We continue to hear Jesus teachings from the fifth chapter of the gospel of Matthew. We have been dwelling on these words for three weeks now. So Rabbi Jesus teaches us how to live a holy life as God’s people. If you are like me, the idea of being or becoming holy sounds a bit-farfetched, awkward, and unlikely. Holiness is for Catholic nuns or priests or something. Or the holy-rollers, the holier than thou religious sort, who judge others by their self-righteousness. I don’t want to be like them. But I do want to become like Jesus, to live according to God’s will When Jesus says be perfect, he does not mean be perfect. It is not moral perfectionism, but rather an acknowledgment that God sets some people apart as an example for others. Not that some of us are better than the rest, but that God has given some people an identity with a mission or calling—to imitate Jesus. We continue, then, to ask the question, What does it mean for a blessed person to bless others?
Jesus says: Do not resist an evildoer. Turn the other cheek. Give your cloak. Go the second mile. Give to everyone who begs of you. Do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. This sounds like we invite people to take advantage of us. It sounds like becoming willing victims to abuse, violence, and highway robbery. It sounds like letting bad people walk all over you. It sounds like a series of bad advice.
In honor of President's day, I have a couple of Lincoln and Washington tales to tell.
When he was an attorney, Abraham Lincoln was once approached by a man who passionately insisted on bringing a suit for $2.50 against an impoverished debtor. Lincoln tried to discourage him, but the man was bent on revenge. When he saw that the man would not be put off, Lincoln agreed to take the case and asked for a legal fee of $10, which the plaintiff paid. Lincoln then gave half the money to the defendant, who willingly confessed to the debt and paid the $2.50! But even more amazing than Lincoln's ingenuous settlement was the fact that the irate plaintiff was satisfied with it.
Do not retaliate or seek vengeance, but love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Love your enemies. Love. He's not talking about sentimental love tied to our emotions. I suspect he is not talking tough love either, but the nonviolent, sacrifical kind of love. I suspect he is suggesting that holy people do not hate anyone. What about self-protection, self-defense? What about violent criminals, terrorists, and the bad people lurking nearby? Sometimes our enemies are invisible strangers. We have been taught to fear people, to be guarded, to be suspicious. We have not been taught to love---with love comes vulnerability and personal openness. We are more cautious, wary, protective. We sometimes hear stories of how victims of violence forgive their offenders, like the Amish in Nickel Mines. And we applaud their superhuman capacity to do so. Is it possible for any of us to love the enemy? A reporter was interviewing an old man on his 100th birthday. "What are you most proud of?" he asked. "Well, " said the man, "I don't have an enemy in the world." "What a beautiful thought! How inspirational!" said the reporter. "Yep," added the centenarian, "outlived every last one of them."
Jesus does not simply give his people a means to endure hardship or outlast their enemies. He gives them a way to live graciously as God’s people in the midst of political opposition and persecution. In The Grace of Giving, Stephen Olford tells of a Baptist pastor during the American Revolution, Peter Miller, who lived in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and enjoyed the friendship of George Washington. In Ephrata also lived Michael Wittman, an evil-minded sort who did all he could to oppose and humiliate the pastor. One day Michael Wittman was arrested for treason and sentenced to die. Peter Miller traveled seventy miles on foot to Philadelphia to plead for the life of the traitor. "No, Peter," General Washington said. "I cannot grant you the life of your friend." "My friend!" exclaimed the old preacher. "He's the bitterest enemy I have." "What?" cried Washington. "You've walked seventy miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in different light. I'll grant your pardon." And he did. Peter Miller took Michael Wittman back home to Ephrata--no longer an enemy but a friend.
The sermon is not so much directed at individuals, though. Jesus is talking to God's covenant community in the countryside of first century Galilee. His sermon is political speech, teaching them how to live under the rule of God and under the rule of Caesar. As secure, white Americans living in this day and age, it is hard for us to relate to the oppressed. We are not an occupied nation under siege from a stronger military power. We have not been the losers, but the winners in the last centuries warfare. I’m not sure we should identify with the crowds here, but with the ones they would consider their enemies. When Jesus addresses the crowd he addresses a people who are indebted and poor, living under the oppressive rule of an occupying military super power they could not stand against. The people longed for freedom from foreign rule, believed God would bring it about, that a Messiah would lead a triumphant revolution, and that political change would result. Instead, Jesus teaches them how to live as God’s kingdom people while suffering the indignities of foreign occupation. A Roman soldier could conscript a civilian to carry his pack for no more than one mile. The civilian could resist and be sent to prison for treason, or you could go a second mile. By so doing, you would force the soldier to break their own rules. Consequences would be imposed by a superior officer. Though not overtly resisting the dominant power, Jesus offers a way to subvert the dominant way of violence by receiving it not as an oppressed victim but a willing participant. Righteous anger can lead to systemic change of injustice when we channel that passion collectively and use it to fuel nonviolent protest in the form of creative service. What injustices motivate our actions? How might we subvert dominant behaviors that harm our neighbors? As the world erupts in political acts of resistance and protest against unresponsive and oppressive governments, we might wonder what will result? What can God’s people do?
We pray for peace. We stand with the victims and the oppressed, the poor and the forgotten. We encourage an end to violence, the provision of human needs, and the perseveration of human dignity. We feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, show mercy. We welcome the stranger in without prejudice and fear. We give generously for others. Love is not an emotion, it is an act of courage on behalf of another person whose very life depends on it. Who will you love this week? Amen.
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