YOU MUST BE CASSIUS CLAY

Now after  we have been following Christ unfolding and explaining in the detail His “Mission Statement’, or, we could call it His ‘Programme’, or, further still His ‘Magna Carta’, when on the mountain He spoke about the Beatitudes; those were only the headlines. Now, the story is unfolding itself by giving more details and making it clear that ‘Rejoicing’ is not a state to be enjoyed ‘by right’, and ‘solely’ by the wealthy, by the powerful leaders of the state and of the Temple, by the priests and high priests in the days of Jesus. That is what the common man in the street; the sick, the maimed, the widows, the orphans and the women were made to believe because of the erroneous teachings of the Scribes and Pharisees.

NOW, Christ is telling one and all that the Kingdom of Heaven is there for all who cared to work for it; irrespective of class, social standing or the financial situation. He repeats quite often that now-famous statement: “You have heard what was written ….” or a similar statement, “You have learned what you were told…” BUT, “I tell you.”

Here we have the new law-giver, the new Moses, who is speaking with authority, the authority of God Himself, Authority itself. Yes, for a number of centuries the people had to be led, controlled, guided by such laws as ‘a tooth for a tooth’ and ‘an eye for an eye’. But before those laws were enacted (you can still see them engraved on stone at the Louvre) the people were living in a disorganised society; my neighbour steals a chicken from me and in revenge I steal his three cows. Some sense of justice had to be put into their heads. But, now, Jesus wanted the people, His ‘chosen people’, to stop and think. Up to that time, forgiveness was an unknown word, an ignored sentiment, a forgotten virtue, call it what you will. This was the Lex Talionis, a sort of tit-for-tat Law.

He mentioned many an example. One of these examples was well understood by His people, but not by us. I’m referring to that verse wherein He says: ‘If a man slaps you on the right cheek…’ not to retaliate and offer the other side. When Jesus was slapped on His face during the Trial He did not turn His other cheek. Certainly not, because what He said before, in this Gospel text, was a reference to a Jewish phrase or idiom; meaning accept the offence with calm and forgiveness for the love of God.

Have you ever stopped to think about those specific words: ‘slaps you on the right cheek’? That is something very ubnormal, rather impossible. If we had to slap someone we usually use the right hand (I know there are those who are left-handed, but that is an exception). We normally use the right hand and automatically the slap lands on the ‘left’ hand cheek. A greater effort has to be made to strike someone on the right cheek, you must be a Cassius Clay.

Of relevant importance is His other example: “ … if your friend wants your dress let him have your tunic as well.” Now when He mentioned ‘tunic’, Jesus knew, and the people ALL knew what the ‘tunic’ meant. The Jews used to go about wearing their tunic especially when going on a pilgrimage or voyage. What was this tunic? This served as their bed for the night to sleep on; it served as their blanket to cover themselves up because of the cold in the night; it had two deep pockets on the inside, one on each side, the whole length of the coat. In these pockets they used to carry their belongings; money precious objects, food, certainly some oil and wine and what takes their fancy.

So giving up your cloak, your mantle meant giving up everything you possessed in life. That is just what Christ had in mind: Do not hesitate to help those in need even if means surrendering all you have, as long as help the needy. Yes we do need understand certain phrases that reflect the Jewish belief and tradition to grasp clearly the words of Jesus and His message.

LOVING THOUGHTS ABOUT ‘MY VALENTINE’

Before the end of day I must show and declare my unconditional gratitude and love to ‘My Valentine’. Not that it’s so important to show my love on the 14th of February; ‘true love and gratitude’ are part and parcel of every single day, of every single act, word or deed.
I owe my very existence to ‘My Valentine’; I owe every breath to ‘My Valentine’; I owe my life to ‘My Valentine’.

No number of roses, freshly picked from Kew Garden will suffice to show my love and gratitude; no gold diamond or silver gift will do enough honour to ‘My Valentine’; no number of chocolate boxes, not even a whole chocolate factory will show my gratitude and love to ‘My Valentine’. For these reasons I never send a Card to ‘My Valentine’.

Yes, I do keep a photo, rather an image of ‘My Valentine’ in every room, in most of the books I read during the day; I express and declare my love and gratitude to ‘My Valentine’ every morning, during the day and before going to bed. I faithfully keep the promises I made to ‘My Valentine’ … and in a most scrupulous way.

I celebrate the day with great joy, that day when ‘My Valentine’ was born …on the 25th of December. “My Valentine was born in cold and misery to show me His love and ultimately, to save me, He Himself died on the cross.
Thank You, Jesus, You are ‘My Valentine’.

CHRIST LIVED IN A DIFFERENT ERA THAN OURS

The title is not reference to A.D. 30 as compared to our era. It certainly WAS a very different era. It is not referring to the fact that ‘salt’ in those days was not as good as the ‘salt’ we use nowadays, because our salt never loses it savour and flavour.  That would be a false assumption. Though according to Christ’s words we are bound to think on those lines.

When Jesus says that ‘if salt loses its flavour, it’s of no use any more, but to be thrown out in the street, to be trampled upon’, He was referring to the salt when applied to certain uses.  He had in mind the salt used in their ovens. The Jews used to make their own oven to bake. This was a hole in the ground, about two feet deep and a base of about one foot square. In the bottom of this pit they used to put layers of salt, on it pieces of wood and dry branches. They covered all this with clay tiling. When they set fire to the wood, the salt helped in keeping the fire going; the tiles would become hot and then place the dough on them to bake, turning it every now and then.

Why did Christ mention this as an example? For the simple reason that every family had this home-built oven. It is a fact that after days of burning, the salt would not retain the power to remain hot, so it would not serve the purpose any more. They would change the old salt with a new amount and, presumably throw away the old salt into the street, ‘to be trampled upon’. So Christ was not talking rubbish. One has to know about the culture of the people Christ was living.

Now what is more important is the reference and application Christ had in mind. We all know the importance of salt, even nowadays. But in the days of  it was more widely used; to give a pleasant taste to food, to keep meat from going bad, and, besides others, to use in contracts. When signing a contract the Jews used to exchange a fistful of salt as a sign that the contract is to be respected and remain binding. It is still used nowadays in the Sacrament of Baptism. The word ‘salary’ is derived from the word ‘sale’ which means ‘salt’, and the Roman soldiers were even given an amount of salt with their pay.

The importance of salt has to be applied to every Christian. It is we, who believe and follow the Teachings of Jesus Christ, are addressed as ‘the salt of the earth’. It is we who have to give flavour, leave a good taste, a good impression if we are true witnesses of Christ. If we fail in our duty, in word and action, we shall be thrown out ‘to be trampled upon’ in other words we will become worthless.

WE have to keep in mind that Christ had to speak and apply the imagery understood by His hearers. For this reason His examples are taken from His everyday life, about things, incidents and happenings in the daily life of the Jewish people.