The world of grasping, competition, violence, and egotism is the “real” world, right? And if I were to suggest that we can live in radical non-violence, love, compassion, and forgiveness, you would probably suggest that I am a utopian dreamer. But what Jesus shows is precisely the illusory, phony quality of the supposedly “real” world that we inhabit, and what he calls for is an immersion in the new universe that he calls “the Kingdom of God.” His strategy: spiritual shock therapy. “Hate your mother and father, your children, your wife, your very self,” he says to the uncomprehending crowds–and to us. His purpose is to shake us out of our complacency and into a whole new way of thinking, acting, and being.