The Dreamseller_ The Calling - Augusto Cury [75]
But not all the pairs had been successful. My friend Edson returned with two black eyes. He appeared to have fallen down or been punched a couple of times. We were curious to hear the story.
He told us that, after succeeding in winning over people with his selflessness and kindness, someone had offended him. He said:
“A fifty-year-old man asked me if I was familiar with the Sermon on the Mount. I said I was.” Edson’s voice caught in his throat. He was a little ashamed. Trying to encourage him, I asked, “But isn’t that a good thing?”
“Yes, but the problem is that he asked me to recite some of the words from the sermon, which I did enthusiastically because I knew the text by heart.” Edson paused again. He started to turn red. His silence provoked Dimas’s question: “But isn’t that wonderful?”
“Yes, but when I got to the part where we’re supposed to turn the other cheek, he asked me if I believed in that. Without batting an eye, I said I did.” He fell silent and blushed as the dreamseller listened closely.
“But that’s wonderful, Edson,” Monica told him. Edson lowered his voice.
“Yes. I mean, no. At that moment, he slapped me on the left cheek. I’ve never felt so much pain, or so much anger. My lips trembled, and I wanted to strangle him. But I held back.
“Congratulations,” said Professor Jurema. “That was truly a miracle.” But our friend’s clothes were torn, his cheek was bruised and the dreamseller was suspicious.
“Why’s your right eye black, too?” asked Solomon.
“After he hit me on the left, he asked me to turn and offer my right cheek. I didn’t want to, but before I realized it he slapped me again. I wanted to grab the guy by the throat, but I remembered everything we’ve been through together. I remembered the gentle Jesus of Nazareth and the dreamseller’s project. I held back. I don’t know how, but I held back. He had heard of our project and he called me a ‘nonsense seller.’”
People started clapping, but he asked them to let him finish his story. Because he had failed. Finally, he finished explaining what had happened:
“Then he asked me for my right cheek again. I was dripping with rage. I knew that Jesus had said to turn the other cheek, but not to turn the same cheek twice. I looked toward heaven, asked for forgiveness and started pounding the guy. But he was stronger, and he beat the hell out of me.”
It was no time to laugh, but we couldn’t hold back. Even the dreamseller, who didn’t approve of violence, was fighting back a smile. Then he gave us an unforgettable lesson.
“Being a human being without borders doesn’t mean risking your life unnecessarily. Remember that I didn’t call you to be heroes. Don’t provoke, much less confront, those who offend you. Turning the other cheek isn’t a sign of weakness, but of strength. It’s not a sign of stupidity, but of great vision.”
He paused to allow us to assimilate his ideas, then continued:
“Turning the other cheek is a symbol of maturity and internal strength. It doesn’t refer to the physical cheek but to the mental one. Turning the other cheek means trying to do good to someone who disappoints us, it means having the grace to praise someone who defames us, the altruism to be kind to someone who hates us. It means walking away from those looking for a fight. Turning the other cheek prevents murders, injuries and lifelong scars. The weak seek vengeance; the strong protect themselves.”
Edson soaked in these words like rain to dry earth. That episode helped him take a major emotional leap forward, polished his wisdom and expanded the frontiers of his mind. He contributed greatly to our movement.
The dreamseller’s words penetrated all of us like a bolt of lightning. They had such an impact that the Orthodox Jews and Muslims who were present turned and hugged each other. I looked at my friend, Professor Marco Antonio. I remembered that I had come down hard on my enemies at the university. I never learned that those who turn the other cheek are much happier, much