Matt Pritchard

Within My Right

// August 24th, 2006 // Commentary

I was at the Urban Prayer Breakfast this morning and had a long conversation with one of my friends, Shawn. Shawn is about my age and I always look forward to seeing him. He has a severe speech impediment (I think do to a brain injury of some sort). Today, he told me about his cousin who was murdered in the street last week. He related how he was a great guy and how his immediate family had reacted at the funeral. He also said that they didn’t know who did it and none of the witnesses were talking. He wanted to know who it was that killed him so that he could return the favor.

This cycle of revenge is age old. In fact, it’s a simple reality for most of the world, from the internal fighting in Iraq and Sudan to the age old battle between the sons of Ishmael and the sons of Isaac (hear an exegesis on this from my friend Tripp Sanders at http://www.newcity.org/audios/sermons/2006-07-09.mp3).

To be honest, often reprisals seem to me as just and right. Why should my friend not take the life of the man who’d taken the life of his family member. “An eye for an eye.”

Christ calls us to another way and I actually don’t think it’s because revenge is wrong or not within our right. As is often the case, Christ calls us from what is within our right to what is obedient. This sacrifice, this forfeiture encompasses much of the lesson of the Gospel.

His call does not stop with do not revenge, but continues with turn the other cheek and love your enemy. How would the world be different if we took His calling seriously?

Christ substituted His life for ours, and in that vain He bids us to sacrifice our lives for Him.

For some Christian Peacemakers this means volunteering to trade themselves with hostages seeking to incarnate the life and death of Christ. Many folks find this practice at best odd and ridiculous and at worse stupid and offensive. They fail to see even the practical implication that these Christian Peacemakers know our Savior while the hostages may or may not. What’s more, what a loud and resounding statement about Christ, that someone would give their life for someone who they don’t know and who may not even deserve it!

I’m inclined to agree that it is ridiculous, but certainly no more ridiculous than the creator of the universe leaving heaven to be mocked and murdered by His own creation. Christ will use the ridiculous to thwart the plans of the wise of this world for “greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13 NIV).