Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
Jesus of Nazareth
How literally should we take the above statement from the Sermon on the Mount? As we walk along a city street, should we give to any homeless or destitute person who asks us for money, even if we think they’re likely to do themselves harm using it to buy drugs? If someone asks to borrow from us, either our money or our possessions, should we automatically comply even if they have a reputation for dishonesty? I think the clue is in the context: Matthew 5:38-48.
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 the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy". But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
The ‘evil’ that Jesus referred to was not illegality but taking advantage of people within the law, often from positions of political or social superiority. It doesn't mean that the police should overlook criminal activity or that judges should pardon it. The slap on the cheek was not the start of a brawl but an insulting backhanded slap: most people are right-handed and so a slap to someone’s right cheek (Jesus was specific about this) must be done with the back of the hand. Being taken to court for a tunic represents harsh action by creditors. Going the extra mile illustrates oppressive demands by State officials: Roman soldiers in occupied countries could require citizens to carry their baggage and equipment for one mile.
Today, we might have to endure embarrassing breaches of confidence by neighbours, malicious rumours started by work colleagues and gross misrepresentation by business rivals. We might be threatened with expensive legal action by someone who knows that we cannot afford to defend the claim; we may be put to a lot of inconvenience dealing with unjust impositions by careless or apathetic government officials.
Jesus described peaceful responses designed to embarrass the oppressors. Turning the other cheek makes a second backhanded slap difficult, to deprive a debtor of both tunic and cloak would publicly expose a creditor as punitive and a Roman solider could be disciplined for letting a civilian carry his baggage for two miles. Jesus didn’t want his followers to react instinctively to wrongdoing, to ‘fight fire with fire’ even when confident of being in the ‘right’. A more pragmatic approach is needed and Jesus’ examples should inspire similar creativity today.
In the same way, we should not interpret Jesus' words at the start of this Reflection as requiring his disciples to give to just anyone we see begging but, when faced with genuine need, we should not withhold help because we dislike the person in need. Lending to whoever asks prohibits favouritism and prejudice but does not mean to suggest that we should be open to deceit. Jesus may require us to love our enemies as ourselves but there are obvious differences in the ways we go about this.
At a basic level, we should not believe everything enemies say or that we hear about them. We should not be so quick as to assume they are in need if they have a track record of deception. We may have to be clear on the help they think they need and what they actually need and to be careful not to give them the tools to do harm, either to themselves or to others. But when a situation is clear, and the need confirmed, then positive and supportive action is required.
In the story known as the Parable of the Good Samaritan, recorded in Luke 10:30-35, Jesus illustrated what it means to love our enemies. The Israelites and Samaritans were natural enemies: although they often lived as neighbours they despised and mistrusted each other. Of the three men who saw the injured Israelite lying in the road, the Samaritan would have seemed to Jesus’ audience as the one most likely to finish what the robbers had started, taking anything they had missed and perhaps even striking the fatal blow! Yet, this is the man who was willing to risk his own safety and set aside his own agenda to stop and help.
The priest and the Levite (a temple official) may have walked past because they feared the man might be a decoy or left as bait, in the hope that someone would stop to help and become the robbers’ next victim. That fear is shared by people today. But did the Samaritan share it? As a sensible man, he must have done. But he stopped anyway!
If their religion meant anything to them at all, the priest and the Levite should have trusted God, stopped and helped. But clearly, they did not trust God enough. The Samaritan not only stopped long enough to tend to the man’s wounds, he took him to the safety of an inn and paid for his care. And he went further! He promised to pay the innkeeper the cost of any further treatment the man needed. In effect, the Samaritan wrote a ‘blank cheque’ and, in doing so, trusted both the injured Israelite and the innkeeper (probably another Israelite) not to take advantage of his generosity!
The Jew and the Samaritan may have felt like each other's natural enemy but their proximity to each other made them neighbours and the Samaritan illustrates what it means to love our enemies and to give or lend to those in need. I plan to continue this theme next weekend by looking at what Jesus meant when he said not to demand the return of possessions taken from us.
© All Souls Clubhouse Community Centre & Church and Philip Evans 2014.
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