Radical Kindness

Some of the teachings of Jesus are difficult to understand. One example is his exhortation of “Love your enemies.” I am sure that most of you have heard this passage from the Sermon on the Mount. They sound like madness. From Matthew 5:

You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5: 38–42)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once delivered a sermon on this very topic of loving one’s enemies. At the beginning of his sermon, he highlighted its seeming impracticality:

Certainly these are great words, words lifted to cosmic proportions. And over the centuries, many persons have argued that this is an extremely difficult command. Many would go so far as to say that it just isn’t possible to move out into the actual practice of this glorious command. They would go on to say that this is just additional proof that Jesus was an impractical idealist who never quite came down to earth. So the arguments abound. But far from being an impractical idealist, Jesus has become the practical realist. The…