Epiphany 7C
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
Lakeland, FL
February 20, 2022
Genesis 45:3-11, 15
Psalm 37
1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50
Luke 6:27-38
Grace to you and peace from God and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Today’s Gospel reading is a continuation of the Sermon on the Plain, the sermon on a “level place,” that we started last Sunday. We heard Jesus’ words to the poor, the hungry, the grieving, the despised – Jesus said, “You are blessed.” And to the rich, those satisfied with full bellies, those whose lives are full of pleasure – to these, Jesus said, “Woe to you – you best be woke.” All on a level place with Jesus in their midst. Jesus who came from his heavenly throne to the level place, to the plain.
And today, Jesus takes us further. He begins by saying – “you who are still listening, there is more.” And Jesus went on to describe things very astounding to the hearers, and I daresay, even to us. Jesus described a view of the world – and an invitation into that view – that was diametrically opposed to the prevailing thoughts of the time, and to ours as well.
So, what do we do with Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel? Is this whole business of loving enemies, turning the other cheek, giving to those who beg – is this simply an impossible command, forcing us to admit our need, sin, brokenness and driving us to the good news of Jesus’ promise of forgiveness and grace. Perhaps.
Or we might conclude that these are the naïve instructions of a dreamer, someone who clearly didn’t understand how the world really works. Could be.
Or when hearing them, do we assume that we actually follow it pretty well (which, of course, takes a fair amount of self-delusion) and then take on the responsibility and burden of making sure others are following it as well.
Each of these ways are similar in that they hear Jesus’ words on the plain as a set of commands or rules. Commands and rules to drive us to despair, that are naïve or ineffectual, or to enforce on others, whether in the name of morality, family values, or justice. But what if these aren’t commands at all, but instead are a promise?
A promise to the people of that time – and ours – that there is another way of living together – a way that is based upon the covenantal relationship that God created with God’s people from the beginning of time, a relationship into which we are drawn in the waters of our baptisms, a relationship that defies the ways of the world and instead seeks after the ways of Jesus.
Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry passionately describes this way of Jesus as the Way of Love. A way that is not about measuring and counting and weighing and competing and judging and paying back and hating and all the rest. But instead is about love. Love for those who have loved you. Love for those who haven’t. Love even for those who have hated you.
Love that is not mere feeling or emotion. Love that is expressed in all kinds of ways, often by caring – extending care and compassion and help and comfort to those in need – and forgiveness – not paying back but instead releasing one’s claim on another, way were generosity does not depend on the recipient’s response or no response at all. A way that is not based upon transaction – a tit for a tat. You scratch my back and I scratch yours. What you do to me, I’ll do to you. A transaction that concludes that love deserves love, hate deserves hate, rudeness deserves rudeness in return, deeds both good and bad should be repaid in kind, force must be returned with force, violence begets violence, and so on and so on.
No, Jesus says that there is another way – a way in which we don’t do to others what they have done to us. A way in which we do to others what we HOPE they will do for us.
Love itself, when you think about it, makes no sense in this kind of transactional view of the universe. For love, defined most simply, is seeking the good of another above your own.
In these words of Jesus, we might just imagine that there is another world available to us at this very moment, and we can see each other and especially the “other” as gifts of God.
I read in the Washington Post yesterday of the death of a man 101 years old. His name was Gail Halvorsen and he was known as Hal. He was a World War II pilot fighting against Germany and was part of the effort that led to the victory of the Allies in Europe. He continued to serve after V-E Day. The defeated state of Germany was partitioned into areas that were administered by the Allies. What we have known as West Germany was administered by the Americans, the British and the French and East Germany by the Soviets. And the capital Berlin similarly divided. Hal was involved in providing sustenance to the people in West Berlin through deliveries of the necessities of life to prevent starvation.
In one of his deliveries, he saw the children on the other side of the barbed wire separating West Berlin from East Berlin. He saw need in their young faces. He reached into his pocket and brought out the two sticks of gum he had and offered it to them through the barbed wire. The children were eager. It was divided as much as it could be among them and the others smelled the fragrance on the foil wrappers. The next day he brought more treats to the children on the other side of the barbed wire. Children whose fathers had been his enemies, fathers who had intended harm and death for him. Children who may take up similar arms as they grew, who knows. Yet children. And as he was able, he brought sweets and treats and candies to these young children. Flight after flight and mission after mission.
And none of them authorized. A court martial may have been in his future. Except his commanding officer told him to carry on. To carry on bringing some bit of delight to those who had been his enemies. It was known as Operation Vittles. The Way of Love.
When you imagine that Jesus is offering an invitation into a whole other way of living rather than simply issuing a new set of rules, everything sounds different: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 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.”
So here it is -- Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth, full of mercy. The mercy of God that compelled him to eat with sinners, the most bottom of the social ladder. The mercy of God that drew compassion out of his heart as he healed those who were sick and hurting. The mercy of God that reached out to all people – even the Gentiles, those who were unclean according to ancient law and practice. The mercy of God that is wide enough for all of us. Even me and even you.
Thanks be to God.
