1 Daring to Love Matthew 5:38-48 February 19, 2017 By: Rev. Susan L. Genge (in partnership with God!) Prayer: Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Melt me, mould me, fill me, use me. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Voices United 376 v.1 Today our reflection on the Sermon on the Mountain continues. We picture Jesus seated on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee with his disciples and a crowd of listeners all around him. How long was his sermon? How long did he preach? Did he stop to answer questions? We don t know. He could have preached for hours. He could have preached all day. I imagine that the crowd hung on his every word. This was new teaching- bold, daring teaching. Over the past three Sundays we have reflected on important sections of Jesus Sermon on the Mountain, as found in the Gospel of Matthew. We began with Jesus blessings- the Beatitudes, followed by a teaching on the importance of being salty, light-filled Christians. Last Sunday we considered Jesus teachings on anger and reconciliation, adultery and divorce, swearing and vows- none of them light topics! Today, Jesus tough love teachings continue, as he calls his listeners to an even higher morality than what the Hebrew law demanded. He said, You have heard it said but I say By reinterpreting the ancient Mosaic Law, he gave it new meaning- a demand for increased holiness and a more just and compassionate way of living. His first teaching in today s passage is to not take revenge on other people, to not resist those who do evil, to go the extra mile for people, and to give to those who ask things of you. This would have been very difficult teachings for them to hear, a people living under Roman occupation and oppression. And it s
2 certainly a difficult teaching for us to hear too. It flies in the face of much of what our society promotes and practices. And Jesus second teaching in today s scripture may have been even harder to hear: You have heard that the Law of Moses says, Love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you. Then you ll be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. (Mt.5:43-45). Wow! What was going through the hearts and minds of the crowd when they heard that? What goes through our hearts and minds? Love my enemies? It s a really difficult teaching to follow. How do we love our enemies, especially if we feel that we have been personally hurt and offended by them? It begins by turning to the Source of Love- God, and by acknowledging that at times we have all been enemies of God, when we have spoken and behaved in ways that are not God-like. And yet, God continues to love and forgive us. God never gives up on us, and keeps hoping and believing in us. And it begins by asking God to help us do what we perhaps cannot do on our own- to love as God loves. May that be our prayer, God, help me to love as you love. And it helps when we look to the positive examples of others. How do we love, thee God? Let us count the ways. Consider Saul of Tarsus, who later became known as Paul. Remember the beginning of his story, as found in parts of Acts 7-9? Saul never met or knew the earthly Jesus, but he was certainly known by Jesus followers after Jesus death and resurrection. Saul s name struck fear into the hearts of all Christians who encountered him. He was a Pharisee of Pharisees, a strictly-obedient, law-abiding Jew, hell-bent on rounding up and punishing Jesus followers. He was an enemy of the early Church. Saul was one of those who stood by and guarded the coats of those who stoned the Christian man Stephen to death. One day when he rode with his cohorts to Damascus in Syria to round up more Christians and bring them to trial and imprisonment, he was knocked off his
3 horse by a blinding vision of the risen Christ. Jesus asked, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Then Jesus commanded Saul to proceed to Damascus, where three days later a disciple named Ananias, as instructed by Jesus, laid healing hands upon Saul and restored his vision. Saul became a changed man. He was immediately baptized as a Christian and became an ardent, convincing preacher about Jesus, the Messiah. But when he arrived in Jerusalem and tried to join the disciples, they were afraid of him. No wonder they were wary and reluctant. He had been their enemy and Jesus enemy, their persecutor. They didn t believe that Saul was a disciple of Jesus. We can relate to that. Most of us have heard the old adage, Once bitten, twice shy. It s very difficult to accept someone who has betrayed our trust. But Saul persisted in trying to convince them that he was a changed person. And he eventually won their trust- in two ways. His Christian friend Barnabas vouched for the veracity of Saul s conversion experience. And Saul demonstrated his faith in Jesus by preaching about him throughout Jerusalem. In time, the disciples and apostles no longer viewed Saul as an enemy. With God s help, they came to love him and accept him as a true follower. How do we love thee God? Let us count the ways. Consider Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Donald Trump. Many Americans, Canadians and citizens of other nations regard President Donald Trump as an enemy; an enemy of many good and long-standing agreements and policies- on climate change, on immigration, and on the anticipated two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, for example. American journalists and street protestors continue to resist many of the executive orders he has recently signed. But the world needs to stop treating President Donald Trump as an enemy. We need to not only pray for him, but to love him. For Donald Trump is a child of God, as is each of us.
4 On November 8, 2016, the night when Donald Trump won the American election for president, our Prime Minister took the initiative for Canada, by phoning Mr. Trump, congratulating him, and wishing him well. Mr. Trudeau treated Mr. Trump not as an enemy, but as a friend. That positive overture has been followed up by other phone conversations between the two leaders, and by Mr. Trudeau s visit, at the invitation of Mr. Trump, to meet with him at the White House in Washington. That visit occurred last Monday the 13 th. Looking at them in the newspaper, you wonder, Are there any warm fuzzies between them? Not likely. They hold different political perspectives, ideologies, policies and goals. They come from different socio-economic worlds. One is a billionaire businessman who ran a hotel empire and the other was a school teacher. In the picture they re not smiling at each other or shaking hands. They re probably not about to go away together on any sailing or golf trips or week-long vacations in the near future. But they are walking with each other. And when they met last Monday, among other things, they affirmed the continuing friendship between our two countries, and they were peaceable and civil toward each other. It was a good and hopeful start, an attempt to show that they want to be friends, not enemies. How do we love thee God? Let us count the ways. The greatest example of course, of someone following through on the command to love one s enemies is Jesus himself. We see it over and over again in his ministry- Jesus refusing to take revenge or become violent against his enemies. He modelled and counselled his followers to motivate change by peaceful means. He rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on a humble donkey, not on a majestic war horse. And when he died a humiliating death on the cross between two thieves, he prayed, Father, forgive them, because they don t know what they are doing. May God s love, as lived in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, strengthen and enable us to love everyone, even those whom we consider our enemies. May the love of Jesus heal all wounds and broken hearts. May the grace of the Holy Spirit bring us reconciliation, unity and peace. Amen.
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