Pastor Richard Baker
Emmitsburg’s Trinity United Methodist Church
(3/1) The text for this message comes from Luke 6, verses 27 through 38, using the Message Bible by Eugene Peterson for the translation. Jesus asks us to adopt a radical way of thinking. Someone once said that Jesus takes our way of thinking and turns it upside down and inside out. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is an example of that, and those words speak
truth to the scripture that says, "There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end leads to destruction." If we’re honest with ourselves, most of what Jesus said goes against what we usually think. Jesus said that we’re to "Love our enemies," or "Turn the other cheek" when someone hurts us. What do you think about lending people money and not expecting that person to
repay you?
There is one saying from Jesus that should bring each one of us to our knees. "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Jesus laid down a marker with that verse, and James picked up that marker and ran with it saying, "Anyone who sets himself up as
"religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world." We can look religious. We can even quote scripture, but unless God lives in our hearts,
we may find ourselves coming up short on Judgment Day.
This Scripture follows the Beatitudes where Jesus gave us nine specific examples for how believers should react to the world around them. He said we would be blessed by doing what he asked, and the word blessed actually means happy. What Jesus was asking us to do isn’t difficult. It’s something that just seems natural after we’ve come to understand the
grace we’ve been given.
There’s an analogy that I think helps us understand what Jesus accomplished at the cross. Imagine having a credit card for the first time. You can go out and spend and not think about what you did. After all, all you did was use a piece of plastic. You don’t think about the bill coming due.
And when the bill comes, you discover you can make a minimum payment, and later on as the debt increases, they offer to give you more credit. They raise your limit, and so you keep on spending. But one day, you get a statement and realize just how much what you’ve spent, and how the minimum payment is more than you can afford. Imagine seeing that next
month’s bill in the mail. You’re afraid to open it. You know what’s inside, and when you finally get up the courage to open it, you look at your balance and discover that someone paid your bill in full. You’re debt free.
Now you have a choice. You can start spending all over again, or you can seek out the one who paid your debt and say thank you. The truth is we’re all sinners. We all have a sin debt and every day it gets bigger. Occasionally, we go to God and offer a half-hearted prayer, but we don’t change until the enormity of that sin debt settles in, and that’s
when we realize we need help, and that’s when Jesus comes to us and offers to wipe the slate clean. Now our choice is: will we start sinning all over again or will we come to the author and perfecter of our faith and say thank you and ask what we can do for him?
Jesus was saying that once you realize the gift you’ve been given, then your heart should be moved to respond by doing what he asked. He said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Let Jesus’ love bring out the best in you.
If someone is giving you a hard time, stop and think before you respond. Maybe they’re not bad people, maybe they’re just having a bad day, and you just happened to be in their path. Jesus said pray for them. If someone takes advantage of you, use it as an occasion to practice the love Jesus told us to model. I love the way the Message Bible says it.
"No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously."
John the Baptist said many of the same things. He told his followers to share whatever extra they had. He told them to be honest when dealing with money. Learn to be content with what God gave you. Don’t accuse people of things they didn’t do. But Jesus took John’s word up a notch or two.
If you lend someone money, "Don’t look to be repaid. Help out without expecting anything in return. Don’t pick on people. Don’t jump on their mistakes. Don’t put people down." He stings us by saying that even sinners can do good things. He asked why good people think they should be rewarded or recognized for doing what is right.
Here, we are given the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Again, I like the Message Bible interpretation of that verse: "Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! Live out this God-centered identity the way the Father lives towards us, generously and graciously, even
when we’re at our worst."
Jesus ended this passage by saying, "Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity." Believers in Jesus Christ are called to a higher standard of living, but unfortunately Christians aren’t acting like their Christ. But we are
reminded; Jesus said that one day there will be an accounting for all we have done. And on that day, will your life mirror the words and actions of Jesus Christ or will your life be indistinguishable from the rest of the world?
As I said, believers are called to a new and better way of living, and Jesus’ words are the criteria by which we will be judged. These words are God’s prescription for a hurting world, and even though they sound contrary to how the world thinks, God gives us the strength to live them through his Holy Spirit. May God bless you during this holy season!
Amen.
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