Seventh Sunday After the Epiphany (Year C)
TEXT: Luke 6:27-38
“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.” (Luke 6:27-30)
Wow, Jesus! Really?
For most Christians, this is where the rubber really hits the road. It may sound great when we read or recite it, but …
Let’s face it. No one likes the idea of loving our enemies when we actually have to put it into action.
Imagine you are a Canadian, listening to the current U.S. president trash-talk your country, saying that it isn’t “viable” and should be taken over and made into “the 51st state.” Imagine what it’s like to witness your longtime ally turning against you, threatening a trade war that will destroy your economy and erode the security of every Canadian.
It’s enough to make even a polite Canuck slap a “A3B” bumper sticker onto their SUV.* You may even feel tempted to vandalize that car with the Texas licence plates.
I would suggest, however, that if you are a Canadian Christian, you are called to respond differently.
When we are living for Christ, we will have enemies. Jesus made the statement, “Woe to you when all speak well of you.”
If those who claim to follow Jesus—but whose words and actions betray that claim—are praising you, this should be a red flag. There are many such people, but they belong to the world, and not to Christ. The world hates those who follow truth. The world hates the real Jesus Christ who died for the sins of all and calls all of us into reconciliation.
The world loves a watered-down Jesus who allows them to live in sinful self-interest and never judges or condemns their actions. Any Christian who lifts Jesus Christ high, will draw fire from the world. The Episcopal Bishop of Washington is one example (see last week’s blog http://www.garygrottenberg.com/blog/of-god-and-caesar/).
Consider an interesting passage from one of Paul’s letters:
For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? (2 Cor. 2:15-16)
To the true Christian, those who lift Jesus high will be a sweet fragrance. However, those who reject the ways of Christ (even if they wrap themselves in his name), who choose to pursue a life leading to destruction, will hate the one who lives for Christ. Why? Because the real follower of Jesus exudes an aroma that reminds them of death.
You are the smell of death to those who are unwilling to choose life. Each time you lift up a standard of truth, it reminds the perishing world of the choice they are making. Rather than change their direction, they would rather stamp out any remembrance of the destiny they have chosen. But, fear not. To the Lord, you smell just fine. You are “a fragrance from life to life.”
Every day you and I make one of two choices. We either choose to be large, or we choose to be small. And what we choose affects others.
If we choose to be small, we will keep score, act with violence, seek retribution, and make our relationships conditioned on who the other is and what he or she can do for us.
If we choose to be large, it will be in recognition that something other than security, protection, power, reciprocity, and balancing the books is seeking our attention and animating our life. It will call us to be less fearful, less suspicious, less anxious, and less needy. It changes our attitudes toward others. It creates space for others. This is what we are called to.
So how can we make sense of today’s gospel reading while we are surrounded by enemies, haters, cursers, and abusers?
Certainly, we must stand up to our enemies. We are duty-bound to protest their actions, and point out their wickedness. But we must do this without ourselves becoming haters, cursers, and abusers.
Where can we find the strength to carry out this call? I suggest we do what Jesus would do. We should turn to the witness and the promises of scripture.
“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice,” the Book of Proverbs reminds us. “But when a wicked man rules, the people groan” (Prov. 29:2).
There will be times—like the present one—when the wicked hold great authority. And to be sure, the godless man will always oppress. Even though people may assume authority thinking they have noble causes, when self-interests or personal ideologies are not being met, oppression is often the tool they use to accomplish their goals. They arrogantly think of themselves as powerful instead of acknowledging that they are a mere human being occupying a role that is powerful.
From our perspective, we may see those in authority as invincible and untouchable. This is especially true when a person of influence uses their power to destroy those who criticize or resist them.
But consider these hopeful words from the psalmist:
I have seen the wicked in great power, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found. (Psalm 37:35-36)
Picture a great tree growing in fertile land. It is big and powerful and sturdy. It has roots that run deep, a trunk that reaches high and branches that dominate everything around it. Like a strong ruler, it seems immovable and even indestructible. Yet when God determines the time has come, it will suddenly fall and will be no more. All the influence and all the power in the world cannot preserve the wicked when God calls for their demise.
As Proverbs 29 also states: “One who is often reproved, yet remains stubborn, will suddenly be broken beyond healing” (v. 1).
We have no need to take matters into our own hands because we cannot bring down the authority in place any more than we can advise God on his own plan.
However, our role is not to passively sit by or become complacent. Let’s take another look at the same passage that spoke of the wicked one’s downfall, Psalm 37:
Trust in the LORD, and do good;
so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make your vindication shine like the light,
and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
over those who carry out evil devices. (vv. 3-7)
We are commanded to dwell in the land, not run for the hills. When our personal well-being is under threat from a godless enemy, our call is not to run, but stand firm and follow God. We have the promise that when we commit our way to God, He will bring to pass the good that we seek.
Filled with the faith and conviction that God was in charge of his world, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, Jesus lived fearlessly, loved courageously, and forgave endlessly. And aren’t we thankful for that? We are certainly thankful that Jesus did what he taught us to do:
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).
Jesus did exactly that for us all. Jesus did not come to judge us, or to condemn the world, but to save this world, and to love us. In the same way, Jesus sends us out into the world not to condemn it or to judge it, but to bless it and to love it. Moreover, he calls us to do all of this while trusting in the One who is truly in charge, even when the evidence might suggest otherwise.
I’ll close today by borrowing from an ancient prayer. It was lifted up by ones who suffered greatly at the hands of Norse raiders who came to devastate and pillage, laying ruin to the innocent:
“Our supreme and holy Grace, protecting us and ours, deliver us, God, from the savage race which lays waste our realms.”
Amen.
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* Don’t know what the “A3B” slogan is about? It’s like the “ACAB” acronym, except it means: “All Americans Are …” Tsk. Tsk. How rude.