If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Luke 6:29-30
“If [charity] is hard to give to anyone who asks, it is very much harder to let what belongs to us be taken without asking for it back. I say that it is hard, but I should really say that it seems hard, for “the yoke of the Lord is sweet and his burden is light.” The moment we accept it, we feel how light it is.”
Thérèse de Lisieux (1873-1897) in The Story of a Soul as recounted in The Quotable Saint ed. Rosemary Ellen Guiley (New York: Visionary Living, 2002) 23.
Thérèse is spot on! While the instructions of Jesus may seem hard to follow, when we obey them yoked to His side, He is sweet to lighten the burden for us. Additionally, we show the world that while we enjoy and use things, we don’t need them to find our peace and joy in life, because we have Him.
Pray for the families at Camp Spofford this week where I am teaching. We are looking at many of the “red letter” teachings of Jesus like the text above. Though His teachings may seem hard, are they really? My hope is that all will see that while many people scramble for and grasp tightly too all that they think they need, we can seek God first and live openhanded because we are yoked to the One who is everything we need.