"You have heard that it was said,
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
The law of talion is associated with honor and the principle of vendetta; and it's binding, meaning an injured party must seek revenge. An orphaned son or grieving brother must pursue the killer of one's father or brother and kill him.
Despite Jesus's greater authority talion is still with us. We see it among criminal gangs and appearing in America's partisan politics. We see it in children on the playground when they immediately hit back another child for an injury they've suffered, even if it was accidental. Sometimes, comically, the angry child will strike the table on which he's just bumped his head. Apparently, he has to do it! It's the law.
Shakespeare's Hamlet was commanded by King Hamlet's ghost to avenge his father, even if it meant killing the uncle who is also his mother's new husband. Orpheus, son of Agamemnon, was compelled to kill his father's slayer, but unfortunately Clytemnestra was his mother. We hear of that principle also in gang warfare on American streets and prisons.
Our civilizing Greek ancestors, who first experimented with democracy, posed the system of courts and judges as an alternative to the law of talion. Aeschylus's Oresteian Trilogy pondered the insane compulsion of talion and its resolution when the city of Athens took upon itself the decision to avenge injustice or choose clemency. The Furies, confident of Orestes' right to kill, demanded revenge but agreed to the trial. When they were disappointed by the jury's decision, they pursued the young man for the rest of his life. (Even while I was reading the book several years ago, a man met his daughter's killer at the airport when the FBI returned him to Minnesota, and murdered him.)
The law of talion has bound humanity since its conception. And Jesus has set us free. One person's evil act does not mean that the wronged party must do anything.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one to him as well.
We have seen this most clearly demonstrated in the Resurrection of Jesus. Talion said he. like Hamlet's father, came back from the dead to avenge his killers. And the Lord's list was long; it included Pontius Pilate, Caiphus, Annas, and the Sanhedrin. But there was also Judas, Peter, and the cowardly disciples. And the Roman empire and the Jewish religion. And, for that matter, all humanity. Which of us has not contributed their share of violence to an innocent man's death?
But the Lord has set us free. We do not avenge the death of Jesus. We need not strike back at anyone for doing us harm. And if we choose to do so, we cannot justify it in the name of Jesus. He does not stand behind us in our anger. In fact, his "but I say to you..." stands between us and our enemies.
For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.