Jesus might have been loving, kind, and good, but he wasn’t very practical. As he closes out this first section of the Sermon on the Mount, it is pure Gospel we hear today that supercedes the law of last week. And Jesus shows us just how impractical the Gospel actually is. He instructs the disciples and us, to...
...offer no resistance to wicked people who might hurt or offend you;
...turn the other cheek if someone hits you on one side of the face;
...give your coat as well as your shirt to anyone who asks;
...go farther than you have to when you are pressed into service by someone;
...respond generously to everyone who asks for financial help or a loan.
Those maxims are surely lovely to contemplate in one’s mind, but it would be totally ridiculous to live according to them. From th…