CAMINANDO WITH JESUS: Are We Listening?

Jesus said: “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 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 everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

“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. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

- Luke 6:27-38

We hear today the continuation of the Sermon on the Plain. Jesus spoke clearly in the Beatitudes and the Woes, our text of last Sunday. Then we come to today’s text. Could he have been blunter?

From “love your enemies” to “give, and it will be given to you,” I count twelve direct commands, all wrapped around the golden rule in the center: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Read them over and check my math, please—it’s not my forte!).

Jesus gives us a clear and direct rule of life. I keep looking for the asterisks, the fine print, the qualified statements.

I can’t find them.

So, the problem with the Sermon on the Plain is not that we have problems understanding it. On the contrary, we know what Jesus is saying to us. The problem with this action list is that it looks and feels impossible. And besides, why would we want to do what he says? When someone hates me, I want to hate back. I want payback if someone hurts me. I can’t stand getting cheated or robbed. I don’t want to lend anyone money because I may not get it back. Judging others is just too much fun. Forgiving others makes me weak. Giving freely hurts my bottom line.

Jesus calls us to follow him, to imitate him, to do as he does. The so-called real world may hear this sermon and dismiss him. I suspect we all are inclined not to listen. I hear you, Jesus; not so sure I want to listen.

Listen. “I say to you that listen,” he began.

In the middle of this text, Jesus tells us why his path of discipleship is the way of life. Our souls are at stake. The issue at hand is what kind of person we become. We give up our humanity piece by piece when we hate. Hate, a desire for revenge, and our inability to share generously will destroy us. As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” Hatred, payback and a mean spirit are, in fact, a crushing weight that squeezes the life out of us. Let’s be clear: Our failure to forgive does not do a thing to the people who harmed us. But it does damage and shrink our souls. Not to mention that our refusal to forgive continues to give them power over our lives. We become shadows of our true selves, blind and toothless in a world that believes in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Jesus invites us instead to outdo ourselves, to overcome and transcend our easier and more immediate reactions to the harm that others to do us. Dr. King has also said, “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” Love, forgiveness and generosity make us strong and free. Ultimately, listening to Jesus by striving to live into the Sermon on the Plain moves us to compassion, a stand toward life in which we no longer "otherize" anyone but come to see that we belong with each other, that our own wellbeing is bound up with everyone’s wellbeing. If we focus on the wellbeing of our neighbor, if we love, forgive, accept and give to one another—then our souls will grow, our own humanity will expand, and the world will become a better place as we grow into beloved community. The call on those of us who bear the name of Christ in our Baptism is to bear witness to God’s dream of a creation united by true justice and peace, devoted one to another, loving and treating our neighbor as we ourselves long to be treated.

The way of Jesus brings us out of error into truth, out of sin into righteousness, out of death into life. Are we listening?

O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing; Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

- The Collect for the Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany

The Rev. Daniel Robayo is the missioner for Latino/Hispanic ministries for the Diocese of North Carolina.