“Rome’s actions of intimidation and oppression were meant to wear down and overwhelm vulnerable communities. Each time that Rome enacts its methods of coercion, Jesus refuses the terms…
The description of the beatified community as one that will “turn the other cheek” is directed at people who already know what it is like to live in the trauma and violence of occupying Rome. Jesus is forming a new people, a body made for a different kind of life together, one designed for freedom and liberation. The followers of Jesus embody this freedom by refusing to reiterate the logic of power that animates the Roman Empire.”
—Melissa Florer-Bixler, How to Have an Enemy: Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace, p. 100
