Meditation for May 7, 2009

From The Rev. Peter A. Munson

Luke 6:27-38

27 [Then he looked up at his disciples and said:] "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.  29 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.  30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask them again.  31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them.  33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners do the same.  34 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.  35 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.  36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will 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."

Being As Radical As God

Love your enemies... do good to those who hate you... pray for those who abuse you... bless those who curse you... offer the other cheek, also... give to everyone who begs from you... do not judge... do not condemn... forgive... give... do to others as you would have them do to you... be merciful (or compassionate) as your Father is merciful/compassionate.  Check out the verbs in these phrases. And check out who is to be the recipient of our actions. There is a lifetime worth of challenge here!

There is a radical kind of teaching in these words, coming from a radical teacher, who we know as Son of God.  This is way beyond "an eye for an eye" or "love your neighbor" teaching.  This is love at a whole different level.  This is radical love, love that involves reaching out in grace to others, in the same way that we receive grace from God.

A member of St. Ambrose asked me last night, as we finished up the class "Companions in Christ:  The Way of Forgiveness", if I could give her a short-hand definition of grace.  I said, "It's getting more than you deserve."  I could have said, and maybe should have said,  "It's getting way more than you deserve."  God loves us in that way, and Jesus says, in effect, I challenge you to love others in the very same way that your Heavenly Father loves you.  Love others in a way that is way more than they deserve!

I am aware that I usually fall woefully short, when it comes to responding to Jesus' challenge.  I am often like the "sinners" Jesus refers to in verses 32-34 above.  I am more inclined to love those who love me, to do good to those who do good to me, to lend or give to those from whom I hope to receive.  "Big whoop", Jesus says.  "Any loser can do that!  Peter, I challenge you, as my professed follower, to love as I love you, to love as the Most High loves you."

This kind of love looks like loving your enemies, and forgiving those who have hurt you.  It looks like not judging the person holding the sign on the street corner, but even giving him or her money.  It doesn't look like inviting your friends over for the evening, but inviting people over who could never return the favor, the folks who never get an invitation, because they are homeless or weird or aged or disabled or of the wrong faith persuasion or the wrong something or other.  Wow!  Do I have a long way to go still on my Christian journey!  Yikes!

Being a Christian, at its core, is not about going to church on Sunday, praising God in worship, and then retreating into our comfortable little world for the rest of the week.  Being a Christian, if we are really going to practice being a Christian, is about revolutionary love, and is a call to a very radical lifestyle.  You and I not only judge people, we often condemn them in our minds and in our hearts.  Every time we think something like, "That person is a loser" or "That person is lazy" or "That person is totally nuts" or something to that effect, we have pronounced the sentence.  We have been both jury and judge.  We have condemned that person - pure and simple. Jesus implies, "Keep acting that way and you will be judged and condemned yourselves." (see verse 37)  On the other hand, if we can love as God loves... if we can be kind to the ungrateful and to the wicked, then we will be children of the Most High, and a good measure will be put into our lap, so much, in fact, that it will be running over. (verses 35 and 38)

I have read two excellent books lately.  The first was this book we used in the Lenten/Easter forgiveness class that I mentioned above.  It is meant to be used in a small group, but if you can't get a small group together right away, I recommend you get a copy for yourself and work through it, keeping a daily journal as is suggested in the book.  It will take you eight weeks.  You will learn a lot about yourself if you dedicate yourself to the material in this book for that length of time.  It is written beautifully by a woman named Marjorie Thompson, an ordained Presbyterian minister who was mentored by Henri Nouwen - the Catholic priest, professor and author.

The second book was loaned to me by a parishioner several months ago, and I just picked it up about 10 days ago.  It has been an amazing complement to this class on forgiveness.  It is called Left to Tell, and it is written by Immaculee Ilibagiza, a Rwanda woman who survived the genocide in that country in 1994 by hiding in a tiny bathroom for three months with seven other Tutsi women.  Despite losing most of her family in the genocide, the book is her story of faith in God and her amazing capacity to forgive the people who killed her relatives, who were among the almost one million Rwandans murdered. 

Ms. Ilibagiza's story is a story of radical love, and challenges me in the very same way that Jesus' words in Luke 6 challenge me.

Lord, give us the desire, the courage and the strength to live the radical lives you call us to live - as your followers - so that we might be children of the Most High.  Amen.