Love Your Enemies

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Charlie Brown once said, "Loving the world is no big chore. My problem is the person next door." We all have people who offend us, who cause us pain, who make our life difficult. It might be the obnoxious neighbor next door or it could be an unethical business associate, or that bigot of a brother-in-law, or relative whose always bashing our church, or maybe a priest who told you decades ago that you could not come to communion because you got a divorce, or that teacher who made a fool of you in class. Maybe it's your bitter ex-spouse or a disrespectful teenager or the boss who won't let up on you. How about that parent you just can't seem to please or that former friend who's telling everyone on Facebook what an idiot you are? You can add to your own lists.

And what does Jesus say we should do? Love them! He doesn't say ignore them, or avoid them, or tolerate them; He says love them! By love, Jesus means a love that has nothing to do with how you feel about the person, nothing to do with liking the person, nothing to do with what they deserve, nothing to do with getting anything in return. Jesus isn't concerned about what we feel for them, He's only concerned about what we do for them. Jesus love  is an act of the will; we decide to love the other person. 

"Do good to those who hate you."  You know that person you can't stand and who can't stand you?  Jesus says do something nice for them. Radical? You bet, but Jesus said, "If you do good only to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that." Now what if you do good to that person and they go on treating you just as badly as before? Then what? That's the whole point Jesus is making. You go right on doing good for them. Christian love never depends on what the other person does.

"Pray for those who mistreat you." Is Jesus telling to pray for evil people so they can go on mistreating us or abusing us? I don't think so. He's telling us that we must pray that God will work in their hearts to change whatever needs changing, and pray that they will respond to God's will. I think Jesus is really on to something here because I've discovered that it's terribly difficult to hate someone I'm praying for because when I bring their situation to God, it often helps me to see more clearly what makes them how they are. "Pray for those who mistreat you."

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends to give us the courage to turn the other cheek. Sometimes we will get hurt, but this is the only kind of love that will grab the world's attention, that will set us apart. As we begin to look forward to the season of Lent, it's time for each of us to choose: am I ready to live my life by Jesus's standards or will I continue to live by the world's standards. May God give us the strength to choose the way of love.

If you say so.. we will do it

Sometimes we wish we could meet the disciples. Wouldn’t it have been something to have been able to meet Peter, to shake Matthew’s hand?  What if even now we could somehow go back in time to hear the Sermon on the Mount?”  Often when people wish for such things, the motivation seems to be a combination of healthy curiosity and the idea that maybe it would be easier to believe the gospel if we could have seen gospel events unfold before our very eyes.

I doubt that seeing the disciples would make the gospel easier to believe.  In fact, seeing the disciples in person might just make it more difficult! The disciples were not, after all, from among society’s upper echelons.  They were not highly educated, well-dressed, or outwardly impressive.  

If you took the disciples and brought them all together into one room, you would never in your wildest imagination guess by looking at them that this weak-looking pack of ordinary folks could change the world.  But they did.  The disciples changed the world because it was to them that the secret of the universe was first revealed.

That’s why Jesus called them in the first place. If you’re going to save the world, you’ve got to start somewhere. And if in the end you’re going to save the world through humility, gentleness, compassion, and sacrifice, it makes sense to begin with a bunch of fellows who couldn’t get much more humble if they tried! The disciples needed to be common, ordinary, and above all humble if they were going to do Jesus any good and so change the world. 

“Let’s go fishing out into the deep water. I’ve got a hunch there’s a catch out there.”  Simon, experienced fisherman that he was, tried to be polite in his answer to this landlubber. “You know, Master, we’ve been out the whole night, and caught nothing.”  He didn’t add, but was probably thinking, “This guy doesn’t realize that no one goes deep sea fishing in broad daylight around here”.  But Simon, having failed to accomplish much by his own tried and true methods, was in no position to question the Lord’s strange suggestion.  What he does say is the sentence that will change the entire course of his life. Perhaps he said it with a sigh of resignation.  “If you say so…we’ll do it.”  Well, you know what happened.

It all begins when Jesus comes to us in the middle of our lives, where we work, where we live, the seaside, the classroom, the hospital, the barn, the kitchen, and asks us to trust him enough to do one strange little thing, like fishing in the deep water in broad daylight.  It’s the kind of thing that’s a little weird, a bit outside your usual routine.  But that’s often where Jesus’ call comes to us: where we least expect it.  Where we’ve failed.  Where we feel over our heads.  Where we feel uncomfortable. Jesus does not typically walk into our lives where we feel in control, where we are flush with our own success.  It’s in our places of vulnerability and confusion, failure and sin.  He likes to get us out there in the deep water in broad daylight where we feel a little silly and strange.

Jesus invited Peter to fish in the deep water. That little phrase bristles with suggestive possibilities.  God takes the highest view of our potential.  He doesn’t want us to be paddling around in the shallows of life where we often spend so much of our time.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who you have bless with great potential to bring your compassion to hurting people. May our diversity be a source of strength that brings your love to all God’s people. We need volunteers to work in Charlotte House, the new hospice program in Wyoming County. If you like to donate your compassionate skills, contact Tim Kibler at 727-0942.