"Strength to Love" – Matthew 5:38-48

Matthew 5:38-48

"You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

"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." 

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Over the past three weeks I have had the pleasure of participating in weekly discussions centered on select sermons of Martin Luther King, Jr., collected in the book Strength to Love. 

I rediscovered my copy of Dr. King’s sermons last month as I prepared to lead a before-school Bible study at Sugar Creek Elementary. It was to be the kids’ last day of school prior to the observation of MLK Day, and I wanted to take the occasion to address MLK’s faith, which is as foundational to his character as anything else in his life, and yet probably was not a topic that would not have been discussed much during school hours that week. 

I opened the dusty book and recalled that fifteen years earlier, as an undergraduate student, I had read and underlined his words with what could be described as a detached reverence. I knew intellectually that his words were true, but I also held his words at a distance because I assumed they were contextual – applicable only to his time and his situation. They weren’t words for me. After all, I wasn't even alive in the 50’s and 60’s. After all, I’m not black. And after all, I assumed I would have been on the right side of history had I lived in that time, fighting for the rights of my black brothers and sisters right alongside Dr. King. My original margin notes and underlines revealed the scribblings of a privileged, sheltered young man who thought he was reading a historical document with little regard for its current practical implications. 

I felt convicted as I re-read his words through the lens of contemporary life. I wanted to once again wrestle with his words but this time alongside the perspectives of my fellow Christ-followers here at Cross of Grace; both with an eye on its historical relevancy as well as its current implications. 

I’ve been blessed by the dialog this group has provided; and I feel like the participants have been challenged, convicted, and encouraged by Dr. King’s reflections on scripture and the prophetic call to engage in social justice in Christ’s name. His sermons are not easy to get through, both because of his expansive and scholarly verbiage, as well as his insistence that scripture would inspire all people to live Christ-centered lives of equality, nonviolence, and transformative love. 

One of Dr. King’s sermons included in this book from his reflection on 5th chapter of Matthew – our assigned scripture for today. I was tempted to read his sermon to you in its entirety. I decided against that, although that’s not to say that I have anything to add to his profound words. Instead, I’ll share a few of his insights with you so that you too can share in its richness and truth.

When we hear Dr. King reflect on the truth of Jesus’ instruction to love our enemies, it’s important to hold a few images in mind. His words are that much more powerful and convicting when we remember that his dedication to love and nonviolence was not an abstract ivory tower philosophy. Instead, his dedication to love and nonviolence was a roadmap laid out for him in the pages of scripture – a way of life which he knew would paradoxically both lead to his death as well as to future peace. 

Here are a few images from the time to remind us of what MLK anticipated and experienced as a result of his commitment to working for social justice. These snapshots of his reality remind us that he was not afraid of hatred, abuse, imprisonment, or even death. They were the prices he was willing to pay in order to live the Christian truth of loving his enemies. 

With these images in mind, I encourage you to take in his words of hope and profound, painful truth. 

In his sermon on the 5th chapter of Matthew, Dr. King acknowledges that the call to love one’s enemies is perhaps the most difficult of Jesus’ admonitions to follow. 

How do we love our enemies?

1. We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive 
   • “He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love”
   • “When we forgive, we forget in the sense that the evil deed is no longer a mental block impeding a new relationship”
2. “We must recognize that the evil deed of the enemy-neighbor, the thing that hurts, never quite expresses all that he is. An element of goodness may be found in our worst enemy.”
3. “We must not seek to defeat or humiliate the enemy but to win his friendship and understanding.”

Why should we love our enemies?

1. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
2. “Hate scars the soul and distorts the personality.”
3. “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” 
4. Because Jesus tells us to (“Love your enemies…that ye may be children of your Father which is in heaven.”)

In one of the most passionate and faithful passages in the entire book, Dr. King writes,

"We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We shall meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us what you will, and we shall continue to love you. We cannot in all good conscience obey your unjust laws, because non co-operation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is co-operation with good. Throw us in jail, and we shall still love you. Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our community at the midnight hour and beat us and leave us half dead, and we shall still love you. But be assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer. One day we shall win freedom, but not only for ourselves. We shall so appeal to your heart and conscience that we shall win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory.

"Love is the most durable power in the world. This creative force, so beautifully exemplified in the life of our Christ, is the most potent instrument available in mankind’s quest for peace and security.”

I pray that you understand a truth that I could not grasp when I was a college student – Dr. King’s words are timeless truths because they are rooted in a profound and personal understanding of Jesus’ words. The call to stand up against oppression, hatred, and inequality with the weapons of love is not restricted to particular decades in the 20th Century. This is the same call with which we are to treat our very real enemies today, whomever you understand them to be.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. held all people to the highest standard of moral living – namely, a life guided by purposeful and subversive love aimed squarely at the hearts of people who mean to hurt us. We, as followers of Christ, inherit the command to love our enemies. These are not the words of an idealist, a snowflake, or any other adjective you would prefer to use to dismiss those who advocate love over hate as well as what seems like irrational peace directed toward those who mean to harm us. These are the words of Christ, which brave men and women throughout history have taken seriously and doing so, have transformed the world into a better place, even if it cost them their lives. That is the call before us today. I pray you would find the inspiration and courage to love your enemies and that you would hold me to that standard.

For I truly believe that times like these require a response of love, a willingness to be a voice for the voiceless, and a trust that speaking truth to power will continue to shape our world into a place of peace for all people.

Amen.

All or Nothing Faith

Matthew 5:21-37

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

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I’m an all-or-nothing kind of guy in a lot of ways, and it’s come to my attention in the last couple of weeks, yet again, much to my chagrin. I was reminded of it most recently when I got onto a health kick and began to get into an exercise routine, which I started again after some time, a few weeks ago.

And if I’m going to exercise, I’m going to run, not walk. And if I’m going to bother, there’s going to be some distance involved – a few miles, at least – even if I haven’t stepped on a treadmill for, say, 6 months or more. And if I’m going to exercise, I’m also changing my diet. There’s no sense bothering with all of that time and energy, sweat and tears, and so on if I’m just going to undo it all with a large fry. So I cut calories and do without sugar and drink water by the gallon and so on and so forth.

And then I’ll hurt myself – strain my back, let’s say – to the degree that I can barely walk or stand up straight without groaning or find a heating pad hot enough to take away the pain, whatever. And I’ll have to stop running…or walking, for that matter… because why bother? And if I’m not running who cares about what I’m eating…so back come the calories and the candy and the snacks and the sugar and all the rest.

And this ridiculous character flaw shows up in other ways, too. If I can’t clean the bathroom from top to bottom, why bother just scrubbing the shower, even though it could use it? (So I don’t do either, often enough.) If I’m not going to move all of the furniture to get at every inch of carpet, why run the vacuum at all? (So I don’t.) If I’m not going to cook a full-fledged meal for everyone to sit down and enjoy, why not just grab some chips and salsa and call that dinner? (Which I do, far too often.) It’s a character flaw. And it can be ridiculous. And, as you might imagine it’s not one of my wife’s favorite things about me.

Anyway, when I read Jesus’ words from this bit of his Sermon on the Mount, I feel like he’s describing some kind of an Olympic-level regimen for discipleship and faithfulness. And it makes me tired and it wears me out and it makes me not even want to try. It seems impossible; it’s certainly unlikely; it may even be downright unfair to expect this kind of dedication, this sort of complete devotion, this total, all-or-nothing commitment to the ways of God as he describes them.

After all, he sets the bar of faithfulness so high in what we get for today, who could live up to his standards? In verses 21-26, he lumps anger and insult into the same category as murder. In verses 27-30, he puts a wandering eye under the same umbrella as adultery. And in verses 31-32, he makes divorce and adultery one-and-the-same – as far as many people I know are concerned, anyway. And, of course, the corresponding punishments for not living up to it all are extreme – tearing out eyes and cutting off hands, and so forth. Most of us are in some “deep kimchi,” as my high school history teacher used to say.

And I know we can’t minimize this. We surely can’t disregard it out of hand, like my all-or-nothing attitude tempts me to. (If I can’t honor all of it … in full … with perfection … why bother?) But we can’t believe, either, that Jesus is advocating we actually lop off our limbs and pluck out our eyes or otherwise punish ourselves with guilt and abuse every time we falter or fail.

See, I don’t think Jesus means to be holding up an impossible standard, just for the fun of it. And I don’t think Jesus is testing our willingness or ability to actually be perfect as some Christians might be inclined to suggest. I don’t think Jesus is setting the bar for faithfulness so high in order to see who can endure the most intense, grueling, deprived life of discipleship. Nor do I think Jesus ever means to make faith like an exercise in something we can fail at or succeed in. Where would the grace be in any of that?

What I think Jesus means to do, is to encourage us and challenge us and inspire us in as many ways as possible so that we’ll live faithfully in ways that bless us and that bless the world in return.

I think Jesus – in this moment with his disciples on the hillside – is like a loving parent…like a trusted partner…like a model coach who pushes his most trusted followers in ways and to places that they – and we – might not get to without some encouragement and challenge. What he’s calling us to are lives that shine the light of God; that usher in the Kingdom; that bring to bear upon the world, a better way of grace. And that kind of kingdom-living isn’t easy, pretty, or perfectly managed – but it doesn’t mean we don’t try… that we don’t set a high standard for ourselves and each other, nonetheless.

In other words, for people celebrating and searching for the kingdom of God among us, we can’t let murder be the minimum standard by which we govern our anger – what we post on Facebook or whisper behind backs matters. We shouldn’t let adultery be the standard by which we measure faithfulness to our partner – the way we talk about and treat women matters. The way we talk about and treat men matters. And we shouldn’t let divorce come as an easy solution to problems in a marriage – because love and forgiveness and reconciliation are worth the work.

So, Jesus holds up a higher standard, not because he wants to see us fail – or because he knows that we will – or because this life of faith is an all-or-nothing endeavor. What Jesus does is raise the bar of faithfulness for us because he knows that we and the world will be blessed by every effort we make at living into those faithful hopes and expectations, even when it’s hard; even when we don’t do it perfectly.

It’s why we do what we do together as believers in the church.  I think our life together here is meant to be a training ground for grace and discipleship that helps make us fit for the kingdom of God we’re called to experience and bring to bear on the world out there.

When we talk about praying it’s not to get the words just right so we’ll get what we want or all we think we need. When we miss the chance to pray as we should, it doesn’t mean we refuse pray as we ought when the next opportunity arises.

When we encourage and challenge each other to give our money away, it’s not just to pay the bills or to build a building. It’s to grow generous people. And just because we can’t give it all, doesn’t mean we don’t give any. Just because we can’t give as much as so-and-so, doesn’t mean we don’t give as much as we can or know we should.

When we talk about practicing our faith, in any way, as children of God, it’s not because we are – or ever could be – done, or perfect, or better than anybody else in the eyes of our creator. It’s because we will be blessed…and able to bless others; it’s because we will be fulfilled…and able to fill the world; …and it’s because we will be forgiven, even when we don’t.

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount – and today’s words, as hard as they sound on the surface – are all about living, as disciples, in ways that aren’t always easy, or comfortable, or popular. And we will fail…, or come up short…, or leave so much left undone, more often than we’d like. And, it might be tempting to wonder “Why begin?” or “Why bother?”

But in those moments our answer is an “all-or-nothing” kind of thing, only it has nothing to do with our efforts, or our energy, or our success, or our failure. It has everything to do with God’s effort and God’s energy and God’s faithfulness in Jesus. The only “all-or-nothing” that matters here, is God’s “all-or-nothing,” which says always says “no, no” to our sin and brokenness and failure, and “yes, yes” to our forgiveness and love and second-chances in all things by amazing grace. 

Amen