Luke 6:27-38
In today’s gospel selection Jesus lays out his prescription for how his followers are to transform society. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. And he goes on to give us several more impossible commandments. Lending money to those who can’t repay you? From the one who takes what is yours, do not demand it back? From the person who takes your cloak do not withhold your tunic. Is Jesus serious? I can see loving my enemies -- in the abstract, of course. I can even see praying for them, as long as I don’t have to actually deal with them personally. But that’s not what Jesus is saying. For Jesus is very serious about action -- love is a verb, not a noun.
Before I try to put together a sermon, I usually do some research. I don’t mind looking at other people’s sermons. What was interesting about sermons people have written about this gospel is how often the illustration has an arrogant person being put down. An example. In a small town there was a bridge which was as wide as a single lane. People knew that of someone was on the bridge you waited until they had crossed before you drove onto the bridge. One day despite the fact that Mrs. Harrington was on the bridge, Mrs. Thobauld, got on the bridge going the other way.. When they met in the middle Mrs. Harington said, “I guess you didn’t see me. Please back up and let me cross. Mrs. Thobauld replied, “You back up. I’m late for an appointment and In any event I wouldn't back up for a fool. Mrs. Harrington replied, “Well in that case I will back up because I always back up for fools”.
And it was entertaining as I saw so many sermons where a similar story was the main point. The idea being that someone who followed Jesus’ plan would have the last laugh. Here’s another bridge story. Two brothers had farms next to each other. One day the older brother woke up to realize that his younger brother had dredged an eight foot trench between the two farms and diverted the river into it. The older brother was furious and after much thought he hired a carpenter to build a fence so that he wouldn't have to even look at his brother’s farm. The carpenter agreed and the next morning there was a bridge across the water. The younger brother was half-way across with his hand out, asking for forgiveness. “I was terrible to you,” he said, “and you have forgiven me”. And the two brothers reconciled. And the carpenter told them he had to leave because there were many other bridges to build.
That’s a nice story also. IF you follow Jesus’ plan your enemy will become your friend.
But in real life, most of the time real enemies stay enemies. You can forgive, you can give up what you're fighting over, you can lend money without expecting repayment, and the enemy is still your enemy. It’s especially apparent in these days of the internet, where because it’s easy to be anonymous, you can do terrible things to someone, destroy his reputation, even destroy her relationships with her friends. And you can do it because you can. Enemies stay enemies.
Jesus is not elaborating on his new way of life because he expects us to turn our enemies into friends. His advice is not there so that if we follow it somehow it will shame our enemies. I think the real point is that Jesus recognizes that living a transactional life is not the way to happiness. A transactional life means that if someone hates me, I hate them back. If someone borrows money from me I will count the days till I’m repaid, and if not I’ll sic the law onto him. And if you take my cloak, do you think I’ll gladly give up my tunic as well?
I don’t like confrontation; I don’t think most people do. But avoiding confrontation is part of that transactional world. If I don’t risk having an enemy, I won’t have to think about the topic at all. Hermits don’t have problems with other people..
But Jesus wants you and I to be happy, and points us to the example of our heavenly father, who has a lot of enemies, but keeps on giving, because he is pure love and love has to give itself a way. And the more we give love away, the more love we have to give away. And when we step outside of the transactional world, where human relationships come down to quid pro quo -- If I give you something, what will you give me? Then we will be happy.
Someone once said, “Imagine you meet God and discover that he is your worst enemy?” Those people who follow Jesus’ commandments don’t have to worry because the only way you can have an enemy is if you let someone be an enemy.
Martin Luther King said, someone has to cut the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe -- and you do that by love.
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