick up a small weight labeled “mercy” and place it on the up-side tray, but that is not quite enough, so we then pick up another small weight called “love.” It doesn’t seem possible, for to the natural eye the weight of injustice doesn’t seem like it can be moved by such small objects, but the trays gently swing to a level plane after love is added. Balance is not so much restored, as made possible, and shalom permeates and surrounds both injustice and love with completion, soundness, welfare, peace, health, prosperity, tranquility, safety, contentment, and friendship. These benefits may not accrue to the one once hated, but they become ours. “Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:35a-36)
Q. Is there someone I must forgive, even if only I am healed?
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