Why Not?

Matthew 5:38 – 44

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also . . . You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you . . .”

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            No resistance. Turn the other cheek. Love your enemies.  I can almost hear Saint Peter’s shocked reaction, “Jesus, give me a break!”

            Was Jesus kidding? Was he just being idealistic or poetic? Did he not expect anyone to take him at his word? If the answer to these questions is ‘yes’, then Jesus might be remembered as a terrific 1^st century stand-up comic, or as a wise social philosopher — a sort of Jewish Confucius. But Jesus is neither of these; he is the human voice of God and I think he meant what he said.

            However, there’s more than one way to turn the other cheek.

            Turning the other cheek doesn’t have to mean accepting abuse, allowing ourselves or others be abused or victimized. Turning the other cheek can mean NOT turning away: forever bouncing back; living in a world filled with pain and suffering, greed and violence, yet never giving up on making it different, on building a world filled with love and goodness — a place that Jesus called the Kingdom.

            Robert Kennedy frequently quoted  from George Bernard Shaw, “Some see things as they are and ask, ‘why?’ I see things as they could be and ask, ‘why not?’” Jesus asks us to turn the other cheek; to forever bounce back; to be people of the ‘why not’ not the ‘why’; to look in the face of a troubled and hurt-filled world, and then to look into our own lives. He asks us to take inventory of the talents and skills that we possess, and to ask, ‘why not?’ And then to turn the other cheek, bounce back, and make a decision to use those talents and skills to reduce the pain and suffering. He asks us to be channels for God’s love and healing to enter into and to change the world.

            Mother Teresa was a 40-year-old teacher in an exclusive boarding school for the daughters of wealthy expatriates living in India. She saw and was touched by the suffering of the poor dying in the streets of Calcutta. She left the comfort of her life and began a ministry of loving and caring for the poorest of the poor, enabling them to die with dignity. She saw suffering, asked, ‘why not?’, turned the other cheek and bounced back.

            A homemaker and mother living in Bergen County was moved by the tragic statistics of abortion in the United States. She began taking unwed mothers into her home, and set up a network of resources to help young, pregnant women who felt that they had no alternative to abortion. She asked, ‘why not?’, turned the other cheek and bounced back.

            A very successful plastic surgeon, a friend whom I admire very much, was moved by the plight of children in third world countries who suffer deformities as well as poverty. He began organizing teams of doctors and nurses, and has made several trips to these countries performing corrective surgery in makeshift operating rooms on thousands of children. He asked, ‘why not?’, turned the other cheek and bounced back.

            A young man in Oregon, who had lost both legs in an accident, learned how to play basketball from a wheelchair. He reached out to handicapped, inner-city kids, and formed a basketball league giving them the gifts of athletics and self-esteem.

            All these people saw pain and suffering in the world and asked, ‘why not?’ Instead of turning away in despair, they turned the other cheek and bounced back. They decided to use their talents and skills to put God’s love and their own faith into action to change the world.

            Some days I read the papers or watch the news with horror — the  senseless  violence  and  cruelty  that  randomly   destroys innocent lives; the tragedies of racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, war, abortion, AIDS, substance abuse. I am tempted to turn away in despair; to throw my fists up to heaven and scream, ‘WHY?’ — to blame God for allowing another tragedy.

            But then I remember Jesus, and the reality that God calls each of us by name, and asks us to be his human hands and feet in this world. And I ask myself, ‘WHY NOT?’

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Readers of this blog might enjoy these books by Deacon Lex. Both are available on Amazon.com:

Just to Follow My Friend: Experiencing God’s Presence in Everyday Life

Synchronicity as the Work of the Holy Spirit: Jungian Insights for Spiritual Direction and Pastoral Ministry