Midweek Faith Lift
July 31, 2019
Nonresistance….I Don’t Think So!
Rev. Deb Hill-Davis
What you resist, persists…..that can’t be true, can it? What you resist persists. Tell me that it’s not so! Otherwise, I am in a whole world of trouble; a world of hurt! WHAT DOES THIS MEAN….THIS NONRESISTANCE BUSINESS???
Abe Lincoln, described as a master of nonresistance by historian, H.G. Wells is said to have told this story about nonresistance;
Some years ago, I was passing a field where a farmer was trying to plow with a very old and decrepit horse. I noticed on the flank of the animal a big horsefly, and I was about to brush it off when the farmer said, ‘Don’t you bother that fly, Abe! If it wasn’t for that fly this old hoss wouldn’t move an inch!’” (Discover the Power Within You, p.88)
I can truly identify with that old hoss….if not for the thorns in my side, the fly on my rump, the rocks in my shoes, I am not sure I would move an inch. I would just settle in for the long haul, dodging the challenges and looking for escape routes everywhere I could, watching Netflix, playing computer Solitaire or Wordscapes until there was nothing else to do, nowhere else to run, no new way to numb OUT and then what??? Hmmm, good question! We had VERY limited Internet access on our vacation, so that question was very real.
Now what? My head self “knows” that the only way through it is through it, whatever “it” is for me. But when you have that situation that just won’t resolve or that challenge that just won’t clear up or that health condition that lingers just shy of really healing, then I just want to swat that fly, kill it if possible so I can make it go away! Whap! It’s gone! But guess what? Here’s another damn fly…..oh Lord, please tell me what I am doing wrong here?!?!? Give me a mantra, an affirmation, a denial, anything to get rid of what I am feeling, thinking, and experiencing right now!!!
What is it that I need right now if escape is not possible? Well Jesus had an answer and it is called the Law of Nonresistance and here is how it goes:
Matthew 5:29-30
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. (NRSV)
Wow, that is pretty strong! What does he mean by this? Butterworth says that what Jesus is telling us is that anything that stands in the way of our lives getting in the right consciousness of God, of our unity with Spirit, has to go. In the idioms of Aramaic, the language of Jesus, the “eye” is generally a metaphor for lustfulness, envy, covetousness and greed. And the “hand” means much the same thing, going even further to tell us not to take another’s good as our own and not to prevent their good. And even more, it is the “right” hand and “right” eye, which means it is a situation where your intent has been misjudged or where you have been unjustly or unfairly treated because you are in the “right!” For me, this is whenever I hear myself say, “I don’t deserve this, I wasn’t in this line!!!” The more intense the feeling behind it, the more directly the road to hell lies before me!
When we devolve into a victim consciousness, then our Way Shower is telling us to literally “cut it out” so that our whole body does not go into hell; a consciousness of hell. We may be tempted to lament, to whine, to regret but the message is DON’T GO THERE!! It may be very justified in our mind, but the message is still DON’T GO THERE!! Other people may tell us we are completely justified, but Jesus’ message is DON’T GO THERE!! Butterworth talks at length about marriage and how it is an incredible opportunity for personal growth. We love it when all is blissful and there is no conflict! That is vacation…..but then the minute we get home and back to the daily stress of life, it is easy to think, “I don’t have to stand for that!” When our partner becomes the fly on the horse’s rump, well, that is a different story! But maybe, just maybe, we are together to teach each other some kind of life lesson that awakens us to our new level of consciousness.
I don’t know about you all, but what I have learned, with Todd, is that when we argue or disagree about something, it is rarely really about the issue at hand. There is always something deeper for each of us. And when I don’t resist the lesson, the moment of humility, however painful it is, we are both better on the other side. That moment of true humility is what Jesus is talking about in letting go of your eye or hand that keeps you full of yourself and unable to move in consciousness to a higher level that is more closely aligned with Spirit, with Love. I used to believe “I told you so!” would be some of the sweetest words I could ever have the opportunity to say. That is not true at all….they are very sad words, no matter who says them.
And then there is even more from Jesus about the matter of retaliation, which is so near and dear to us in our human experience of resistance! Here is what Jesus says, later in this same chapter.
Matthew 5:38-41
Concerning Retaliation
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; 40 and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; 41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. (NRSV)
This passage has been so misunderstood and misapplied and used to justify mistreatment and abuse. That is missing the point completely. When we turn the other cheek, we are choosing to look at the situation from a completely different point of view. When we do that, the perpetrator of harm no longer has the power to control our reaction. Jesus is asking us to realize that we have the power to determine how we respond to anything that happens to us. When we resist, the immaturity, the evil persists. Instead, we respond in a higher consciousness, which lifts up everyone as no one determines how we are going to act.
An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind, as Dr. Martin Luther King said, and that is no good for anyone. Each injustice becomes an opportunity to cultivate greater compassion and understanding. It empowers you to determine the level of consciousness on which you meet and react to others. You determine your reaction and your course of action. You are not required to be a doormat or to tolerate abuse; rather you are empowered to speak up and take action on your own behalf that raises the consciousness for all involved.
When going the extra mile is demanded of you, as it often was of the Jews by the Romans, if you do so with a cheerful heart, the one demanding it cannot rob you of your joy. When you do only what is required, Jesus realized it is then that you are enslaved whether you are meeting the whim of an unreasonable employer or keeping the law of the land. To experience an abundant heart and a full life, you have to give more than is expected or demanded. When you go the second mile, you are deciding to be a cheerful giver and you are setting the terms. Under those conditions, your good will, undoubtedly, come back to you. That is the law of nonresistance in action!
Well, how does this all work out in real time? Well, let’s go back to those close and challenging relationships like marriage. What I have learned is that if I stop resisting what my dear husband wants or demands, I listen and say, yes, I hear you, and then I say yes, I am willing to do this, but not this, then, it seems like magic, because all of a sudden, we are working together to find the solution that works for both of us. It isn’t really magic; it is the law of nonresistance in action. It just seems like magic. When I get dug in and stubborn and I am taking his inventory and mentally calling him an idiot or worse, then the whole world goes dark and we are like the blind leading the blind. My prayer is that one of us has the good sense to let go and let God, so that we can create heaven together rather than hell.
Finally, there is one more direction from Jesus in Matthew Chapter 5:
Matthew 5:43-45
Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. (NRSV)
It is a powerful moment of awakening when we realize that the sun rises on those we might deem undeserving and the rain falls on the just and the unjust. One of my children got that lesson when she decided to go to the principal of her elementary school about the behavior of another student toward her. She registered her complaint and her “righteous” indignation. Then the principal did something completely unexpected! He actually asked the other student for their side of the story!! AND THEN HE BROUGHT THE TWO OF THEM TOGETHER TO WORK IT OUT!! How unfair was that!!! And then, by golly, they did work it out and decided to be friends!
The bottom line for all of us is that the final answer to all our conflicts is love and forgiveness, which brings us back to love. As Butterworth says, “Love is a divine energy that begins in God and has no end. We tune into this energy and are moved by it as it flows through us. Shakespeare says, “Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.” Discover the Power, p. 101.
Love is our limitless and empowered inheritance from our true Divine nature. May you, may we, always find our way back to Spirit through the power and energy of love.
Blessings on the Path,
Rev. Deb