Jesus sounds so naive. Everybody knows we must resist injury. Jesus says that after we've been hit on one cheek, we should turn the other. We'll seemingly get killed if we take His advice. However, the Sermon on the Mount is not "advice"; it is the Lord's command. Nonetheless, we rationalize that Jesus' message in the Sermon on the Mount is poetic, symbolic, anything but literal.

Sometimes Jesus does not speak literally, like when He said to gouge out our eye (Mt 5:29). So we're tempted to assume the Sermon on the Mount, especially this part of it, must not be literal. Yet Jesus did literally turn the other cheek, hand over His garments and walk the extra mile, even up Mount Calvary to be crucified (Mt 5:39-41). If we deny that the Sermon on the Mount is literal, we may be denying that we must imitate the crucified Christ. Jesus is literally calling us to make a U-turn, and live a radically different lifestyle. Following Jesus is not just a modification of a worldly life, but an utterly new way to live.

Will you decide to be a Christian on Jesus' terms — not as other people are, not as you want, but as He wills? Accept the Preacher and the preaching of the Sermon on the Mount.

Rescript:  †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July27, 2010

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