Turn The Other Cheek

    So often we think of turning the other cheek as being a doormat for Jesus.  Isn't that  what He said?  Well, last Friday I was given a completely different perspective.  Rather than being submissive, turning the other cheek is standing your ground and by your refusal to retreat, mirroring your attacker's actions to them.  Now that sentence doesn't make sense to me (and I wrote it) but I have some great examples, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mother Teresa.  Talk about two strong, non-violent people who changed the world!

   One day, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was walking on a raised walkway beside a muddy street. Approaching from the opposite direction came a white man.  The white man told him "I don't make way for gorillas."  The archbishop stepped aside, into the mud, made a deep sweeping gesture, and said, "Ah, yes, but I do."  What a great way to clarify the situation.

    The next story is from the life of Mother Teresa.  I had the privilege to work with the Missionaries of Charity (the order she founded) while stationed in the Philippines.  I have seen first hand the power of her convictions.  If I had to chose one word to describe their common life other than service, it would be pereseverance.  This fits in well with being struck on one cheek and offering the other.  The story that I was told is that one day Mother Teresa was begging for food for a young child.  They had gone to the baker.  He flatly refused and even spit on her.  Mother Teresa said, "Thank you for the gift for me, now could you please give this child some bread."
     I hope this gives you a bit of food for thought, now how to put it into practice....