Sermon: "What's In It For Me?"

Luke 6:27-38

“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

“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.”

 

The Rev. Maureen R. Frescott

Congregational Church of Amherst, UCC

February 24, 2019 – Seventh Sunday after Epiphany

Luke 6:27-38

“What’s In It For Me?”

So, which part of this reading from Jesus’ sermon on the plain is not sitting right with you?

Which part had you saying silently to yourself,

“Ehhh, I don’t know about that.”

Which part had you forming a counter argument in your head,

to the point where you stopped listening to the rest of the reading?

Is it the part about turning the other cheek after someone strikes you?

Is it the part about giving to everyone who begs from you?

Is it the part about loving those who hate you – and praying for those who’ve abused you?

This passage is full of provocative statements that may have us saying,

“Yeah that may have been doable for Jesus  – considering who he was – but the rest of us….we have live in the real world.” 

The world where turning the other cheek, and giving to all who beg from us, and praying for those who abuse us – may leave us bloody, broke, or dead. 

And all things considered, that’s exactly what happened to Jesus.

And all things considered, we’re not Jesus.

We don’t have the power to turn water into wine.

We don’t have the power to heal the sick.

And as resilient as we may be, we don’t have the power lay ourselves at the feet of those who would gladly walk all over us – while we lift up a prayer of forgiveness and invite them to do so again and again.

If you find yourself wanting to offer a rebuttal to Jesus after listening to his sermon, you’re not alone.

A pastor friend of mine shared that one Sunday, instead of reading a sermon that she wrote, she stood up and read Jesus’ entire sermon as it appears in Matthew’s gospel – all 110 verses.

The she sat down, without adding any commentary of her own,

letting the sermon speak for itself.

Afterward, during coffee hour, she had several parishioners who came up to her in a huff, saying - “That part where you talked about giving our shirt to someone who takes our coat – I don’t agree with that.”

Or,  “That part where you said we should not resist an evil person – how can you say that? What kind of pastor preaches a sermon like that?

All she could do was hold up her hands and say,

“Hey, I didn’t say it….Jesus did – take it up with him.”

It might help us to know that Jesus delivered his sermon with one overarching theme in mind –

the theme we might say was Jesus’ favorite to preach –

that is, what is this Kingdom of God that we all want to be a part of supposed to look like?

In what way does God’s world look different from our world?

We live in a world that values reciprocal relationships.

When we’re asked to give of ourselves we often want to know,
“What’s in it for us?”

What we give, we expect to get in return.

If we think we’re unlikely to get what we seek in return,

we’re less likely to give.

Even if what we’re seeking is just a “thank you” or some other sign of appreciation of our generosity.

And if what we are given causes us pain –

we want to return that pain to the one who has given it to us. 

But Jesus tells us this is not the WAY of God’s world.

 

God’s world is where we give of ourselves and of our bounty without thinking about what we might receive in return –

because the gift of God’s love and grace is all we need to sustain us.

God’s world is where the hate and abuse that others have heaped upon us can no longer harm us,

and because we understand the pain that causes others to lash out,

we offer them love instead of judgment in return.

God’s world is where we offer one another mercy and forgiveness,

even to those who’ve hurt us in this world,

because God offers mercy and forgiveness to us.

The Kingdom (or Reign) of God is not of this world.

Yet it is THIS world that will one day become THAT world.

And we see glimpses of it whenever we help the spirit of Jesus’ sermon come to life.

But are we meant to live into everything that Jesus asks of us here –

in a very real and literal way?

As we keep saying, context matters.

While we may be tempted to read the gospels as a “How To” manual – in an effort to understand how we’re supposed to live as followers of Christ,

Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain was not directed at the general masses gathered around him.

It was directed at the twelve who pledged to give up their lives to follow him.

Luke tells us Jesus looked up at his disciples when he said,

“Blessed are you who are poor, Blessed are you who are hungry, Blessed are you who weep, for the Kingdom of God is yours.”

Jesus’ disciples for the most part came from the ranks of the poor and the marginalized.

He recruited a handful of fisherman who struggled to feed their families,

an ostracized tax collector despised for his work,

and a fringe dwelling zealot who clung to a narrowly focused interpretation of the faith that left him suspicious and accusing of those who failed to live up to his standards.

Jesus’ sermon on the plain was intended to prepare them for what was to come.

He said, “I say to you that listen…”

Meaning those who stuck with him, and sat at his feet listening and questioning and challenging themselves to grow.

Jesus was not speaking to the fickle ones who wandered off when he said things not to their liking.

He was not speaking to the trend seekers who hovered at the edges waiting to see who else was committing to THIS messiah,  

and who else might emerge as the one to follow next.

And he was not speaking to the powerful and the privileged.

Who were listening – but only to gather further evidence and gauge just how dangerous this carpenter turned preacher from Nazareth might be.

Jesus says, “I say to you that listen…” and then he paints a picture of the Kingdom of God that he’s inviting his disciples to be a part of -

and help build, in his name. 

Then he lays out a lengthy list of verbs that are very hard to live into.

Loving.

Turning.

Praying.

Lending.

Giving.

Forgiving. 

Some of these things – done in THIS world, are nearly impossible to do.

And others, while sounding noble and righteous on paper,

would serve to only further harm and endanger those most in need of healing and restitution.

Advising someone who has been emotionally, physically, or sexually abused to pray for and forgive their abuser – because Jesus said so –

is just one example of what not to do.

Approaching that level of forgiveness is Kingdom of God kind of living that only a few of us will ever hope to obtain in this world.

But there are some things that Jesus asks of us here –

such as loving our enemies and doing good to those who hate us - 

while seeming impossible may just appear that way, because we’ve talked ourselves into believing they’re just too difficult for us to do.  

Because they push against our limitations as human beings.

There was a time when it was believed that human beings were not capable of running a mile in under four minutes.

In the early part of the twentieth century a few people steadily moved under the 4 minute 10 second mark, and in 1945, a runner from Sweden hit 4 minutes and one second  – but THAT it was believed – was the absolute limit.

For the next 10 years, that record stood as a barrier of human limitation.

Then in May of 1954, Roger Bannister of Great Britain broke the

4-minute mark, running the mile in 3:59.4.

And within three years, 17 other men did the same.

There was a time when it was believed women should not run more than 800 meters.

Then Katherine Switzer jumped into the field of the 1967 Boston Marathon and now some 50 years later women’s marathon times are inching closer to the men’s.

And when it comes to ultra-endurance marathons of 100 miles or more, the women are actually surpassing the men.

And then we have long-distance cyclist, Mark Beaumont, of Scotland,

who recently set the record for riding a bicycle around the world –

completing the trip it in just over 78 days - by riding 240 miles per day.

Beaumont held the previous record, which he set 10 years before,

when he completed the same route in 194 days.

Keeping to a more conservative 100 miles a day.

Because it was believed that a pace greater than that would be impossible maintain day after day for months at a time.

When asked if his ability to ride an extra 140 miles a day over what was previously thought humanly possible was aided by advances in bike technology, or what we now know about training and nutrition -

Beaumont responded:

 “Bikes haven’t changed, we haven’t changed, what has changed is what we believe we can do.”

If we want to live in God’s world –

where love is heaped upon those who lash out in pain,

where mercy is offered to those who fail even in the worse way,

where grace rains down upon those who seem to least deserve it –

Then we have to believe that creating such a world is not beyond our capabilities.

And we have to want it and believe it because at any given time we could be the one in need of such unconditional love, mercy, and grace.

Dorothy Day, the Catholic activist and champion of the poor, once said, “I really only love God as much as the person I love the least.”

Jesus’ sermon to his disciples sets this challenge before us.

To love as God calls us to love – and as we wish to be loved in return.

So when we ask, “What’s in it for us?”

Jesus’ response is a resounding,

“The Kingdom of God will be yours.”

Thanks be to God, and Amen.