Beyond Naiveté: The 'Ideal' Gospel, Part III

Why “What’s Fair Is Fair” is a Dead-end Destination

We live in a world of what I sometimes describe as disproportionate parity; where the ancient version of justice (lex talionis) that’s still widely practiced today provides justification for an excessive retaliatory response.

On the world stage, we are currently witnessing this with Israel’s war on Hamas terrorists who slaughtered 1,200 innocents; with Israel’s destruction of Gaza and a death toll that currently exceeds 34,000 innocent Palestinians. The heap of dead bodies are excused as unfortunate “collateral damage;” with the justification the offender who initiated the latest crisis in this long-standing conflict used the innocents as human shields.

The whole notion of retaliatory justice is firmly entrenched in Old Testament scripture (e.g. Ex. 21:23-25; Lev. 24:19-20; Deut. 19:21). “An eye for an eye” is the typical response in every generation. It might begin with a juvenile’s playground defense of “he hit me first,” to those who endorse and support capital punishment, to nation states who equate security with deterrence in the form of maintaining a bigger arsenal with which to disproportionately respond to the aggressor in the perpetual struggle to maintain a precarious balance of power.

There are, of course, the occasional prophets and martyrs who come along in every era of human history who offer an alternative to the cycle of violence; like Ghandi, or MLK. And then there once was that Galilean peasant sage, named Jesus, from the same Judeo-Christian faith tradition as the scriptures quoted above; who flatly rejected the whole premise of retaliatory justice with his injunction to “turn and offer the other cheek” when slapped (Mt.5:39-40).

But then -- in what is considered one of his most authentic teachings -- Jesus goes even further, offering the offender everything he’s got. Want my shirt? OK, take my coat, as well (Mt. 5:41-42)

Biblical scholars sometimes describe such a pithy saying as comical parody; since a literal interpretation of what he’s suggesting would leave the offended stark naked! The point, of course, is to instead expose something much more blatant; which is that the delusional notion that a retaliatory response of like kind will really solve anything is the real joke.

So, what lies beyond the scales of justice? Or even beyond the presumed naiveté the cynics typically dismiss as unrealistic for the “real world;” about which I’ve been ruminating about in my last few commentaries?

There are a number of other words that can be associated with the notion of retaliation: retribution, revenge, pay-back, etc. Getting even is often equated with restoring a sense of balance to the scales of justice. And, then there are other terms like restitution for the one who’d been offended; along with rehabilitation for the offender, with the subsequent calculations of recidivism. After a while it may feel like we’re just going around in circles, and not getting anywhere. And, getting nowhere is not much different than trying in vain to get somewhere other than a dead end.

Getting nowhere is not much different than trying in vain to get somewhere other than a dead end.

Just as non-violence has always ultimately been the only adequate response to violence, so too has forgiveness – in the end -- been the only way out of any other dead-end choices to injustice. It is the liberating act that frees the forgiver; whether it converts the heart of the offender, or not.

An offense does not have to be violent for this fundamental principle to be personally experienced. Think of a time in your own life when you may have suffered an unjustified accusation that had serious consequences, initiating a fight-or-flight choice. To walk, not run, away may have subsequently turned out to be what I’ve sometimes described as the “unwelcome gift” that resulted in a new life chapter one could not have otherwise imagined or chosen for oneself. Look around and see for yourself this naked truth. It is the only truly hope-full path.

The Naked Truth, Exposed

Sometimes, if we want to find signs of this kind of hope, perhaps we just need to look around and see our tattered and weary world a little differently. The other day we took Nellie, the family dog, to her favorite off-leash beach along the Pacific coastline. On the way we stopped at the local gas station to fill up the tank. A security guard’s truck was ahead of us, and when we pulled up behind it I read on the back window what I assumed was supposed to be some added reassurance, proclaiming “In God We Trust.”I thought to myself, in that case, then why the need for additional security in a world that goes to such disproportionate lengths to obtain it?

Then there was the usual heavy traffic at the Bay Bridge toll plaza; providing plenty of time as we crawled along to read the billboard advertisements for injury lawyers, the latest tech innovations, etc. But among them was also a bigger-than-life picture of Jesus, delivering a simple message, “I trust in you.”

Suspecting it was a fundamentalist’s creedal statement instead of one of the Galilean sage’s adapted wisdom sayings, I muttered to myself my own interpretation of what Jesus might have meant. He trusts us. Either that, or I can trust in a few simple truths he taught us that can set us free.

Then, on our way back from the beach, we stopped by our favorite bakery in San Francisco’s Ferry Building to grab a baguette for supper. There, standing outside for all the world to see, was a man clothed in nothing but a hat, some pink slippers and a sock covering his genitals …

Yep, another crazy street person, one might have easily assumed. But I’d prefer to think it may have been a more authentic portrait of that ancient sage, expressed in the form of parody; and revealed by one of his faithful followers, where someone in need had asked him for his shirt, and he’d given his coat, his pants and undergarments, as well!

© 2024 by John William Bennison, Rel.D.  All rights reserved. This article should only be used or reproduced with proper credit. To read more commentaries by John Bennison from the perspective of a progressive from the Christian faith tradition go to the Archives.