Luke 6:27-38
Children’s sermons - they’re a funny beast because you never know how they will go. Like will there be enough kids? Will they respond to whatever question you ask? Will they be especially squirmy that morning? Or will one sibling sit on another and make them scream? Really the possibilities are practically endless. But thankfully, Emily, our Children, Youth, and Family Minister, is masterful in rolling with whatever the children or the Spirit throws at her. Like two Sundays ago at the 9:00 service, it was great to see a large gaggle of kids come forward. Emily began by asking them to share memories of some of their best presents. Some talked about getting a dog as a gift, others about a cherished stuffed animal, another a bike. It was all going pretty much to plan as Emily tied that introduction into talking about how God’s love and presence is really the best present of all, And just when everything was about to wrap up one girl’s arm shot up into the air. It seemed safe to assume that she too wanted to share her favorite present. So Emily called on her. And out of the blue the girl asked, “Does God love bad guys?” It had nothing to do with anything that had come before, but it was this girl’s burning question. Without hesitation Emily commended the girl on what a great question it was, and that there was a lot to say about it, however, there wasn’t enough time so the short answer was, “Yes, God loves bad guys.” And then she sent everyone back to their seats.
But I want to revisit that question. Because Emily was right, God does love bad guys. In our reading from the gospel of Luke we hear how God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked because at the core of who God is, is mercy. Which means that not only does God love bad guys, but we, as children of a merciful God, are to love bad guys too. Jesus puts it this way, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Honestly, I’d like to file these words under the heading, “Things I Wish Jesus Never Said” because what he is talking about here is just plain hard. You could even argue, unnatural. I mean our very brains are wired to respond to enemies or bad guys or to any kind of threat in one of two ways, fight or flight. But Jesus calls us to a different way. Instead of fight or flight, the third way is to stay and to love.
So he gives us some examples. When someone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other one. Or if someone takes your coat, hand over your shirt too. (Probably more things we wish Jesus never said.) But contrary to popular belief, he isn’t telling folks to be a doormat or submit to abuse or tolerate injustice in any way. That’s not what’s going on here. Biblical scholar Walter Wink argues that verses such as these are not a call to passively roll over in the face of aggression, but to powerfully engage in nonviolent action that is both creative and merciful.
Cultural context is everything when it comes to understanding what Jesus meant here. Not to get too much into the weeds, but for example, when Jesus talks about offering the other cheek Dr. Wink points out that Jesus lived in a right-handed world. Left hands were strictly reserved for unclean tasks. Therefore, we can assume that the person doing the hitting would have used his right hand. And that, typically, it was the back of the hand that was used to strike which would land the blow on a person’s right cheek. (Actually in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus specifically says it’s the right cheek - 5:39.) And the intention of striking a cheek is to humiliate, to put someone in their place, not necessarily to injure or start some barroom brawl. Rather, it’s about asserting status and power from a position of superiority with the expected response being cowering submission. But if the other cheek is offered, as Jesus says, it robs the aggressor of the power to humiliate and, instead, creates confusion. Because logistically, what can he do? He can no longer backhand with his right hand. He can’t use the taboo left hand. And if he uses his fist to strike he actually loses his superior status because at that time fistfights implied a struggle between equals. Offering the other cheek then is not an act of weakness but an act of power that strips the aggressor of his ability to dehumanize while bringing the wrongdoing into the light.
There’s a similar dynamic at work when Jesus directs his followers to hand over their shirt if someone takes their coat. Because without coat and shirt a person is practically naked. And being seen this way was viewed as shameful, but Jesus intends that with the handing over of one’s shirt the shame moves to the one who robs and exploits so that, again, wrongdoing is exposed. And with that exposure there is a potential for positive change.
This third way - a way beyond fight or
flight - the way of staying and loving one’s enemy is no easy task. And part of
what makes this so hard is that the fruit of such labor is not typically instantaneous
but borne over time. Yet when we respond otherwise, with aggression or avoidance
it only perpetuates evil. As Martin Luther King Jr. wisely proclaimed,
“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate…Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
Only love has the power to break the cycle of violence and make all that is wrong in our world right. And that love comes from God who is merciful. Kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. And thank God for that because sometimes it is we who are considered to be the ungrateful and the wicked, but that doesn’t stop God from loving us. And as we know the transforming power of that love in our own lives we can, with God’s help, respond to what is wrong, what is unjust, what is abusive in the strength of that love. A love that doesn’t roll over in the face of evil, but shines a light, God’s light, into the darkness until there is no darkness at all. So love your enemies, Jesus says. Love them creatively, mercifully, defiantly. For ultimately it is that love that will bring us into the fullness of life, a life we were all created for - all of us, even the bad guys.
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