The Second Mile
“And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
Matthew 5:40-42
As Jesus stumbled along the Via Dolorosa, bearing His heavy cross, Roman soldiers, watching, grew impatient waiting for Him, so they pressed from the crowd a man named Simon of Cyrene.[1] Simon was given the awesome responsibility of carrying the cross on which the Savior would be raised, high above the earth. Simon’s name is remembered because of this, one act. There is some evidence that he may, later, have become a believer in the One whose cross he bore.[2]
The soldiers had every right to compel Simon to help Jesus. Under Roman law, the citizens of occupied Palestine were required to offer their assistance, when told to do so. There were limits on what they could be expected to do, but they could not refuse. Naturally, this was a source of great resentment among the Jews. And yet, in this text, Jesus says that the person who is compelled to go one mile should offer to go two. The person of whom a tunic is requested should not hesitate to give a cloak as well.
Once again, Jesus is anxious to distinguish between the letter of the Law and the generous interpretation of the heart. He points out how much better it is to give of oneself graciously, not grudgingly, and that it is always better to offer help instead of criticism. Jesus knows, and so do we, that it is impossible to legislate good behavior. If someone needs help in carrying a burden then the right thing to do is to offer to help for as long as is needed. Only the pedant counts his steps, measuring out mercy by the yard. Should we help to the limit of the Law, or should we continue until the need is met? The answer is obvious. Jesus Himself was not miserly when He offered His life’s blood for our salvation. There is nothing calculated about Calvary. Jesus did not give just enough of Himself, He gave all that He had to give in order that we might receive the full riches of His grace. He did not spare Himself in offering His life as a sacrifice. In the same way, our lives are not to be ruled by pedantry. If we parcel out our service to others in carefully measured quantities then all we do is to demonstrate that we do not have the first idea about grace.
Help me, good Lord, in all things,
to measure myself not against the standards of this world,
but against the mercy that has been shown to me in Christ.
Take away the pride that makes me stand on ceremony.
Let me think of nothing as being beneath me.
Instead, let me stoop to serve,
just as Jesus stooped to rescue me.
Amen.
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