I will let Darth Vader kidnap my gummy bears
So say you have a pack of juicy delicious gummy bears that you just bought for yourself at the corner store. You sit down on a park bench to enjoy your tasty snack. Suddenly you hear some foreboding music and, in a puff of black smoke, Darth Vader appears.
In a deep voice he says : “Pffthhccchhhhh…. Give me your gummy bears.”
What do you do?
Option 1: Fling down the gummy bears and run for the nearest tree.
Option 2: Bust out your lightsaber and defend your gummy bears, risking life and limb. This may not end well.
Option 3: Say “Sure DV. And hey, while you’re at it, I have this box of delicious truffles. Perhaps you would like those as well?”
You’d have to be crazy, or maybe just a saint like Ghandi to do that last one. If you’re already being robbed why would you want to give up something even better as well? For most of us, this would not be our first reaction.
Ready for Radical Statements of Jesus number 3? “You have heard the term ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you this: don’t resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them your left cheek as well. If someone steals your value village sweater, give them your lulu lemon jacket as well. If someone makes you walk a mile, walk another mile with them. Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn down the one who wants to borrow from you.”
This sounds like Jesus wants his followers to be total pushovers. He doesn’t seem too concerned about people’s individual rights.
If someone comes and slaps us in our face, most of us would at least want to give that person death-glares, egg their car, or put laxatives in their coffee, if not give them a full out roundhouse kick to the face. But no. Apparently if you follow Jesus he wants you to stand there and take it, and let them have another free shot at you.
This could easier get you criticized for being a wuss, or just stupid. But this goes along with the theory that strength is defined by how intimidating and aggressive you are. Jesus might be pointing out that real strength is in the not retaliating.
We think that there are cases where letting yourself be abused is not a good thing, and we don’t think that’s what Jesus wanted. But part of the cost of following him means giving up our right to take revenge when everything in our nature is telling us to.
So here’s another little example.
Christoffersson is enjoying the spring air sitting on a park bench, minding his own business. 
A dubious character sneakily approaches.
The thief snatches Christofferson’s backpack. “Mwahaha!” she says.
Christofferson faces a dilemma. He liked his backpack. It held many of his prized possessions, which are now in the clutches of a thief.
Christofferson remembers what we talked about on Tuesday night at the Table. Although it is not easy for him, he decides to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile…
He hands over his prized knit sweater. The villainous thief pauses. “What the heck?” she says. Christofferson smiles, knowing he has done the right thing. And who knows, maybe his altruistic gesture will inspire her to give up her thieving ways and be a better person in the future.
