PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.

May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.

– John O’Donohue

Luke 6:27-38

Love for Enemies

27 ‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 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. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 ‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Judging Others

37 ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’

Is it easy to love one’s enemies?  What happens when we do that?  Has anyone ever given you something and not expected anything in return? 

This morning’s gospel text is a continuation of the beatitudes, an ethos, or characteristics of someone who lives in deep awareness of God’s love within and around them and strives to be truly human.  Jesus is sharing with his followers the marks of the alternative, beloved community that God wants for all of us.  

Again, like we said last week, this alternative community calls for a change in our worldview.  We are to act and practice love differently.  And, in so doing, we are participating in a new reality of what community means.  It is marked by practicing love…it is not marked by tribal identity, political affiliation, social or economic standing.  It is also not marked by holding on to long standing grievances.  It is a community of forgiveness, grace, second, third, fourth, chances.  

Some might say this is impossible, we cannot live in community like this…yet, Jesus is calling us to treat all people as if they were close relatives that we love deeply, and to do so without expectations of return.

This kind of community changes the world friends.  It is not based on a patronage system like that of antiquity, and even today, a system that says “I’ll do this for you if you do that for me”, a system that can lend itself to a slow death by constantly checking the scoreboard.  No, this is a life based on giving, knowing that all you need is all that you have, and working towards friendships where folks of all sorts of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and opinions can come together in unity through acts of lovingkindness.

A community of belief in one another and in a God who demonstrates faith in us…even when we mess up.

Jesus is addressing folks of a certain wealth in this passage also.  They have cloaks, clothes, money to lend to others.  And, these are folks, much like us in this room, are followers of Jesus, curious about Jesus, and all wanting to live lives full of meaning and depth.  

And, folks that may have experienced this sense of God’s practice of lovingkindness through others.  I know that I have had experiences that have been transformational because of this practicing what God has demonstrated to us throughout history and with Jesus.

Honestly, I could point to so many folks in my life who have demonstrated this…Debbie, is certainly someone who has been that friend.  So many of you in this church have also demonstrated this kind of love and deep trust.  

Others in my life have as well, here are some examples:

In 1989, after hearing Dr. Tony Campolo speak, I moved to the inner-city of Philadelphia for a summer.  I lived in an Episcopal church at 5th and Reed for a summer.  The church’s congregation was, at that time, maybe a 20 folks.  Yet, we had a team of folks from all over the world learning together what it means to share with one another, have disagreements, work through them, and build friendship.  We were also surrounded by neighborhood folks that were black, white, Irish, Italian, etc. you name it…and, yet, they practiced so much hospitality with us, that it changed me.  I could never be the same.  Out of that summer, I solidified a calling to be a minister and it set me on a path that led me to being a pastor and a community organizer of sorts.

In 1993, I was working with a non-profit youth ministry in Lexington, KY after graduation from UK in 1990.  I was at a point where I knew that I wanted to work for a church.  

I was dating a Catholic youth worker at the time and she encouraged to meet a friend of hers, the Rev. Charlie Scott, a PCUSA minister.  He encourage me to become a church partner with Young Life and the Presbyterian Church.  Charlie eventually encouraged me to go to seminary and to become an ordained pastor.  That also meant a move to Atlanta where the church partnership was located.

Working for this non-profit in Lexington was great, but it was also at a tremendous cost.  I had to raise my own salary, and even when I did, it was only about $15,000 per year.  I had accumulated some debt.  My grandfather was still alive at the time.  He was really into our Scottish heritage and was pretty excited that I had become a Presbyterian in collage, and was going to work for the Presbyterian church.  

He also believed in me.  Throughout my life, he had poured me into.  His belief still gives me confidence today and has been foundational to me.

He also knew about my debt.  One day he asked me to write down all of my debts, how much I owed and to what.  I was pretty embarrassed to give him that list.  Yet, he took it, did not condemn or lecture me, but simply pulled out his checkbook and wrote me a check for the entire debt.  Then he said that he was so proud of me and did not want me to start over in Atlanta worrying about debt.  It was cancelled.  

He was not a wealthy man or particularly religious, but he understood community and friendship. 

I also experienced so much friendship this past weekend on our church retreat.  

Friends, we are all building up our church together and being the alternative community that this world desperately needs, even if it doesn’t recognize it yet.  

The last verses in the gospel lesson remind us that God treats us all the same, and when we act in the way that our very loving God does, towards those on the inside and outside, that we will see more clearly God’s practice towards all of us.  

When we do, when we live, or be the people God calls us to be, we will truly live and others will find life, and life to the full, with us.  

May it be so.