Retribution

All the distress and retributions over the printings of cartoons, that demeaned the prophet Mohammed, have caused pain and outrage for many. But religion-based distress isn’t limited to the cartoons: the events of Northern Ireland, the burning of churches in America, the desecration of Jewish cemeteries and synagogues have all been catalysts for rage and the instinct for retribution.

Yet all the violence and burnings raise the issue of how we respond when we have an unqualified sense that others have done us wrong, What do we do with our outrage? Here the question is posed on an international scale, but it is a common experience in life.

The words of Jesus offer a Christian perspective, which sounds strange: ‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.’ This seems odd. It seems an invitation to a kind of persecution complex. If false things have been said, surely they must be put right. There must be protest and outrage and we must stand up for our rights. Yes?

Yet there is a deep strength to this understanding. Falsehood and suffering are normal parts of life. Big and small wrongs are committed every day. Throughout the world many people will be badly treated at work; neighbours will cause offence. The escalation of wrongs is also common.

When we feel wronged by others most of us feel able to justify, vociferously, our own bad reactions. ‘Well, he hit me first!’ It's said in international politics as well as in pre-school playground. What Jesus urges is that wrongs do not pass through me to someone else, but die in me. And when wrongs die, a great victory has been won.

Often, wrongs can live on for decades. Iran has yet to forget the Western support for Saddam Hussein in the killing of its people, nor has the West forgotten Iran's killing of the American hostages. Iraq has not forgotten the Shah of Persia imposed on them by a Western Government. And the back and forth of painful perceptions can continue to fester.

Much of this conflict is relived history, as are many family and religious disputes. Yet, Jesus' words to His followers means they are not to retaliate, even when people ‘falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.’ Christians are forbidden to take offence, and it is this principle that has to reign.

It's an extremely hard principle, and, sadly, too often ignored. It's also a great source of blessing. Leaving wrongs behind is wonderful, both for the offender and the victim. It renews relationships and opens up possibilities.

The business of annihilating wrongs is one of the greatest tasks of life, and Jesus both tells, and shows us, how to do it. As nails bit through His flesh and He suffered the outrage of others He prayed ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.’

Lord, grant us patient faith in times of darkness. Amen