Today’s second lectionary text was not really preached this morning at church. It was commented on, for our pastor trusted that we would see the words which applied. He reflected on his life and thought at the moment that he did not have many who hurt him… and then as he did this he was reminded of this one, or that one, or that one. And how he was to preach context.

So I’m going to precis what he said about the second text now, and then move to the first. He said that the Jews to whom he was teaching knew the law and knew theology. And thus, when he started with the law (the lex talonis: he is referring to this.

Exodus 2122“If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. 23“But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, 24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

26“If a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave, and destroys it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye. 27“And if he knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let him go free on account of his tooth.

Now, Jesus says something different here. We are not to go for payback, for what the Maori call Utu, and what we would call justice. If someone has harmed us, they should pay — even if it was something as ephemeral as our feelings or reputation. Instead we are to pray for them.

For Barry argues that the text uses the word perfect — and it means not a state of complete righteousness, but instead a state to which we strive to attain. That we are on a journey: that Christ wants us to be more like him. And calling us to bless and do good to those who have harmed us is a work of charity and mercy. In the lectionary today there is an example of what it means to be holy — not reaping to the edge of your fields so that the poor can glean.

But in this we need wisdom.

Proverbs 1:20-33

²⁰Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice. ²¹At the busiest corner she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: ²²“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? ²³Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you. ²⁴Because I have called and you refused, have stretched out my hand and no one heeded, ²⁵and because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, ²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you, ²⁷when panic strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. ²⁸Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me. ²⁹Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, ³⁰would have none of my counsel, and despised all my reproof, ³¹therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices. ³²For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them; ³³but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.”

Matthew 5:38-48

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; ⁴⁰and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; ⁴¹and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. ⁴²Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Now, after Kirk I had a couple of quick conversations. The first was with a colleague: we noted that we have a load of work and we need to take things home: at present it’s taking something like 10 hours per hour for me to write lectures (in part because I write them in html5, and in part because the fields we are teaching at present — psychosis and early intervention — are moving very rapidly). I’m also on deadlines for Cochrane, and have reviews. We are busy: wasted hours now have an opportunity cost. This is being reinforced by my son, who starts lectures next week — most days at 8 a.m.

We have to be wise. We have to be crafty. There is nothing incompatible between wisdom and perfection: wisdom is a tool for perfection.

And herein lies one of the difficulties with justice. Perfect justice is terrible: for in a perfect justice system all would be condemned: our secret sins and our lies would become exposed to all.

Instead we are to be judged by the measure we judge by. As Christ was merciful to us — at great cost — he commands us to be merciful to others. To not account our faults, and always pay our debts, but to forgive them.

Otherwise we look like fools.

It’s come to my attention (multiple times now) that the students at the all women’s college Wellesey are freaking out over the statue pictured above. As some of my readers may know, I graduated with an Art degree. As a result of that I know for a fact that this is not very obscene as far as art goes. He has his underwear on and isn’t doing anything remotely sexual or threatening. Yet the students, many of them apparently feminists, are freaking out saying that the statue is “triggering” and talking as if the mere presence of a statue that looks like a man somehow makes their campus an unsafe place.

Defendant Steyn has said substantially the same things or worse about the fraudulence of Plaintiff’s hockey stick for many years in far more prominent publications in Australia and other jurisdictions without attracting legal action by Dr Mann. It cannot be the intent of the First Amendment that it should leave citizens of the United States with fewer rights to free speech than those of countries that remained within the British Empir

The Fascists are in this way like Pharisees: they look with exquisite care for the small faults people make against the discourse or narrative that is accepted and damn them completely, while ignoring great injustices: they see the speck in your eye and ignore the hunk of wood in their own eye. They demand recompense for the faults they found in their revised history: not seeing that they are just as imperialist as the Victorians they condemn.

Wisdom and self reflection requires us to both be merciful and to continually reform ourselves. That is called growth and life: anything else is decay and death. Choose carefully.

UPDATE

This made me laugh.

@johnthelutheran @spectator @MarkSteynOnline Likely. Understand magazine trying to rid rolls of those who move their lips while reading.

— Joe McDermott (@bdamages) February 13, 2014