Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

• Matthew 5:38-48

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

• John 13:34-35

“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

• Luke 12:49-53

Boilerplate

I’m Harold Dykstra.  I’m retired, but I go to food bank distributions all over Tracy and talk to people that need someone who will listen to their story.  My time is well spent.  A police lieutenant suggested that I write down the conversations that I had with an angel.  I did not know she was an angel at the time.  The angel, for a little over a year, indwelled a life-sized posable action figure my children bought me, so that I would not be perceived as travelling alone.  And in a way, she was training me for what I do while talking to the needy.  She probed my heart to find out what I believed and how I express love for others.  She changed my life.  Oh, excuse me, angels have no gender, but the angel indwelled a doll named Bountiful Babs.  After seeing the angel in that form for over a year, I cannot see her in my mind in any other form.

In the last episode, we talked about the phrase, “Good Grief!”  But she had asked me to explain the concept of turning the other cheek.  Before a sales call, she kissed my cheek and then she tricked me into turning around, so that she could kiss the other cheek – not romantically, just a way for her to “bless” the sales call.  She had done it each morning since then.

But this morning, I was just splashing a little after shave on my face when those wax lips with no warmth pressed against my cheek.  The usual ruse followed, “Harold, look!”

This time I did not fall for it. “No, Babs, I am in a hurry.”

Then she whined, “Harold, you promised to tell me about turning the other cheek.  You have taught me many things, but you missed that one.  Harold, promise me when you get back.”

I turned to promise her, and she planted a kiss on my lips instead.  “Woah!  Babs, we promised we would not do such things.”

Babs said, “I’m sorry, I was aiming for the other cheek, and you stopped turning.  Please, teach me about that tonight.  It will be late, but you know I don’t need sleep, at least not much, and you can sleep in tomorrow.  It’s one of those driving to the next town days.”

I apologized for not continuing my turn.  I wished her well with her reading and her friend-making.  When we stayed two nights in a row in the same hotel, she got to know every employee at the hotel, and a few became good friends.  And she kept up with them on social media, my social media accounts, but she kept adding new friends, and she messaged those from past hotels.

When I arrived at the customer’s entrance, my company president was waiting for me.  He was excited that I had pulled off another big sale.  He said my secretary was wonderful.  She had told him to fly in for the contract signing, and she asked about his child that was sick.  He had no questions about who she was, who was paying her to be my secretary, or how my secretary knew his son was sick, as long as we had another big sale.  Twelve hours later, we had another ten-million-dollar sale, my second of the year, my company president was happily on his plane back to Tracy, and I was confused, having had no idea this was coming.

Babs hugged me at the door of the hotel room.  She said, “Today, we can celebrate your big sale with a Bible Study.”

I was thinking, ‘Sure!  Why not?’

She had the Gideon Bible turned to Matthew 5.

My brain was thinking that we could do this at a restaurant.  The company president and I worked through lunch.  The prefab cheese omelet, tiny cup of yogurt, and banana had long ago left me empty.

She saw the look on my face.  “Don’t worry, Harold.  The desk clerk is my new best friend, and she knew the best place for a nice meal, and they deliver.  I called them and the steak dinner for you and the crab cake for me will be here any minute.  I ordered a crab cake appetizer for you.”  She smiled.  She giggled.  And she crinkled her nose.

I nodded, knowing not to ask how she knew when I would get back.  “Okay, let’s get started.”  We had just read Matthew 5:38 through the end of the chapter.  And I asked her to recite John 13:34-35, which she did from her amazing memory.  And then there was a knock at the door.  The delivery guy said that the bill and tip would be added to the hotel bill.  My steak was cooked exactly the way I liked, and the crab cake was so welcome.  I always had crab cakes when I visited Maryland.  And again, I had grown to not ask how she knew that.

During the meal, she asked, “Jesus told us to turn the cheek.  He told us to love.  What better thing could I do for you than have you turn your cheek to kiss you on both cheeks?”

I replied, “An old NFL football player once told me that Jesus was referring to the practice in those days of goading someone into a fight.  They would either slap you on the face or they would remove their glove and slap you with the glove.  If you responded by doing the same, the fight was about to start and often they fought to the death.  The concept of duels remained until about 200 years ago.  Two famous politicians that were part of the founding of this country, the USA, were Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.  Burr, vice president under Thomas Jefferson, was from the rival political party to that of Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the Treasury under George Washington.  First, Burr had unseated Hamilton’s father-in-law in the U. S. Senate and the battle between these two led to a challenge and then the duel, even though duels had been outlawed.  So, what my NFL veteran friend said, we should turn the other cheek and let them slap that cheek also.  We were not to enter into a fight that was unjust or provoked by a moment of anger.  Burr and Hamilton had been battling with words for years, but it should have never become lethal.”

Babs scrunched her nose and asked, “So, you are saying that if the other person kept slapping, it might be allowable to slap back?”

I laughed, “My friend said that on the third slap, someone was going to hit the floor, but I don’t think Jesus meant that.  I do believe that Jesus would not condemn defending ourselves, but entering into a foolish fight?  I think we can be stronger people by walking away from provocation.  See how Jesus immediately tells us to love our enemies after He talks about turning the other cheek.  While the person tries to provoke us into an angry reaction, even if it is a battle of words, we should turn the other cheek so that we can try to pray a short prayer.  Then we can respond in a loving way.  Maybe we were wrong in provoking the other person to anger.  Maybe the other person just hates Jesus.  But if we can avoid the fight, we should show love to the ‘enemy,’ even if this person is only the enemy of the moment.  Then we should find a way to survive another day.  But if they press the issue, we should be able to defend ourselves.  But even that should be a last resort.”

Babs asked, “But I have heard people say Jesus was a pacifist, and then I read Luke 12.  It says Jesus did not come for peace, but to divide.  He even talks about division within a family.  How can you be a pacifist if you are battling within your own family?”

I laughed, “Now you are mixing apples and oranges, Babs.”

Babs looked at our little table.  “I see half of my crab cake.  I see half of your steak.  I see asparagus, fixed the way you like it.  I see some baby potatoes and the leftovers of our salads.  Where are the apples and oranges?”

I laughed even harder, “It is an old expression.  It means if you are talking about one concept, you should not mix in something that is not related to that concept.  While that may be hard to understand, the expression of apples and oranges is simple.  If you are counting the apples in a big basket, you do not count the orange that might be in the basket.  An orange in the basket does not give you one more apple.  In your case, there is a difference in the physical conflict inherent with turning the other cheek and the division within and between families, friends, and such like Jesus talks about in Luke 12.  But even then, those divisions can result in the other, the physical.  But to illustrate the apples and oranges thing, I think I saw an old Penn and Teller routine, or some similar act, on a summer replacement for the Dean Martin Show when I was very young.  One guy talked and in this little sketch, the other guy juggled.  The talker said that his friend could juggle amazing amounts of apples all at the same time.  He tossed three apples to the juggler, and the juggler started juggling.  Then the talker said, ‘four’ and he tossed his friend another apple.  Then five, his friend kept juggling, now with five apples.  Then they went to six.  The crowd roared with applause.  Then the talker picked up an orange, and he said, ‘Now, we’ll add an orange.’  At that point, all the apples flew in every direction, all over the stage and his friend tossed the orange from one hand to the other.  The two entertainers then packed up their stuff and left the stage wordlessly, never saying another word.  The audience was silent, until…”

Babs burst out laughing, “Until they realized that you can’t mix apples and oranges!”

I nodded and ate another bite of the steak.  “Babs, Mmmm, this steak is delicious.  You should try a piece.”  As I said that, I had a piece on my fork.  She bent in my direction and ate it from the fork.  “What?!”

Babs chewed and swallowed, “You said I could have a piece!”  We laughed, but then she got serious, “But why the division in a family?  Doesn’t God want families to show love to each other, teaching the children how to love God in the process?”

I replied, “Babs, remember when you said that I should be praying for Morrie, my son?”

She nodded, “Yes, he is the one that bought this body that I am in, a full-sized doll that is anatomically correct.  He might have bought one that was not anatomically correct, but I think he had the idea of borrowing your doll.  No way am I letting him touch me, but if he has those desires, it might mean he does not desire the things God wishes for him.”

I nodded, but my eyes were getting moist.  “Right, if the gates of Heaven opened right now and Jesus said for me to come to Him, I would run to Jesus.  I would not stay behind to try to convince Morrie that he is on the wrong path.  Morrie pretends to understand God.  He goes to church.  He has even been a deacon, but I do not think his heart is totally committed to serving God.  He is too interested in making a dollar, and I think he is unfaithful to his wife.  I have no proof, but his wife has complained to me that he spends too many long hours at the office, and sometimes she calls, and he does not answer his office phone.  All I can do is pray for him and set a good example.  But I have heard of families dividing with anger.  Odd, when someone refuses to believe in God but they get angry when you talk about God.  Why should they get angry with a God that they think does not exist?”

Babs asked, “Is that not one of the arguments that caused C. S. Lewis to start to think there might be a God?”

I nodded and quickly ate another piece of steak.  After all, she might want more.

Babs patted me on the arm, “Slow down, Harold.  I don’t want to do the Himmler Maneuver on you.”

I corrected her as I tried to chew.  “No, that is the Heimlich Maneuver.  Himmler was one of Adolph Hitler’s high command during World War II.”

Babs shrugged, “Himmler.  Heimlich.  I get confused.”  I did not believe that for a second.  “But now that we are on the subject of war.  How does that fit into all the wars in the Old Testament, Jesus talking about how we will always have wars and rumors of wars, and then Jesus wanting everyone to love one another?  If Jesus is a pacifist and He is God, why doesn’t He just send down a lightning bolt to end all these wars?”

As I put down my fork and knife to answer her question, she stole a piece of steak, giggling as she chewed it.

I growled, “You little sneak!  We’ll save that question for next time.  I am going to guard my steak before a war breaks out right here in this hotel room.”

Babs smiled, “And you have not even told me about your second ten-million-dollar sale today.  You talk of going to war with me, but you are a humble man, Harold.  And I can read your mind.  You still want me to kiss you on both cheeks, and even an accidental kiss on the lips, that is if you get a big sale that day.”  Then she sighed, “I think you only love me for the blessing you receive after my kisses.  Men!  Always after the money!”

She got up to grab her night clothing.  Since I could not get away with buying women’s clothing on my company credit card, I had bought some T-shirts and men’s boxers that I thought she could wear around the hotel room instead of her far-too-revealing lingerie.  Only problem was that she made the shirt and boxers look very attractive.  But the naughty bits, as she called them, were covered.

As she walked to the bathroom to change, I stopped her.  “Wait a minute, young lady.  I did not say you were excused.  Besides, on the way home from the plant, I saw an ice cream parlor.  To celebrate the ten and a half million-dollar sale, better than last time, we are going out to have a banana split.”

Babs gave me a pouty face, “Did they split the banana, just so we had to share it?”

I shook my head, “No, they split the banana, and then they put ice cream in between the halves with toppings and such.”

Then she giggled, “Then forget sharing!  I want my own.”  And she beat me to the door.

Credits

I do not think the act was Penn and Teller because their first act was in 1975, and this would have been late 60s, early 70s, at least before 1974.  Dean Martin took the summer off, and he had a series of comedy acts replace his variety show for the summer, most performing each week.  I remember a few of the acts like Stiller and Meara and Skiles and Henderson.  But the others are fading memories.  Come to think of it, it might have been Skiles and Henderson.

And of course, Babs had to charge the meal to the hotel room.  She is a doll, an animated doll, but a doll.  She has no credit cards, and Harold forgets to leave her adequate cash for such things.  I wonder what will happen when she decides that she wants to drive, and Harold explains that she needs a birth certificate?  That might get messy.  She only has a manufacturing date, and the day of her animation was not documented.  Hmmm.  Maybe she is an undocumented alien?  Nope, just Harold’s guardian angel, preparing him for a new career.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.