Why Turn the Other Cheek

Over the weekend I read Catholicism, by Bishop Robert Barron. It is a wonderfully instructive and concise view of the Catholic faith. 

Among the many things he addressed, one which came across powerfully dealt with Christ's famous order to turn the other cheek. What is most often mistaken with that passage is that Our Lord is instructing us to meekness.

The joke is, He's not. The instruction to turn the other cheek is in fact revolutionary and defiant.

Jesus tells us that if we are struck on the right cheek, offer our left. It's important to notice that, because in ancient Israel you did nothing with your left hand; it violated cultural norms. To strike someone on the right cheek meant the attacker backhanded you. He had to hit your right cheek with the back of his right hand. He would not slap with his left because he could not, by rule, so to speak, use his left hand for anything.

In that light, offering your left cheek was a challenge, a dare. The person attacked would effectively be saying, what are you going to do now? It was you telling the striker he had no real power over you, that he had done all he could and there was nothing more he could do. His power was limited.

Ideally, such a bold action would cause the attacker to realize his evil and repent. But the key aspect isn't nonviolence (although that is the best possible result) but putting the other guy in his place, showing the world that you and not he occupy the higher moral ground. We are not going to let others trample us. We are in fact calling them out when we turn the other cheek.