Test Driving Theology

At the end of last week’s Gospel reading, Jesus seemed to be on the verge of starting a social revolution.  He had just said, “Blessed are you who are poor, hungry, sorrowful and despised,” and then “Woe to you who are rich, fat, happy, and famous.”  To the crowd who was listening, most of whom were poor…this was good news.

What they heard Jesus saying was that those who were rich at their expense…those who were using their political power to take advantage of the poor, were about to get theirs.  It sounded like the start of the revolution…the one for which the Jewish people had been waiting centuries.

I can visualize the scene from today’s Gospel:  As Jesus is speaking, the crowd is reaching down and picking up sticks and rocks from the ground.  Those who had swords might have pulled them out of their sheaths.  Because Jesus could announce the revolution at any moment, and when he did, they would want to be ready to rush into the city, pull the high and mighty off their thrones and lift up the poor and lowly.  I can see them, leaning in toward Jesus, testing the weight of the stones they held…slapping heavy, wooden sticks against their palms.

You can almost hear them whispering, “Say it Jesus.  Just say the word.”  Jesus leans forward, lowers his voice and says “But I tell you who hear me…”. They are tensed and ready…focused on the sound of his voice.  “Just say the word, Jesus.  Just say the word.”  Swords are raised to the ready…sticks held high in the air.  Stones are in hand, ready for the throwing.  And Jesus says, “I tell you who hear me…love your enemies.”

And there they go, charging off toward the city, whooping and yelling and swinging their swords.  They get about 30 feet…and then…suddenly…they stop in their tracks.  

“Wait…what did he say?”

They turn around and trudge back to where Jesus is standing. “Excuse me,” one of them asks.  “But what did you say?”

“Love your enemies,” Jesus repeats.  “Do good to those who hate you.  Bless those who curse you.  Pray for those who abuse you.”

And standing there, scratching their heads in wonder, one of them asks “ummm…Jesus?  Could you maybe be a little more specific?”

Certainly,” Jesus replies.  “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 anyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, don’t ask for them back.  In other words, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’”

Now, I do need to interrupt this story for just a moment.  You see, we know this “Do unto others” phrase…we’re familiar with it.  We sometimes call it the “golden rule.”  And to be honest, in our culture we have kind of domesticated this important teaching…we have made it sound “nice.”  

When we say, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” don’t we really mean something like, “just be nice to each other”?  Don’t we have something in mind like opening the door for someone who is carrying an armload of groceries…or maybe sharing an umbrella with someone on a rainy day?

But this is not what Jesus had in mind at all.  Not even a little bit.  When Jesus says “Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you…” he is not simply talking about being polite…or being kind.  He is talking about being merciful.

We know this because Jesus goes on to tell his disciples to “be merciful.”  He says, “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

The word that is translated as merciful in the version of the Bible that we have in our pews, is the Greek word oiktirmon, which is better translated as compassionate.  So a better translation of this phrase has Jesus saying: “Be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.”  This is a really important distinction.  Mercy is what a superior might show to a subordinate that had done something wrong.  As in, “Well, I’ll let you off this time.” 

But compassion means literally to “feel with.”  It is empathy.  It is accompaniment.  It is a visceral sharing of someone else’s pain, so that you suffer right along with that one, and you find yourself moved to do something about it.  

Have you ever experienced a significant loss?  Maybe the loss of a loved one?  And someone sits down with you, and they just sit…and they feel alongside you.  When your eyes get teary…their eyes get teary?  When you talk…they listen?  When you laugh…they laugh?  That is compassion.

This is what God does.  He feels the pain of both the perpetrator and the victim; of both the wicked and the righteous, and when he feels their pain, when he shares their sufferings, he is moved to do something about it.  Because of compassion for us, God sent Jesus.

And Jesus is very clear in his teaching here: “Be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.  Love your enemies.”  

Of all the hard things that Jesus asks people who follow him to do…this may be the very hardest.

Love your enemies.

Right now, we don’t live in a world where this is obvious…or easy.  Quite the opposite, actually.  

According to data from the National Institute of Health and the Gallup organization:

• The average adult experiences anger 14 times per week.
• 30% of adults have trouble controlling their anger.
• 64% of young people between the ages of 14 and 21 experience uncontrolled anger.
• 9% of U.S. adults have issues with anger that may lead to violence.
• And between 7 and 11 percent of the general population experience significant anger issues.

So who is everybody angry at?  Well, that has shifted as well.  Once upon a time, anger was mostly directed at people who could be perceived as a threat…someone whose actions might hurt you, your loved ones, or your ability to provide security.  We would identify these people as “enemies.”

But now, in 2025, the list of those we are angry at…those we might think of as “enemies” has expanded.  Now, it includes people whose belief system…or life situation…is different than ours.  It may be people of a different culture…or a different race…or a different sexuality…or a different belief system…or a different political philosophy.

Once upon a time, politicians from different parties would stand on the floor of the House of Representatives, or the Senate, and argue fiercely during the day.  But when the day ended, they would smile and head out together for dinner and drinks.  

People like republican John McCain, Democrat Joe Lieberman and republican Lindsay Graham…they were friends…they used to spend every Saturday together hiking.  Because they knew…they trusted that they shared the same goals…the welfare and protection of the people they represent.  They may disagree on the methods…but they shared the same goals. 

You don’t find this today.  

Our political leadership, on both sides of the aisle, is modeling the message that if we disagree…then we must be enemies.  We see this in the news…in social media.  This is what we as a society mimic.  And this is what our children see…and it is what they mimic.

“Love your enemies,” Jesus said.

In the face of this level of anger, fear and frustration, it is so easy for us to just dismiss Jesus’ words as an impossible command, or an unattainable ideal.  And so, we set it aside.

But to love your enemies; it is not impossible.  It is a command of Jesus’, and Jesus does not give commands that we cannot fulfill.  To love your enemies, it begins with small steps.  And it begins here…in this room…at this altar.

Because here, Jesus is inviting us into something different…into a whole different way of being…into something that stands against the cultural norm of anger.  Jesus invites us into a world that is not about 

• measuring and 
• counting and 
• competing and 
• judging and 
• paying back and 
• hating…
  

No, Jesus is inviting us into something different; something counter-cultural:

• He invites you to love those who have loved you.
• He invites you to love those who have not.  
• He invites you to love even those who have hated you;
• and to love those that you have hated.

How do we do this?  We just do.  We must change our perspective…change our mindset.  We must see those we have thought of as enemies as children of God…just like we are.  And we pray for these people.  I know…it sounds hard.  But I guarantee, when you pray for someone you have thought of as an enemy…and you pray for their heart, their spirit, their family, their very lives…and you do it over and over again…you can’t help but look at them differently.  

We recognize that Jesus is inviting us into this new way of being, and when we follow, everything will be different: “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.”

This is possible because of Jesus, who loved those who persecuted him…who forgave and prayed for those who put him on the cross.  And who brings the gift of forgiveness to all people…People from here… people from there…republicans… democrats… independents… Vikings and Packer fans…people of all races…people who are straight and people who are gay…people.  Jesus came for all people.

Jesus came for you.

Because of Jesus’ great and unending love for you…you can do this hard thing.  You can set aside the pain, anger and fear that surrounds us, and you can choose to live differently.  You can choose to love.  As people who follow Jesus, let love be our legacy.

Amen.

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• Thanks to Pastor Jim Somerville, whose writings deeply inspired portions of this sermon, especially in how this Gospel story was told at the beginning of this sermon.