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Jesus said a lot that makes me uncomfortable. “Turn the other cheek” is never what I want to hear. I can’t be alone in this. I can’t be alone in finding some of what Jesus said uncomfortable and unsettling.

Whether you’re a Christian or not, you can agree that Jesus had some incendiary things to say about human relationships, money, and power. You don’t have to be a Christian to be moved by his call to unconditional love or his call to treat people with equality and dignity. Neither do you have to be a Christian to be moved by something he said that was more cryptic yet forceful nevertheless: “And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven.”

Can it mean what it so plainly says? Can Jesus really be admonishing his followers to never use the word ‘father’ about anybody other than God? We know that Jesus was a skilled orator, a performer even, who knew how to draw his listeners into his wisdom. He knew what he needed to say if he wanted to prick the ears of those around him, to grab their attention and let them know that his business was serious business.

So, do I think Jesus was literally telling us to never use the word ‘father?’ No, I don’t, because I don’t think it’s that simple. I think it’s deeper than just how we relate to someone who helped bring us into this world. Jesus’ teaching here is about power and authority and who should have power and authority over us.

So, if it’s not about fathers, who’s this about? The way I see it, it’s about two types of people.

Firstly, it’s about anybody who desires authority over us. So, think of the demagogues, the autocrats, the oligarchs who are currently trying to ensure that you have no voice in determining your future.

Secondly, it’s about anybody to whom we willingly cede authority as if they are rightly our governors and masters. So, think again of the demagogues, the autocrats, and the oligarchs who are currently trying to ensure that you have no voice in determining your future.

Remember: we voted them in and gave them this power. It is all our fault. It turns out that the two types of people are usually one and the same. The power-hungry are the ones who convince us to give them our power because they have convinced us that, without them, we can’t be saved.

What we are seeing on a federal level is not a resulting conflict between Republicans and Democrats. It’s the result of people who, with every fiber of their being, craved power and made good on their aspirations to grab that power. The current administration will forever alter the fabric of our nation, and I don’t believe in a positive way.

So, if I’m to take Jesus seriously, then it seems like I am obligated to resist those who desire power and resist the impulse to give my power and allegiance to anything other than the cause of Christ. I am obligated, as someone invested in the well-being of friends and strangers alike, to creatively and non-violently resist those who are nakedly grabbing power and quickly constructing a new type of American monarchy for the 21st century.

What does non-violent resistance look like? It doesn’t have to start anywhere other than beginning each day with the following affirmation: “My neighbor is not my enemy. I will work for their good.” To begin each day by affirming our shared humanity will shift our perspectives and break us out of the binary of ‘Us vs. Them.’

You can then make the resolute decision to love your neighbor as yourself, which means you must love yourself, too. Indeed, to hate another is also to hate yourself because hatred is ultimately a self-inflicted, slow-acting poison. You might get some momentary satisfaction by hating your enemy, but at the end of the day, you’ll realize that you’ve been chipping away at your own humanity all along.

My pastoral advice this week, constant readers, is to think critically about your relationship to power, authority, and allegiance. Who owns your soul?

Chris Adams is the Rector at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Washington.