I’d never thought about the “coals of fire on his head” that way — I’d assumed it just meant you made them look like an idiot (BURN!). Making them stop, think twice, and regain their balance…that makes more sense in how humans truly behave.

Amazing what a little cultural context can do for understanding.

Many people have criticized Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount for proclaiming “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, give him your left also.” It seems Jesus is telling us to roll over and be a doormat. But that isn’t the whole teaching. He uses that to say, “And love those who hate you. For when you do, you will heap burning coals on his head.” The picture is poignant. In that culture, one older child was often given the job of collecting coals from a communal fire and distributing them to homes. They would often carry them on their head. This is the picture Jesus uses.

When you heap coals on someone’s head, you make them much more careful about what they’re doing. They have to concentrate immensely. When you show love to someone who hurts you, they have to stop and notice what you’re doing. If you retaliate, which they expect, they are ready to keep hurting you without taking much time to think about where it will lead.

This is one of the key themes of Hamlet. Is Hamlet correct in his dealings with “something rotten in the State of Denmark”? Does his revenge do anything beyond extending out the bitterness and hatred? Does his angry, veangeful heart create peace for him or others around him - see how he treated Ophelia. “Get thee to a nunnery” indeed! The guy was a hate-filled moron.