Whenever I used to give a talk with youth on nonviolence, I would have them all
walk around the room in a circle. Unbeknownst to everyone else, beforehand, I
would ask one or two people to walk in the opposite direction as everyone else.
This was an exercise in understanding what it is like to be countercultural.
Afterwards, I would ask them to share their thoughts on how it felt to be moving
differently than everyone else. Overwhelmingly, people felt lonely, intimidated,
uneasy, nervous. Although, as soon as other folks started to move with them, it
became less intimidating and isolated. It may seem lonely at the start and what
you’re up against may seem ginormous, but as long as your foundation is set in
the love, truth, and courage of Jesus Christ, you are never alone. Why? God is
doing the same work of transformation in others for His glory as He is doing for
you, and He will send them your way. I love to use the example of Clarence
Jordan. While in seminary, he realized God’s command to “love one another”
wasn’t the reality of Jim Crow segregation in the 1940s. So, he and others co-
founded Koinonia Farm, a community of folks being the living example of
scripture as it pertains to diversity, equity, and inclusion. It was met with bombs,
bullets, and boycott, by the KKK, but who won in the end? God. God said I see
what you are doing. I’ll send folks your way to bear witness to the eventual
creation of Habitat for Humanity. Then He said, “I still see what you are doing.
I’ll set aside some folks from the community to bear witness to the creation of
Jubilee Partners, a refugee advocacy community. Somebody needs to give
praise to a counter-cultural God today!
Matthew’s synoptic gospel chapter 5 captures Jesus’ message of being
creatively countercultural and subversive through radical love and resistance in a
more robust and concise way than Luke’s gospel.
“You have heard that it was said.. ‘You shall not murder,’ … But I say to you that
if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you
that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery
with her in his heart.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, … But I say to you that anyone who
divorces his wife,
“Again, you have heard that it was said…‘You shall not swear falsely…But I say
to you: Do not swear at all,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I
say to you: Do not resist an evildoer.{or try not to get even} {or try not to hit back}
But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, “You have heard
that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to
you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Subversion to
the max.
Everyone thought with all their heart that they were following God’s way, but
Jesus came to set the record straight, to open the eyes of the blind and to help
them see the true path of God.
These scripture lessons are the foundational pillars of Henry Thoreau’s writing
Titled “Civil Disobedience” which inspired nonviolent resistance movements in
India with Ghandi, which in turn inspired nonviolent resistance movements in
America with Martin Luther King Jr., In his autobiographical book, King writes:
"during my early college days, I read Thoreau’s essay on ‘Civil Disobedience’ for
the first time… I became convinced then that non-cooperation with evil is as
much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.”
Jesus went up a mountain and sat down. His disciples, as well as a large crowd,
gathered around to hear Him speak. The sermon on the mount was meant to
transform their ways of thinking. It was a message for the oppressed, those
taken advantage of, the down trodden, and those shunned and neglected by
society. It was a message of hope…God is still shining blessings upon you… it
was a message of radical love (love your enemies)…and it was a message of
creative nonviolent resistance to oppression. Walter Wink, a theologian,
biblical scholar, writer, and nonviolence proponent, breaks down Matthew’s
gospel chapter 5: 38-42 in this way. He first removes us from the viewer’s
cultural lens of today and sets us in the cultural time of Jesus.
“if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also
The left hand was considered defiled, so no one used it other than to wipe
their butt. So in order to hit someone’s right cheek, you would have to
back hand them with your right hand. A back handed slap is meant to
degrade and diminish the humanity of another. By offering the left cheek,
the person striking you would have to hit you with an open palm or fist.
That signified equality with the person, thus bringing back a sense of
dignity to the one struck.
if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give your coat as well,
Jesus was aware of the oppression of the poor through loans, debt, and
debt collection. It went against Jewish law to keep someone’s cloak
overnight. By giving them your inner and outer clothes, it brought shame
upon the collector to see someone’s nakedness. This also brought dignity
back to the oppressed.
and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.
Roman soldiers forced the Jews to carry their shied, helmet, or other
heavy equipment for one mile, even if you were going in the opposite
direction. They could not go more than a mile because that went against
Roman law. By carrying the load an extra mile, it took the disgrace and shame
away from the Jew as well as put the soldier in a precarious
position. He could be punished if word got back to the centurion.
How can we as Christ’ manifestations here on earth be so bold and creatively
countercultural to the chaos of today? It all starts with ourselves then moves
outward. I am in constant refinement, asking God to purify me in every way.
Some days I move too slow, other days I go as the world goes. But most days, I
seek out God to help me understand my complicity with the world and to give me
the courage to take a stand for truth, justice, mercy, and most of all for love. So
ask yourself, am I are going with the flow of the world, or am I moving counter-
culturally? Take the time to question your life. Ask God if your ways are in
accordance with His way or the world’s way. We don’t have to change every
aspect of our lives overnight. As we seek to learn more and more about how the
world is operating in antithesis to scripture, in antithesis to Jesus, we should also
look at our own complicity with it. Once our eyes are opened, that is when we
take a stand to be on the right side of God.
Scripture says “ Do not rob the poor because they are poor or crush the afflicted
at the gate, for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil
them.” -where do you stand on the dismantling of Medicaid, Medicare, Snap
benefits, Head Start and other social safety nets for people in need?
Scripture says “love one another as I have loved you” - where do you stand on
diversity, equity, and inclusion which goes beyond the man-made construct of
race and into the heart of God’s artistic love for all of us?
And scripture says “thou shalt not kill” (re-translated to murder)- where do you
stand on the senseless persecution of Jews and Muslims around the world, the
senseless killing of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and the death
dealing and death eating of the military industrial complex through the massive
sales of arms around the world for profit?
I pray we take the time to seek refinement in God’s fire. Allow Him to purify your
soul as the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to the truth. I pray you take a stand
against injustice and build community as a counter-cultural method against the
chaos that surrounds us. Build a community that prays for others, becomes a
voice for the voiceless, and a community that is able to catch folks when the
bottom drops out. Build a community that says no to the evil sins of racism,
materialism, and sexism. Build a community that feeds neighbors, visits, calls,
and checks in on folks. Check in on elders. Check in on folks who are sick.
Check in on how the children are doing. Build a community where folks can be a
shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen. And build a community that is diverse,
equitable, and inclusive of all of God’s children. I pray we be this community for
one another and our neighbors, and I pray we do it all in the holy name ofJesus Christ our Lord. Amen