I had a bad night's sleep. The muscles of my left thigh and groin were digging into me. After my dinner walk with Elsa, my back was bothering me. I have been using my psoas muscles and glutes more when walking. I suppose I am using the muscles that speed walkers use. This takes the weight off my knees. But, as with all things, there are consequences. The turn-outs in the hip region stretch those tight inner thigh muscles and cause discomfort. Again, the question: is this part of the healing process or the end of it? Either way, it resulted in a lot of tossing and turning for the night.
When I got up, I walked Elsa and got ready for church. Adam and Jazzy came over with Leon and Luke to talk to me about doTerra. They have become salespeople in the company. I hope it works out for them, and I'm interested in supporting them – up to a point. I am also interested in the product. I bought a package in the two hundred dollar range. They weren't here long because I already knew what I wanted to buy.
After they left, it was back to washing and ironing. I still have a lot to refresh, sort through, and get rid of.
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Musings:
The sermon today was on "turn the other cheek." Besides that example of how to deal with 'evil' people who mean you harm, it says, "if anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles." This is not one example of self-sacrifice instead of making a stand, but three. To boot, Jesus not only talked this talk, but he also walked this walk.
I understand that these words have been interpreted to mean, "Don't strike back; love your enemy." But I don't hear just that. These words, combined with Jesus's own actions, talk about martyrdom.
I spoke to someone else on the topic. They had an interesting insight into the possible meaning of the words. Jesus was speaking to his early followers. If they were going to be successful, that type of martyrdom was called for. A nonviolent, self-sacrificing approach sometimes is the most potent form of opposition. Think of the protests during the civil rights movement, the Selma to Montgomery marches. If these marchers had violently protested, it would have undercut their effectiveness. Their martyrdom made the validity of their argument clear to everyone. Likewise, the martyrdom of the early Christians convinced others of the validity of their beliefs. I don't assume that Jesus meant for everyone to be prepared for martyrdom in the face of all insults. I do believe that he meant for us to err on the side of forgiveness because he understood the damage we do to ourselves as well as others when we don't forgive. But forgiveness and martyrdom are not the same things.
I can choose to forgive someone for something terrible they did to me, but that does not mean I'm going to line up for a second assault. No, I'm not going to run down the street after a robber to push some additional items on him.
The priest who gave the sermon on this reading asked us what we would do if faced with someone who attacked us. Some people raised their hands and said, pray of the person. I raised mine and said it depended upon their intention. If it was their intention to hurt me, I would run like all get out. The priest said, "Wrong." Now, to his credit, he didn't speak English well. Perhaps he didn't hear what I said, but I'm inclined to think he did understand given the decisiveness of his answer. I thought of going up to him after church and digging a nail into his hand until he objected and then say, "Well now, give me your other hand." And see what he did.
However, I heard a great story about Mother Teresa. Some rich man spat in her face as she collected money for the poor and then berated her. She patiently wiped away the spittle and then said, "Thanks for what you gave me, but what will you give to help my poor people?" How's that for a real gotcha moment. The impact of her words stunned the rich man, and he gave a great deal of money to help her poor. Martyrdom, well-timed, pays off big time.
But then you have those who assume that role as a lifetime commitment, more so they can maintain their image than make a point. Yuck! Again, there's that narrow way to navigate what's best for ourselves and others. If we're out of whack, either way, that spells trouble for one and all. If we allow people to assault us indiscriminately, we are also codependent with their evil. There has to be a good that comes from such martyrdom.
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