“Third Way of Jesus”
Matthew 5:38-48
“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. 42 Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.”
Buried deep in the Sermon on the Mount, which we’ll be reading in detail this Epiphany season, is this admonition to creative resistance to the powers that be. While this passage can be read as a directive to passivity, Walter Wink offers a powerful interpretation of this passage which frames this text as a “third way” of creatively transforming violent and unjust situations.
In our ministry at the University of Minnesota, we are committed to standing with those on the margins of the campus, and the larger community. The students hold deep theoretical commitments about why this matters, and sometimes even what should be done about it.
And still, it’s sometimes hard to figure out what to actually do about our deeply held convictions, grounded in faith, that God shows up on the margins, and that we’re called to love and look out for our neighbor.
So, during Lent this year, we’re going to be offering a four part series that fleshes out this “Third Way of Jesus” that Walter Wink talks about, offering concrete tools to put those values and faith in action. We’ll be gathering at 7:30, on Wednesday nights, at Grace University Lutheran Church:
- To learn what it means to intervene as a bystander…
- How to participate in basic advocacy…
- How to have conversations across lines of difference and…
- How art and spoken word function as a tool of both resilience and resistance…
We’re so excited about this that we’re opening it up to the broader community, and are hoping for an intergenerational community of people to emerge, committed to supporting one another and working to make the world a better place – in dorm rooms, board rooms, and everywhere in between.
Keep your eyes out for Facebook invitations, or check our website for details as they emerge. We’d love to have you as a part of this conversation!
