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If I’m being honest and true, Jesus’ teaching to love your enemies is a hard one to preach on, because it’s a hard one to practice. It’s a hard teaching to follow.
Am I right?
I notice that Jesus spoke these words after spending a lot of time in prayer. He was in the mountains, praying. He was up all night, praying.
Which makes me think that maybe Jesus needed God’s help to love his enemies…and that’s why he was praying…
After that time of praying, he chose twelve of his disciples for special roles, to be his closest followers, to be apostles.
And after his time of praying, and after he chose the twelve, he spoke to them and to the many others who had come out to hear him. They came seeking healing and wholeness for themselves. They came from all over, from east and west and north and south.
They were poor. They were hungry. They were suffering under the brutal oppression and colonization of the Roman Empire… And they all wanted to be as near to Jesus as possible, for they knew that they could be made whole through him.
The first thing Jesus did (before telling them to love their enemies) was pronounce blessings upon them. “Blessed are you who are poor…; blessed are you who are hungry…; blessed are you who weep…”
It must have felt good to hear those blessings…
The second thing Jesus did was speak a word to their oppressors: “Woe to you who are rich…; woe to you who are full now…; woe to you who are laughing now; woe to you who are oppressors and colonizers…”
And even though these woes sound like a warning, a judgment of doom…, to most of the people gathered there, these were words of hope and joy, because it sounded to them like Jesus was promising that they would be free from their oppressors, that their oppressors would be punished for all the harm they had caused.
I bet there were even loud cheers of approval. “Yes! Alright! Give it to them! Let them have a taste of their own medicine!”
But Jesus wasn’t done. Jesus was just getting started.
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As the echoes of the cheers faded, Jesus said: “BUT… But, I say to YOU who listen!...
“Love your enemies.
“Do good to those who hate you.
“Bless those who curse you.
“Pray for those who abuse you.”
There’s always a catch to Jesus’ teachings, isn’t there? He speaks, and we think he’s talking about someone else, and then he turns it around and we realize: Oh. He’s talking about us. He’s talking to me. This challenge is for me.
It’s just two chapters before this that Jesus appears in Nazareth, enters the synagogue, reads a segment from the prophet Isaiah; and all who heard him were impressed.
They said, “Look, he grew up right here in Nazareth. He’s one of us! His father Joseph built the door of my house! We’re so proud of you, Jesus! And now you’re going to help us become great in the eyes of God and of humanity! Way to go!”
And Jesus says, “Yeah, but, see… I’m a prophet. Prophets speak the truth. And you don’t want to know the truth. Because the truth is, the Spirit didn’t anoint me just for the benefit of you, my own people. I’m not just here for you. And I’m certainly not someone for you to control or manipulate.”
It makes me think of all the ways we try to control or manipulate Jesus today… we use his name to back up our own agenda, we turn him into a gatekeeper (which he never was), we make him into a supporter of empire (which he certainly never was); we even alter his appearance so that he looks like us.
That’s what the people of Nazareth were doing, in a way; and when Jesus said, “No, you can’t do that,” they got so angry, they turned against him, they turned violent, and they even tried to kill him.
That’s how upset they were. That’s how difficult, how challenging, his words were to them. That’s how much they wanted to control his message.
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But as much as we like, we can’t control Jesus’ message. We can’t manipulate his teachings to justify our way of living. Even when his words shake our foundations. Even when his words call us out on our own selfish ways.
Love your enemies.
We want to change that message. We want to alter it slightly… we want to put conditions on it…
We want Jesus on our side, to stand with us, against our enemies. We want Jesus to hate our enemies as much as we do. We want to control and manipulate the message. We want to control and manipulate Jesus.
Then we wouldn’t have to take seriously this most difficult command:
Love your enemies.
Now, it’s important to point out that loving your enemy does not mean that you accept their oppression of you or your neighbors. Loving your enemy does not mean that a person being abused should accept the abuse and not resist it. Loving your enemy does not mean that those who are trapped or enslaved shouldn’t seek their liberation.
In fact, that’s one way that oppressors and colonizers have manipulated and abused the teachings of Jesus. They have told those they were oppressing that they should accept their oppression, their abuse, their slavery, because Jesus said to love one’s enemies. They say you need to be obedient to Christ by loving your enemies, and they say that loving your enemies means not striving against them when they oppress you or abuse you.
But that’s not what Jesus wants.
Jesus is all about liberating the oppressed, and helping those who have been broken find their way to healing and wholeness. No person should have to suffer abuse or endure oppression.
Which is why the church is called to address racism and homophobia and transphobia, to engage and lead in the struggle against white supremacy and misogyny, and to fight for economic justice, and to stand with those who have been abused.
We need to find a way to pray for those who abuse, and bless those who curse, while at the same time working for liberation and healing and wholeness for ourselves and for those who need it.
This is not an easy thing, which is probably why Jesus prayed so much, so that he could love his enemies, and pray for those who curse him, while still seeking the liberation and freedom and salvation of the world.
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But if all the oppressors and colonizers and abusers act against the ways of God’s kingdom, why should we love them, pray for them, seek God’s blessing upon them?
Because every person is a child of God. And every person’s happiness is dependent on the happiness of others. We are all interdependent. I can never be who I ought to be unless you can be who you ought to be. I can never feel safe or free unless all people are safe and free. We are all connected.
And this is true even of the person I hate the most.
Those who followed Jesus hated their Roman oppressors. They ground their teeth at them, and spit in the streets when they passed by - though not when they were looking.
They also hated other ethnic groups, like the Samaritans. If a Samaritan passed by, they’d grind their teeth at them, spit at them, maybe even throw rocks at them - and not care if they were looking.
In the next chapter of Luke’s gospel, there’s a story about a centurion, a non-Jewish military officer serving Rome, who asks Jesus for help.
Jesus could have said, “No, you’re the oppressor, you don’t deserve my help.” But he didn’t. Instead, Jesus did help the centurion.
A few chapters later, there’s a story that many of you are familiar with, about a man who was attacked and beaten by robbers and left for dead, and the only person who stopped to help him was… a Samaritan.
A Roman centurion. A despised Samaritan. The very people that Jesus’ followers ground their teeth at and spit at… They are presented as people worthy of love and worthy of blessing.
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This is certainly a teaching to think about, to pray about. And I think it’s a teaching we desperately need.
I really don’t think we’re going to come together as a nation until we learn to show a little love, especially to those who we are used to fighting against…
We are so divided as a nation. We want nothing more than to prove wrong those who side against us, to put them in their place, to heap humiliation upon them, to grind our teeth and spit at them and throw rocks at them.
Thursday, NPR did a segment on this issue, how we are more and more divided; one family talked about how their neighbors put broken glass in their mailbox, just because they had different political and ideological views.
Can we not figure out how to stand firm in our beliefs without inflicting violence on those who disagree?
On the issues I believe strongly in, assuming that I am, in fact, right on those issues, I’ve learned that none of my arguments will persuade anyone of how right I am unless I am able to truly love the person I’m trying to communicate with.
If I communicate with them in anger, or in fear, or in exasperation - no one’s mind will be changed. Nothing good will come of it.
And if their attempts to communicate with me make me feel that I’m being ridiculed or insulted or threatened, it’s only going to turn me away from them and what they’re trying to say.
If they can communicate with me in kindness and compassion, then it’s possible that I might even come to the conclusion that I was wrong, and they were right. Because of the love and respect they show to me, I become more willing to listen to them.
And that’s how we create a better society.
We can do this! It’s difficult, but we can show love to our enemies. We can do this, because we have a cloud of witnesses cheering us on! We have a promise that our strength will be renewed, that we will rise on wings like eagles!
You have been given a heart capable of great love! God’s Spirit has been placed within you, in your heart, and is there with you, to help you and to guide you.
Spend some time in prayer, as Jesus did; spend some time in quiet meditation… so that you will be able to grow in love, and show love… even when it is so hard to do.
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