We are continuing this week with what’s come to be known as “The Sermon on the Plains” right from where we left off last week. So, to catch you up from last week, Jesus has come down from a night of prayer on the mountain, to level ground (hence the name sermon on the plains) and he’s surrounded by all kinds of people, his disciples, the twelve newly chosen apostles and those who had come for healing and to hear his teaching. It’s his disciples and apostles that he’s really focusing these instructions on. And the things he’s teaching, are, well, not easy stuff to hear or to even to understand. Last week we heard Luke’s version of the beatitudes, about how God blesses the poor, the hungry, the sorrowful, those who are hated for their belief in Jesus. And Jesus warned of sorrows to come for those who are rich, well fed, happy and popular.
And at first glance, this seems backwards. When we generally think of blessings, of being blessed by God, we think of having good things, having sufficient to eat, being prosperous, being happy, being well thought of by others. For those of us whose lives are filled with society’s riches, we go to these riches, we use these riches to fill us, to support us, to keep us happy. It’s where we look for love and comfort. You’ve heard the phrase retail therapy, I’m sure! These material comforts get in the way of needing God, of wanting God in our lives. If we have all these riches as the center of our lives, as the focus of our lives, do we even need God; is there any room left for God in our lives? As one commentator I read put it:
The poor and the hungry know the reality of their situation. They are totally dependent on God and therefore are disposed to entrust themselves to God’s care and mercy, which is the foundation of grace and a right relationship with God. The rich, on the other hand, are disposed to take comfort in themselves and their resources thereby finding it more difficult to trust themselves to the mercy and grace of God.[1]
And as the teachings continue, Jesus is giving even more difficult and counter-cultural lessons. And he knows it, he knew that not everyone would want to hear what he had to say, because he begins by saying: “So to those of you who are willing to listen”, in other words for those who really want to hear God’s way, here is some more oppositional thinking: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you-turn the other cheek. If someone steals from you, offer them more, give to anyone who begs from you.
Honestly, that just goes against the grain—we’re not only to be nice to “those kinds of people”, but love them? When all my instincts tell me to do otherwise? If someone smacks me on the cheek, my first reaction is to want to smack him back, not to say “Here, want to hit the other one?” If someone steals from me, I want to call the cops and get my stuff back, and see they’re prosecuted for theft, not ask them to come back and get what they missed the first time. Heck if someone even says something really nasty to me, I just want to throw a mean zinger right back at them.
So then, is this more of Jesus’ hyperbole, his exaggeration to make a point? Well, maybe a little bit, yes. Jesus is preaching the opposite of what our baser instincts lead us into behaving. Instead of countering with the hatred, the mean-spiritedness that’s been dished out, respond instead with love. Now having said that, we need to be careful how far we go in our interpretation of this. Responding with love doesn’t mean unreservedly accepting abuse, passively accepting all the bad stuff that may come our way. Jesus never preached that we should willingly become doormats! These are not directives to be so meek and mild that you allow yourself to be taken advantage of, or allow yourself to be abused. Jesus stood up for those in his society who were the underdogs, the poor, the ill, the disadvantaged those who were abused or taken advantage by others in power. However, if we are wronged, and it happens to all of us to some degree or another, the message is don’t automatically retaliate in kind, or strike back with vengeance at the perpetrator. Our response should be based on love and care not lashing out because of our hurt. Behaviour that results in willfully hurting people comes from a place of hurt and pain, and that cannot be healed with more hurt or more pain—no matter how good we think retaliation or vengeance might make us feel at the time. You’re familiar with the phrase—breaking the cycle? I think that explains it nicely. Violent retaliation only begets more violence—even verbal abuse. Love and care will heal. And I know, easy for me to stand up here and say that, easier said than done, especially for deeply painful physical and emotional injuries. It’s hard in the heat of the moment to respond lovingly, in fact in some situations, it may not even be safe to do so. But tit for tat, an eye for an eye vengeance will not break the cycle, will not stop the hate. And for some situations, to be able to respond with love may take a lot of time and soul searching for that healing to come to pass, -- might even take therapy! But healing, for both parties, will only come from a place of love and care. Do to others as you would like them do to you, really is a good rule of life—even if the other wasn’t so wonderful to you to begin with!
And Jesus goes on with even more, for those who want to hear it: love your enemies, do good to them even, expecting nothing in return. Lend, expecting nothing in return. Well, that is not a successful business model, certainly not politically expedient, it makes no earthly sense! It doesn’t, and that’s the point. One commentator I read this week said that “this ‘good news’ sounds like ‘bad advice’”![2] Love your enemies is the behaviour of the children of God, not the children of a Fortune 500 company. It is easy to love the loveable, and to be good to good people. Anyone can do that, even the sinners do that, Jesus tells them. The challenge is loving the unloveable, the difficult, the problematic ones. We want, even expect compassion from God, should we not give back the same?
For those with ears to hear, Jesus says do not judge, do not condemn, forgive them. Why? Well, that’s what we’d expect a good God to do for us, and it’s what God does for us! That’s the example Christ gave to us. Matthew records Peter asking Jesus, “How many times should I forgive someone, seven times?” “No, Peter, not seven times, but seven times seven.” (Matt 21-22) This really is not easy stuff to hear. Think for a minute, when you’ve royally messed up, you’re generally are more than aware of it; and condemnation, reprisal and judgement really isn’t helpful. True forgiveness comes from a loving heart, and is the first step in healing.
And if all of the above reasons don’t work for you, well, there’s always the old adage: “What goes around comes around.” Only Luke has Jesus saying it this way: 37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The measure you give will be the measure you get back.” Which, if you don’t give some thought to it, can sound pretty self serving; maybe even a bit superficial -- kind of like doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons. Again it comes down to what or who is guiding what you do, how you respond to all the stuff, all the people, all the good, the bad and the ugly that life throws at you? What guides your decision making? Jesus’ teachings provide the template for us to follow, for those who want to listen, for those who take these teachings to heart and choose to live by them. Is it easy to follow Jesus teachings? Are these teachings the way our society or our culture expects us to behave? Not always, sometimes the right decision is the most difficult one, the most unpopular one, maybe even the riskiest one. Jesus’ teachings were counter to the culture of his time, and still are today!
There’s a meme that pops up every so often on facebook called Theology 101. It reads: The question should never be “Is this action left wing or right wing, socialist or capitalist... The question should be does this action love my neighbour, look out for their interests more than my own... manifest the fruit of the Spirit?” I think that sums it up nicely.
So is there truly a reward for doing the right thing for the right reasons? Yes, and it’s more than getting our full measure back in return. Living the ways of Christ changes us; it is a process, a process of becoming. As we live Christ’s way, we become closer to God, become more Christ like in our thoughts, in our behaviours, and in our lives, as we are emboldened and empowered by Christ’s Holy Spirit to be more Christ-like in our own lives. Amen.
[1] Howard K. Gregory in Pastoral Perspective for Luke 6: 17-26 in Feasting on the Word Yr C Vol 1 (WJK Press: Louisville, Ky) 2009 360
[2] Vaughn Crowe-Tipton in Homelitical Perspective for Luke 6: 27-36. Feasting on the Word, Year C Vol 1 (WJK Press, Louisville KY 2009) 383