+ In the Love of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our Gospel this morning begins with four Beatitudes or Blessings for the poor. The first three Beatitudes describe the poor:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.”
And the fourth Beatitude describes how others treat the poor:
“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.”
And then Jesus matches the four Beatitudes with four Woes for the rich, and again the first three Woes describe the rich: “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.”
And the fourth Woe describes how others treat the rich:
Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”
The great social divide in first century Palestine was not primarily between those who were poor and those who were rich. The great social divide was primarily between those who were honored and those who were shamed. But as we can see by the Beatitudes and Woes, there was a connection: the poor were shamed by society― hated, excluded, reviled, and defamed― while the rich were honored― spoken well of.
Now, keeping that in mind, let’s continue with our Gospel:
“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, [and here’s how:] do good to those who hate you [remember the fourth Beatitude: “Blessed are you when people hate you”], bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you.” And as an example of “those who abuse you,” look at the next verse: “If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also.” Or, as Matthew’s version has it, “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also” [5:39].
So let’s try an experiment. Find a partner. Point to your right cheek. Now make a fist with your right hand and pretend (I emphasize pretend!) to try hitting the other person on the right cheek. It’s almost impossible, isn’t it? If you’re right-handed, the only natural way to hit someone on the right cheek is to use the back of your right hand.
Listen to what the Biblical scholar Walter Wink tells us about this:
“The only way one could naturally strike the right cheek with the right hand would be with the back of the hand. We are dealing here with insult, not a fistfight. The intention is clearly not injure but to humiliate. . . . Masters backhanded slaves; husbands, wives; parents, children; men, women; Romans, Jews. We have here a set of unequal relations, in each of which retaliation would invite retribution. . . . “The person who turns the other cheek is saying, in effect, . . . ‘I deny you the power to humiliate me. I am a human being just like you. . . .’ Such a response would create enormous difficulties for the striker. . . . how would he hit the other cheek now turned to him? He cannot backhand it with his right hand. . . . If he hits with a fist, he makes the other his equal, acknowledging him as a peer. . . . In that world of honor and shaming, he has been rendered impotent to instill shame. . .” (Engaging the Powers [Minneapolis: Augsberg Press, 1992], p. 176).
Today the backhanded slap of the first century is called bullying, and the culture of honoring and shaming is alive and well in the twenty-first century. And like the backhanded slap, "bullying is characterized by a power differential," according to education.com's webpage, "Bullying at School and Online."
Here's some more:
“A fight between two kids of equal power is not bullying; bullying is an unfair fight where the child who bullies has some advantage or power over the child who is victimized.”
“These power differences distinguish bullying from other forms of aggression and create unique challenges for parents, educators, and researchers who want to help reduce bullying behaviors. These power differences also make telling kids to ‘stand up to bullies’ ill advised, as such efforts are far more likely to fail than succeed.”
“The power differential that characterizes bullying makes it very tricky for students to defend themselves against some perpetrators, especially those who wield social power.”
“Beware of traditional stereotypes of bullies as social outcasts who resort to violence because they have no other options. Many bullies actually have high levels of social skills and social intelligence . . . and in some cases, we may be giving some students the ‘benefit of the doubt’ and in doing so unintentionally condone their behavior.”
The website gives a number of strategies for dealing with bullying, and I’ll summarize them when I post this sermon, but there are spiritual strategies as well.
The first spiritual strategy is to remember who we are and whose we are. In just a moment we will baptize Linnea, and I will say to her, “Linnea, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own for ever.” To be marked as Christ’s own for ever is something no bully can ever take away from us.
And because we are Christ’s own for ever, we have a mission, and it includes the last two questions in our Baptismal Covenant: “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?” and “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?”
And then we have the spiritual strategies in this morning’s Gospel:
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” These strategies seem counter-intuitive, but when we practice them we will discover that Christ’s own power― which Paul describes in today’s reading from Ephesians as resurrection power ― will be unleashed in us in astonishing ways.
Thanks be to God.
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4 Things for Students to do:
Use the buddy system
Practice not reacting, because it make the bully feel powerful
Tell the bully to stop and walk away
Tell an adult
4 Things for Parents to do:
Focus on your child: be supportive and get the information about the bullying.
Encourage your child to use the buddy system
Work with your child’s school
Help your child become more resilient
4 Things for Witnesses to do
Tell the bully to stop
Support the person who is being bullied
Walk away
Report the bully
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