atthew 5:38-42 | Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd | Offer the wicked man no resistance

Matthew 5:38-42 Offer the wicked man no resistance

The Knotted Gun, Modelled by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, Conceived in 1985, Cast bronze © Christian Art Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.’ READ MORE Reflection on the Bronze Sculpture Non Violence, also known as The Knotted Gun, is a sculpture by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd. Sculpted as an oversized Colt Python 357 revolver, its muzzle is tied in a knot and therefore unusable. The artist made the sculpture after the murder of John Lennon. In 1988 it was moved right outside the UN headquarters in New York. Since 1993, the sculpture has been the symbol of the Non Violence Project, a non-profit organisation which promotes social change through violence-prevention education programs. It is a very effective sculpture, as in a split second we immediately engage with it and know its meaning… …so do we immediately engage with the reading of today when Christ mentions ‘an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’. We immediately know what it is about: Jesus teaches non violence in an emphatic way. To answer violence with violence takes us into a self-destructive spiral. Jesus prompts us to answer violence with non violence, and He tells us that will be freeing.  As it is an unexpected response, it might just get the violent perpetrators to consider their own actions... by Patrick van der Vorst