Loving the Person Next To You: Loving Our Enemies

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Leon Dalton
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1 Loving the Person Next To You: Loving Our Enemies Matthew 5:43-48, 10 April 2011 Jim Zazzera, Faith Presbyterian Church Sunday afternoon, June 2 nd, [1996] mourners had gathered on the steps to watch seven coffins being carried into the basilica. There were simple peasants in skullcaps, sunbaked workers in ill- fitting dress jackets, and a scattering of European men and women. Each casket was covered with a blanket of red roses, supported by four military cadets in the traditional ceremonial dress of the French fireman Soldiers with Kalashnikovs patrolled the area around the cathedral and kept watch from rooftops. Killing people who came to the funerals of their victims was a favorite tactic of the terrorists. The monks were the lungs of the Church in Algeria, [one church leader] liked to say. Their small community in the Atlas Mountains provided spiritual oxygen to Christians and Muslims alike. When he learned that the kidnapped monks had been executed, [the leader] told those at his bedside that he felt crucified, and died a week later. The Trappist abbot general, Father Bernardo Olivera, was one of many churchmen who addressed the congregation, but his words were the most heartfelt. What can a monk say about his brother monks? I know that our order was founded on our commitment to silence, work, and praise of God. But we know there are times to speak as well as times to be quiet. After fifty years of silence, our seven brothers Christian, Luc, Christophe, Célestin, Bruno, Michel and Paul today have become spokesmen for all the stifled voices and anonymous individuals who have given their lives for a more humane world. Our seven monks lend their voices today to me as well. They, and others like them, were living manifestations of the good news of the Gospels: a life freely given in the spirit of love is never a life lost, but one found again in Him who is Life. They showed that we must enter into the world of others, be that other a Christian or a Muslim. If the other does not exist, there can be no love of the other. Let us learn to go beyond ourselves and to be enriched by those who are different. 1 So begins the book The Monks of Tibhirine: Faith, Love, and Terror in Algeria. The story portrays the life of 9 Trappist monks who gave their lives to God and to the people of a small village in Algeria. Seven of them lost their lives at the hands of Muslim extremists in that nation. It is a riveting story of those who would serve and love people with no discrimination friend and foe alike. Their story made me wonder, can I love in a way that is even close to this? Can I love a friend, a neighbor, and as Jesus challenges us this week an enemy? 1 The Monks of Tibhirine: Faith, Love, and Terror in Algeria, John Kiser. (Also see the recent movie, Of Gods and Men.

2 Let s begin with the word enemy. What is an enemy? We might think of battlefield opponents, we imagine bullies on the school yard, we remember those who have betrayed us. But how do we define enemy? One theologian puts it this way: By our enemies Jesus means those who are quite intractable and utterly unresponsive to our love, who forgive us nothing when we forgive them all, who requite our love with hatred and our service with derision. 2 Another person comments: An enemy is one who causes part of our soul to bubble with imagined retorts, strategies for battle, and fantasies of retaliation or revenge, however veiled. Something in us does not wish them well. 3 One last one writes: My enemy is my mirror. I tend to project onto my enemy everything in myself I cannot stand, tolerate, acknowledge, or accept. 4 So what is an enemy? Or better, who is my enemy? I d like to ask you to try something with me. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Now imagine the person who you picture in your mind and heart when you hear these questions Who in my life is the most resistant to my love and forgiveness? Who responds to all my advances with hatred and bitterness? Who is the object of my desire for revenge? In whose life do I never hope for good? Who is the one who represents everything I hate about myself? Who has hurt me so deeply I will never forgive? Whose way of life threatens every particle of my being? You can open your eyes. With any luck you have just seen one or two enemies. And now here is the good news. This person you just envisioned is the person Jesus calls you to love really starting now. Or maybe that doesn t feel like good news. The passage we read from Matthew 5 is from a series of comments Jesus makes in the Sermon on the Mount where he seems to intensify God s expectations of us. You think murder is prohibited? Jesus says Don t even think about getting angry! You think adultery is wrong? Take a look the passions in your heart! You think justice is an eye for and eye? Retaliation is never an option! At the conclusion of this section are Jesus comments on enemies. Though the Old Testament never says, hate your enemies, it is not a far stretch for all of us to acknowledge that though this attitude may not be in Scripture, it is in our DNA. Hating our enemies is not hard for us. And Jesus knows it. You have heard it said love your neighbor and hate your enemies, but I say love and pray for those who persecute you! Love and pray for your enemies. For those of us looking for clarity in scripture here it is! No waffling, no debate, no nuance. In fact most commentators say that these three words, love your enemy comprise the most uniquely 2 The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, p Enmity and the Enemy s Heart, Robert Corin Morris, March/April 2006, Weavings, p My Enemy, My Destiny, Walter Wink, Weavings, March/April 2006, p. 11.

3 characteristic saying of Jesus. 5 No one but Jesus ever spoke these words. There are virtually no parallels to this command in either Hebrew literature or the writings of the ancient Near East. Jesus was probably the only great teacher of his time who was teaching his followers to love your enemy. He may still be one of the few who offers this command. Love your enemies. Jesus asks us to do the hardest thing imaginable There are a couple of things that should be noted here as we reflect on Jesus teaching On loving our enemies. First, we need to remind ourselves of the things we ve been teaching about love all along. You fill in the blank here, Agape love is not about feelings but about. About what? About actions! Loving our enemy is not about liking him, but about seeking the best for him. Secondly, you will remember that the kind of love Jesus asks of us is not possible on our own power. That is why Jesus does not simply say, love your enemy, but pray for her. Ask God to help you in this relationship. Now this is a little tricky, because if you are like me your prayers for your enemy usually go like this. God, please make her stop hurting me. Lord, please show him how wrong he is. Father, punish her for how she betrayed me. Holy One, make him suffer like I suffer. I don t think this is what Jesus had in mind when he says, pray for your enemy. It is not that we should not pray for transformation in a person s life, but there is more that needs to go on here. One writer put it this way, Praying for our enemies involves a serious attempt to see them from God s point of view. We cannot earnestly pray for our enemies without acknowledging our common humanity; they too have been created in the image of God, and no behavior, no matter how nefarious, can erase that image. 6 And I like the way Lutheran pastor Nadia Bolz- Weber puts it, You pray for those who persecute you. Commend them to God. You don t have to feel affection for them, just hand em over. Because this counter- intuitive act of enemy love requires prayer. 7 So how do we do it? How do we love an enemy? Jesus doesn t give us lots of hints here, although scripture is full of guidance. As I was working on today s sermon I listened to a sermon where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses this very subject. I figured King had lots of enemies, and he has some helpful insights for us on this topic. He gives three possible ways to approach this. Three possible ideas for loving an enemy though I am sure they are not the only ways. 8 5 Invitation to Matthew, Donald Senior, p Interpretation: Matthew, Douglas Hare, p your- enemies- even- when- you- dont- want- to/ 8 The following comments are taken from a sermon called Loving Our Enemies in a audio recording of A Knock at Midnight: Original Recordings of Martin Luther King Jr.

4 First, Dr. King says, analyze yourself. By this he means, see what is in your life and heart that might have contributed to creating an enemy. Notice that the evil you do might resemble the evil done by the one who opposes you. Perhaps that honesty with self will breakdown the walls between you and the other, and allow you an opening to offer love. You see, maybe we are not that different from our enemy. Secondly, King says, discover the element of good in the enemy. Start with the premise that we are all created in the image of God. Understand that God loves all of us. Perhaps in seeking to see another as God sees them a bridge will begin to emerge and fear will dissipate. And maybe, by God s grace, you will discover a deep well of compassion. Look closely for the good in another. Then finally, and this is the most difficult, King says when the opportunity comes to defeat the enemy, you must not do it. We are drawn to revenge because it looks and feels so sweet at first blush, but revenge and retaliation are not love. According to King, love is the refusal to defeat any individual. This is where King sounds most like Jesus to me. This is when he asks us to do the hardest thing. Yet perhaps, in resisting revenge and defeat and humiliation, restoration might possible for our world, our enemy, or at the very least for ourselves. Because by loving our enemy, we are no longer captive to them or what they did to us. Choose to love, not defeat of the enemy. And this takes us to the last question, the question of why we love an enemy. For you see, loving an enemy is one of the least practical things we can do. There is no promise that loving our enemy will make our life better. Jesus is not calling us to do it because it is a humanly practical thing to do. You can love an enemy, and she might not change a bit. You can offer love to one who hates you, and he might hate you even more. There is a different reason we are to love our enemies, and it is contained within this passage. According to Jesus, we love our enemies, that we may be sons and daughters of our Father in heaven. We are God s children and we are invited to participate in God s nature. As God brings blessing to both the just and unjust, we are asked to do the same. As God shows love for those who listen and those who oppose him, we are asked to do the same. Jesus died for this very purpose! Not so surprisingly, we are called to take this same approach to life. Don t miss this - Jesus is not just giving us a new rule, but he is asking us to be so fully in Christ that we take on his very nature. A nature that even loves an enemy. Let me end with something from last week. How many people remember the parable of the Good Samaritan? Now one of the ways to understand the parables Jesus tells is to ask what the big surprise or twist was in the story. From what you know, what was the biggest surprise in that story? Was it that a man was injured by criminals? No, happens all the time. Was it that a priest was so busy with his religion that he ignored the injured man? No, happens all the time. Was it that a Levite was so focused on his learning that he neglected

5 someone in need? No, happens all the time. Was it that eventually someone did stop and help the man and paid to have him cared for? No, even this happens quite frequently. All of these things would have been unsurprising to the first hearers of this story. What was surprising was WHO stopped and helped the injured man. A Samaritan. Most of us have no idea what a Samaritan is, we think it is the name of a hospital. But a Samaritan was the most hated enemy of the Jewish nation. 9 Unclean, half breed, who practiced a corrupt form of Judaism. A member of a hated race was the hero of Jesus story. According to Jesus, the Samaritan was a true neighbor. According to Jesus, this neighbor, this enemy, was not only the hero, but is the one who should be the object of our love. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Concrete, clear advice fro our Master. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. One of the greatest mysteries of the Christian faith. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Perhaps the hardest thing we will ever do. 9 Good- About- The- Good- Samaritan.aspx

6 Matthew 5:43-48 (NRSV) 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. Next Step Questions What is an enemy to you? What about someone makes them an enemy? Read the passage from Matthew 5:43-48 again. What do you notice there that is helpful? Confusing? Challenging? Who would you consider an enemy in your life? Formulate a picture of that person in your mind. Without sharing that person s name, talk about what makes that person your enemy. (I realize this is a very intimate thing to ask.) What would it look like to love that person? Jim said that Jesus teaching was unique for his time, and very few (if any) others were teaching that we should love our enemies. Can you think of people in our day or in history who have taught this message? How have they been received? What is the cost (the consequences) of loving an enemy? Why do you think (or do you think) it is worth paying this price? Does loving our enemies work? In other words, does it change things? If not, why do it? Why do you think Jesus asks us to love our enemies? Martin Luther King Jr. has said (in response to these words of Jesus about enemies), When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy, that is the time you must not do it love is a refusal to defeat any individual. (from his sermon Loving Your Enemies in A Knock at Midnight.) Do you agree? Why or why not? Review last weeks passage about the good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37) What does that story teach us about enemies? Is there a particular enemy that you want to learn to love? What might that take for you? What is one practical step you can take toward loving an enemy?

The Spirituality of the Law: Love (Matthew 5:43-48)

CFCW-07/06/2014 The Spirituality of the Law: Love (Matthew 5:43-48) Introduction I remember sitting in chapel at the Master s College fifteen years ago and listening as Dr. John MacArthur informed the