7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
So what did I tell you? Last week, when we read the first part of this section of the Gospel of Luke, do you remember what I said? When we were hearing Jesus teach and he was flipping the world’s priorities upside down, do you remember? When he called things “blessed” that we think of as cursed and called things “cursed” that we think of as blessed, what did I tell you? I said, “If you think this is a difficult lesson to receive, wait until you get a load of next week’s lesson.” Was I right? If this lesson were a main dish, it would be liver. If that truth upsets you, just know that I am in the majority opinion on this one. If you brought liver to the potluck today, you may like it, but you’re probably bringing most of it back home.
Last week I also mentioned that, when Jesus preaches this “sermon” (if you will), he’s looking at us. Luke is careful to point out that when Jesus teaches these difficult (or perhaps impossible) things, he’s looking at his followers. We are the ones “that listen,” that he talks about at the beginning.
This lesson is a doozy! What Jesus says to us today makes us want to look for a loophole, right? Maybe there’s a translation problem between the Greek to the English so it doesn’t mean what it says it means. Maybe if we read farther on, Jesus will say, “Just kidding!” (I’ve read it; he doesn’t.)
So before we get into it, there are a few things to keep in mind: first of all, I think he means it. We who call ourselves the Body of Christ are formed by him to be like him. We are called to a higher standard, even when he calls us to endure unjust behavior. But I would also point out that there is a difference between allowing ourselves to be victimized and breaking cycles of retribution and mutual hurt. Taking the higher ground to bear witness to the grace we’ve received is not the same as becoming a doormat. But also, as I mentioned last week, keep in mind that is not a listing of rules. This seemingly impossible standard reflects the reality of the Kingdom of God; this is what the ethics of Jesus looks like and he’s the one we’re called to follow. We are not going to do that perfectly; but that doesn’t mean we aren’t supposed to try.
I imagine that most of us, if not all of us, take Jesus seriously. We believe that his words and actions bring forgiveness for all our missteps, sins and failures. We believe that there is no other way but Jesus to receive that forgiveness. We believe that, when he says “who so ever,” he means who so ever believes in him will have eternal life. We take comfort in that knowledge; we have hope in that, when he brings this whole mess to its final conclusion, we will rest with him forever. That is our one true comfort, of course we take him seriously.
Then Jesus comes at us with these words Luke today. Where did the nice Jesus go? Tell me that lost sheep story again; I liked that one. Jesus can’t seriously be telling us that we have to do these things, is he?
This is probably a good place to point out that our Scripture lesson is a sermon Jesus preached, not me. I don’t like it any more than you. When I hear this sermon, it makes me wonder: why did so many people show up to hear him talk? This is not a mega-church kind of sermon; not a “5 Ways to Lead A Happier Life” kind of sermon. Just listen to what Jesus seems to tell us to do: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you, give to everyone who asks. He can’t be serious, right? Well, yes; I think he is.
Last Sunday I mentioned that this sermon, sometimes referred to as the “Sermon on the Plain,” looks a lot like the “Sermon on the Mount” over in Matthew. They are similar, but they are not the same. In Luke, as I mentioned, Jesus is talking directly to his followers; whereas in Matthew, it’s more aimed at the crowd at large. In Matthew, the sermon Jesus preaches is about living God’s way, it’s about righteousness. Cheeks are turned, coats are given away, beggars are given money. Enemies are loved and prayed for. And certainly, in the sermon we hear from today, Jesus affirms these behaviors, but there’s something else there too: rather than simply living-out the righteousness of God, Jesus looks at us and calls us to embody God’s mercy as well. This teaching is not just about living perfectly, it’s about being “children of the Most High.” It’s about being “merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” But we still might wonder: why would God want us to be merciful, specifically to those who are not kind to us?
I once got in trouble with my wife because her brother said something funny. Only, she didn’t think it was funny and I kept laughing because I didn’t notice. I didn’t notice because she otherwise has an ability to laugh at herself and find humor in most things, so I wasn’t expecting her to get her feelings hurt; but as brothers sometimes can do, this hit a nerve; I laughed and I got in trouble. It did make me wonder, though: why am I in trouble? I wasn’t the one making fun of her, why is she mad at me? Well, she was mad at me because I didn’t come to her defense. She expected, when she felt under attack, that I would be the one to take her side; and when I didn’t, it made the hurt worse.
Shouldn’t God be on our side? Rather than calling us to love our enemies, shouldn’t God be defending us from them?
When I read this sermon about loving and showing mercy to those who do us wrong, I’m reminded of the time (also in the Gospel of Luke) when someone asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” If you’ll recall, Jesus answered it in the form of a parable. A parable in which the so-called enemy, the Samaritan, was the one who was a good neighbor; he was the one who showed mercy.
The teachings of Jesus today seem to draw us to ask the opposite question of Jesus: who is my enemy? (And in fact, as I was talking about this passage with someone yesterday, they asked that exact question.) That’s a good question. Who is my enemy? Are people who disagree with my politics my enemy? Are people with different or questionable lifestyles my enemy? Are people of different religions my enemy? Different churches? Is al-Qaeda my enemy? Are racists my enemy? Is the neighbor who won’t return my leaf-blower my enemy? That kid who bullies my kid; whoever it is who keeps letting their dog go to the bathroom on my lawn; that impatient driver that cuts my off. Who is my enemy?
The answer that Jesus seems to give to us today is, our enemy is anyone that God does not love. Our enemy is anyone to whom God is unwilling to show mercy. When you put it like that, it kind of shortens the list quite a bit, doesn’t it? For the children of God, for those who know the mercy we have received, there are no enemies; only other children of God.
The standard we hear Jesus set for us today seems so impossibly high, because indeed, it is. It is God’s standard of mercy and love, patience and sacrifice, and it should not surprise us; it should not surprise us because it is the same mercy, love, patience and sacrifice that we ourselves have received. Jesus is merely calling us to share that grace as freely as it has been given to us.
Friends, today Jesus calls us to a higher path; the path of God’s own love. We will definitely need more of God’s grace as we seek to walk it, but Jesus was not kidding. As ones who could have, once, been considered “enemies of God,” let us seek to share that same love with who so ever God puts in our lives.
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