The Call of Jesus-Love Your Enemies

 Sermon  Luke 6:27-38 February 20, 2022

The Call of Jesus-Love Your Enemies         

Today is the last Sunday of the series of Scriptures from Luke. We won’t return to Luke until after Easter.

Last week I shared that Jesus was talking to the people on the plain and all became a level playing field for the listeners and for hearers then and today. I mentioned that Jesus didn’t tell anyone what to do but he helped people to discover their identity.

Today as we go further in the text, we hear Jesus begin to tell the hearers and the listeners to do something!!

 We know that Jesus has given the commandments to love one another. But Luke makes this love command almost impossible.

He tells us to love our enemies.

He tells us to turn the other cheek.

He commands us to give someone the shirt off our back.

He tells us to give to people whatever they ask. And

he tells us to not ask for the things back that have been taken from us!

 

You and I both know we can’t make a living like that. This instruction from Jesus is way too dangerous for us to consider for a minute. This way of life leads to vulnerability and leads to possibilities for abuse. We have to be careful of the call of Jesus when he tells us to love our enemies. We could end up dead or worse. How do we navigate these commands and hold onto life? The power of the words from Jesus comes from his insistence on mercy.

There is a tension between the giving up of everything of our own and the giving over, running over, pouring out of all God’s mercy to others.

If we have to do any of this on our own it would fail.

We are incapable as human beings of accomplishing even an iota of what Jesus is telling us to get out there to do.

Here’s our chance to come to this moment of his words and to say to him-“but Jesus, I’m broken. I’m tired. I’m in a place that I’ve had enough of what is going on in this world. Everything out there feels like an enemy. Wherever we turn there are things, events, people, emotions, heartaches, pain, suffering tearing up our lives and you want us to turn around and embrace these enemies as if they are our friends? Lord, we are not capable. I am not capable.”

When we are faced with these conditions of hardships, we want to claim justice and seek retaliation. We just want to get back at those enemies to make it right. But Jesus is claiming there is another way to do something.

To love the enemy, we will have to know who or what the enemy is. We will have to understand what it means to do good to those who hate you. In our polarized society it might do us some good to examine ourselves in those relationships. Who are we calling our enemy?

Other enemies, I would offer, are of our own making. Other enemies are within our own heart-enemies of anxiety, fear, hatred, sin, vanity, selfishness, and anger.

Jesus in his command to do something, offers us the freedom to start over. (Rev. Dr. Sara Dingman)

Jesus offers us the ability to look to him for the example of loving, giving, and doing. We do not need to be afraid to give of ourselves to share or to risk when we are covered by his grace. Fear as the people of Trinidad are experiencing can stall a whole nation.

Currently the people of Trinidad are highly afraid. It has become an enemy. It has become something the people need to learn to embrace and face and choose to do something.

Children in Trinidad have not been to school for since March of 2020. A beautiful article in the local paper the Guardian was written by Annalisa Alcazar, M.A. Mental Health Therapist Child Specialist describes how fear has gripped her people.

She writes, “Anxiety can become the driver of all things. We must ensure we do not let it steer the wheel. Often, fear and anxiety are not logical. Fear is always a component within these disorders, as well as in our everyday lives. Once triggered, the brain experiences a heightened fear response, and this often leads to a pattern of avoidance. However, what most do not understand, is once you avoid something you are afraid of, the fear is then maintained or amplified.

Worrying, many do not know, is also an active form of avoidance, which increases fear and anxiety. It is used to avoid problem-solving and decision-making. Instead, you ruminate over and over, without solving anything and you remain stuck. Those of us who worry excessively feel like we cannot turn off our minds, and it can be debilitating.

Anxiety takes a piece of the truth and twists it; then catastrophizes it and tells us the bad thing will most definitely happen. So, for something that is highly unlikely to happen, now our anxiety tells us it will definitely happen. And of course, it will happen to us. Therefore, we become highly afraid and avoid the circumstance.”

 

We do not need to avoid the call of Jesus to practice love. I believe we are in a place where these strong words of Jesus to do something are meant for us in this day and time.

Fear is our enemy.

We are our own enemies.

We do not like ourselves.

Jesus tells us to love those who hate you. If that is ourselves it is time to go to the mirror.

We need to look in the mirror and tell ourselves that Jesus loves us.

If we are frozen with anxiety, unable to make decisions to move forward and follow the call of Jesus to show his love, he pours out his mercy on us.

His mercy is great.

Notice that these words from him to do the impossible

come with the guarantee of his mercy to take us there so we can.

 

Jesus is telling us that there is plenty of room for mistakes and his love is generous enough for me and you and everyone else. So, no matter what or who our enemies are, Jesus can give us what we need to do and show the love he commands. We can share our coat and offer a shirt. We do not need to be afraid to do what Jesus asks.

Yesterday, thanks to the digital space in which are able to worship, I was able to attend the funeral of a colleague of mine from Indiana. The Rev Kevin Scott Fleming from First Presbyterian Church Evansville Indiana where he served as their pastor for 25 years.

It’s hard for me to believe that this scripture was chosen to be preached at the funeral. But Rev. Dr Sara Dingman, Synod executive of the Synod of Lincoln Trails preached from this text and our hearts were moved. She said, Rev Kevin Scott Fleming would have preached this had he been in the pulpit. It was only appropriate that she followed his ways. She then said the words that hurt and rang harsh in our ears. “Rev Fleming will never preach from this pulpit again.” She said it twice and it hurt so much to hear it that we, the listeners, wanted to shut out the noise of those words. But she went on to share that we feel broken, pressed down, shaken together over the shock of his sudden death. She comforted us with the knowledge that God’s mercy is the key to these commands from Jesus.

Mercy gives room for error.

Mercy allows for forgiveness.

Mercy leads to generosity which leads to life.

And to know that is to also know that mercy is good for the church.

Friends, we are not perfect people. We are not as saintly as we would hope we could be. We are not the church without problems or challenges or struggles. There is no church like that except through the mercy of Jesus Christ.

Jesus calls us to follow him.

He calls us to be his disciples.

He calls us to obey his commands.

He calls us to listen.

He calls us to know whose we are.

He calls us to do something.

Friends let us give and love and live. Let us do something! Through his mercy now and forever.

Amen.

 Monica Gould copyright February 20, 2022

Resources: Funeral sermon Rev Kevin Scoot Fleming given by Rev. Dr. Sara Dingman Synod Exec Synod of Lincoln Trails; Podcast Working Preacher, Rev Matt Skinner, Rev, Rolf Jacobson, Rev Karoline Lewis; NIB Luke, Rev R. Alan Culpepper; Article the Guardian Trinidad, Annalisa Alcazar, M.A. Mental Health Therapist Child Specialist