Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Dt 19 Purge the false witness
Deuteronomy 19:21 Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Here we stumble across the law of retaliation again, not as before (see Exodus 21:22ff; Leviticus 24:19ff) in the context of cases of criminal assault, but this time in context of a false witness.
The false witness seeks to use his or her words to pervert the courts for personal gain. This is not merely an assault on truth and decency, but an assault on the whole community. The false witness undermines the enterprise of justice. Here, the law of retaliation feels most appropriate.
"19 you shall do to the false witness just as the false witness had meant to do to the other. So you shall purge the evil from your midst."
But it is almost impossible for a Christian to read these words with recalling how Jesus worked with them:
Matthew 5: (38) "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' (39) But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;(40) and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; (41) and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile."
Our contemporary Quaker theologian, Walter Wink, has taught us to read these words in the context of the occupation of Israel by the Roman army, and to see in Jesus' teaching the clever arming of an oppressed people with the weapons on nonviolent resistance. I'm sure that he is right.
But, even so, the underlying truth is that spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr.: only love has the power to turn an enemy into a friend. Jesus teaches his techniques of "non-resistance" as an alternative to the law of retaliation in the hopes of bringing restoration. Even in the context of Deuteronomy's concern with the false witness, Jesus' words raise the possibility that the deceiver may be reached and restored into the life of the community. This is better than mere justice. This is grace and truth.
But if we cannot have Gospel, let us at least have justice. Here, I am Ghandian: nonviolence (the way of Jesus) is only for the strong.
Of course, our contemporary situation is not Roman occupation of Israel, but American domination of much of the world. This text reminds us of the importance of truth speaking to the maintenance of a just community. Unfortunately, at the centers of power, false witness has become the norm. This text asks us to purge that evil from our midst.
Click "comments" to respond or add your thoughts.
Here we stumble across the law of retaliation again, not as before (see Exodus 21:22ff; Leviticus 24:19ff) in the context of cases of criminal assault, but this time in context of a false witness.
The false witness seeks to use his or her words to pervert the courts for personal gain. This is not merely an assault on truth and decency, but an assault on the whole community. The false witness undermines the enterprise of justice. Here, the law of retaliation feels most appropriate.
"19 you shall do to the false witness just as the false witness had meant to do to the other. So you shall purge the evil from your midst."
But it is almost impossible for a Christian to read these words with recalling how Jesus worked with them:
Matthew 5: (38) "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' (39) But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;(40) and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; (41) and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile."
Our contemporary Quaker theologian, Walter Wink, has taught us to read these words in the context of the occupation of Israel by the Roman army, and to see in Jesus' teaching the clever arming of an oppressed people with the weapons on nonviolent resistance. I'm sure that he is right.
But, even so, the underlying truth is that spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr.: only love has the power to turn an enemy into a friend. Jesus teaches his techniques of "non-resistance" as an alternative to the law of retaliation in the hopes of bringing restoration. Even in the context of Deuteronomy's concern with the false witness, Jesus' words raise the possibility that the deceiver may be reached and restored into the life of the community. This is better than mere justice. This is grace and truth.
But if we cannot have Gospel, let us at least have justice. Here, I am Ghandian: nonviolence (the way of Jesus) is only for the strong.
Of course, our contemporary situation is not Roman occupation of Israel, but American domination of much of the world. This text reminds us of the importance of truth speaking to the maintenance of a just community. Unfortunately, at the centers of power, false witness has become the norm. This text asks us to purge that evil from our midst.
Click "comments" to respond or add your thoughts.
