The message I delivered to my congregation this past Sunday:
Gospel Message
Matthew 5:38-48
July 5, 2015
Our Gospel reading comes from Matthew
the 5th chapter. Jesus is
speaking to his disciples, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a
tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if
anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone
wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if
anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to
everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from
you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor
and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in
heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain
on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love
you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And
if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than
others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as
your heavenly Father is perfect.
This is the gospel of our Lord.
Freedom - Justice - Love
Two hundred thirty-nine years ago our
founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, and we declared
ourselves a free and independent nation.
The document begins:
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one
people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,
and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to
which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to
the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which
impel them to the separation.
We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these
are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Now a free and independent nation!
Freedom…free to do what? Free to pray and serve the God of our choice,
Free to walk into a church and kill nine innocent Christians, free to ban the
sale of a symbol some find offensive, while others find historic, free to challenge
civil authority, free to choose who you wish to do business with, free to marry
a same gendered partner.
Free to speak openly of the truths of
the Gospel. Ah yes, freedom, ain’t it
grand! I have to admit, I have really
struggled in preparing this message for today.
It has been a struggle to hear Jesus’ words of forgiveness, tolerance
and loving our enemy. Especially in
light of all that is going on in our world today.
Civil disobedience seems to have
become the response to bring attention to the cause. Hatred, fear, and entitlement seem to be the
fuel which fans the flames of anger and violence. We have become a nation intolerant, enraged
and have completely missed the teachings of Jesus. When we celebrate Independence Day, it should
not be a celebration of independence from God.
Somewhere along the way in the last
two hundred thirty-nine years, we have lost our way. We have forgotten God, and we have chosen a
path of self-appreciating, self-reliance.
We have indeed forgotten God! I am reminded of a story of two ornery young boys
whose parents were having a terrible time getting their sons to behave. They decided to ask their pastor to speak
with the boys. The pastor agreed and
asked to speak with each boy individually.
So after church, he asked the youngest to come to his office. Once there, he asked the boy, “Where is God?”
repeating it several times the frightened boy sprang from the chair ran home,
up the stairs and hid in his closet. His
younger brother, alarmed, went to his brother and asked what had happened. The older brother responded, “I don’t know
but God is missing and they think we had something to do with it.”
Well, the truth is, we may all have
something to do with God being missing.
Jesus gives his disciples some confounding instruction in our gospel
reading today. He suggests to love their
enemies, to not only take a punch, but to turn their face so they can punch them
again! Give away not only their shirt
but their coat. And then he tells them
to give to anyone who asks.
Jesus is asking them, and us, to rise
above the hated, the fear, the self-appreciation to be more than reactive, but
to be responsive. He is suggesting
anyone can react with love to love, do good for those who do good for us.
He is calling us to rise above and
show love to those who show hate, to give to those who only wish to take. And not only give what they ask but give all
we have. Now that is a tall order! The fact is, it is unnatural for us to
respond in such a way.
Jesus’ words in our gospel text for
today announce a new age, also. The status quo and the natural are not the
standard operating procedures of his followers. Jesus invites his followers to
live in his kingdom and to live graciously.
God has loved us unnaturally and
acted toward us in a gracious manner.
Because God has acted this way toward us, the Lord invites us to act
this way toward others.
Because of the Cross of Christ—Jesus’
death and resurrection--God’s kingdom has come. We live in a world, now, because
of the Cross of Christ, where unnatural love has become natural, and where
graciousness in the norm.
Jesus tells his followers to “be
perfect.” Really, this is a poor translation of what Jesus was trying to
convey. It is more accurate to say, “You are going to be perfect. When God’s
kingdom comes in its fullness you will be molded completely into God’s image. So,
live in the reality of what you will become.”
If we, the church—the body of Christ—are to prepare the world for Jesus’ return, then it is necessary for us to live, as we know, heaven is already on earth.
At first glance, these words appear
to require Jesus’ followers to become wimps and doormats. Nothing could be
further from the truth. Loving unnaturally unleashes great power—life
transforming power.
By law a Roman soldier could hit
anyone once. For a person to turn the other cheek and invite another blow,
defied the power of the soldier and opened him up to the possibility of being
reprimanded.
We know the power of the unnatural in
our lives. As an example, when we were attacked on 9/11 there were two
reactions. Some people reacted in fear and would not fly for weeks, months, or
even years. Others lived defiantly and refused to allow the terrorists to
control their lives.
A mother lived in a gang and drug
infested part of town. Other people in the neighborhood hid behind locked doors
and allowed the gangs free reign. This young mother acted unnaturally. She
baked cookies and went out and engaged the drug dealers in conversation. It’s
impossible to do a drug deal while a mother is present and talking with you.
The mother also organized people in her neighborhood to surround crack houses
and gang hangouts. Their presence and attention eventually drove the gangs and
drugs out of their neighborhood.
Jesus’ words can become a reality in
our lives. Rather than carry grudges, we forgive. Forgiveness not only opens
the possibility of healing of that relationship, it also relieves us of a heavy
burden. Praying for our enemies can be life transforming—for us and for them.
It does no good telling ourselves over and over again how much we hate certain
people. It is much more positive to pray for them.
There is still hope for us, God
promises it, it is in our freedom we can find this hope. The freedom to boldly proclaim Jesus
Christ. Not only in our words, but in
our actions. Freedom to stand for
justice and be examples of the Gospel.
Free to not stand aside and allow hatred and prejudice take over. Free to stand up against those things which
threaten our way of life and our relationship with God.
In God we are given power to embrace
those in need, power to love, power to be free in the salvation won for us on
the Cross. Let God’s eternal freedom
ring. Amen
