At the close of what we see as impossible commands, Jesus leaves His disciples with a picture of God’s impossible love made possible in Him.
A friend of mine has a small cardboard sign she keeps in her office. It offers a simple schedule for the day. The schedule reads “Wake up. Be kind. Repeat.”
I told her, waking up is not hard. But being kind? That can be challenging. And repeating this kindness, day after day, regardless of what is happening in my life, well, that seems virtually impossible. But I love the sign. I am just not sure I would put it in my office.
In our text from Luke, Jesus offers a vision for His disciples. His idea is even harder to accomplish than my friend’s sign. Jesus calls His disciples to love their enemies. Now, this call for love might not be so bad if we could make up our own definition of what was loving, but Jesus goes into concrete detail.
Jesus foresees His disciples in situations of distress. People will hate you, curse you, and mistreat you. They will strike you on the cheek or take away your clothing. And for each situation, Jesus counsels His disciples with a specific act of love. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you. Turn the other cheek when people strike you. Give when people beg and do not ask for anything to be returned. It is exhausting and, to be honest, quite impossible.
I am sure it seemed impossible to the people then as well, but, in our culture, it is almost inconceivable. We have learned to stand up for ourselves. From confronting bullies on the playground to navigating scheming employees at work, we have learned you cannot let people walk all over you. If you want people to respect you, you have to respect yourself. You have to set boundaries; tell people they can go this far but no farther. Otherwise, you will be taken advantage of. And everyone assumes that being taken advantage of, being played for a fool, being treated with disrespect, being the object of hatred, or simply being dismissed is the ultimate failure in life.
But Jesus knows differently. In His Kingdom, ultimate failures flourish ultimately. Peter who denied Him ends up feeding His sheep. Paul, the enemy Paul who imprisoned His followers, became His apostle, proclaiming His name throughout the world. Paul tried to put this mystery of the cross into words. Like a treasure hidden in a jar of clay, like glory which is made known only in weakness, Jesus transforms suffering and self-sacrifice into salvation and life. “For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 5:11).
Jesus was hated, cursed, beaten, abused, stripped, abandoned, and crucified. Yet, this suffering was the triumph of God’s love. Followers of Jesus know God’s love is powerful, that in the resurrection Jesus has overcome cursing and abuse and even death itself. But disciples of Jesus not only know this as something to be thought of, conceptualized... but also as something to be lived, every day, of every month, of every year.
Followers of Jesus know God’s love is powerful, that in the resurrection Jesus has overcome cursing and abuse and even death itself.
Our suffering is our service as we take up our cross to follow Jesus.
I asked my friend why she kept that sign in her office. After all, she knew it was hard to always be kind. She just looked at me and smiled. She said a friend had given it to her. Her friend used to come over to watch her dogs and she was dying of cancer. She fought hard. She fought long. Finally, she was overcome. But what my friend remembers most was her kindness, her simple, honest, sweetness and the way she showed love. So, when my friend sees that sign, she does not see something to do, she sees something which was done. Not just an act but a person, a friend who woke up with cancer, was kind, and then repeated as long as she could. For her, the words do not tell her something she needs to do, they remind her of someone kind and the things her friend had done.
I wonder if something like that could happen with these words of Jesus. Did you notice how Jesus closes the words in our text? He says to His disciples, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (6:35-26).
At the close of what we see as impossible commands, Jesus leaves His disciples with a picture of God’s impossible love made possible in Him. God the Father is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. He is merciful. And when we hear these strong words calling us to strange action, we remember the One who showed us love, strong and strange, in His death on the cross. These words indeed call us to do something, but, first, they recall for us what has been done and who did it... all... for us: Jesus.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Luke 6:27-38.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Luke 6:27-38.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Luke 6:27-38.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
Lectionary Podcast-Dr. Arthur Just of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through Luke 6:27-38.
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaeching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
