|
Introduction:
The
passage I am about to read from Luke comes shortly after Jesus
chooses his 12 disciples. He now begins to teach the 12 and a whole
host of followers in a section of scripture called “The Sermon on
the Plain.” This teaching has also been called by some “The
Gospel in Miniature.” In the section of scripture directly before
where I begin reading, Jesus has taught his followers “to love
their enemies, pray for those who persecute you” and the Golden
Rule of, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” Then
comes the teaching I believe is the cornerstone of the good news and
our understanding of the character of God.
Read
Luke 6:36
The
translation in the NRSV is merciful, but it also means compassionate.
Jesus is saying here, take the time to get to know another, even
those who at the moment seem like an enemy. Get to know them as a
person. Get to know what their life is really like. What are their
hopes and dreams? Where are they hurting or where are they in need of
help?
Then
Jesus goes on to teach:
Read
Luke 6:37-38
Jesus
is
teaching his listeners a general principle of behavior. He is saying,
“Do not retaliate against another, do not draw your behavior or
choose your behavior based upon another’s toward you. In fact, it
seems to go farther than this. Jesus is saying, as his followers we
set the standard for the behavior in a relationship with another. In
fact Jesus’ teaching is actually more demanding than The Golden
Rule of treat others as you would like to be treated. Jesus, in
calling us to live and exhibit a character of compassion is teaching
us, “Do unto others as God and as I have done for you.” Treat
others as God and I treat you.
But
what
does Jesus mean when he says, “Do not judge.” We not only make
judgments all the time but we need to make judgments between what is
good and right and what is wrong and bad. We always have choices
before us that ask us to make a decision. We are constantly judging
and assessing which is the best decision to make.
What
Jesus is saying about judging here is, “Do not seek to find fault
with another. Do not try to diminish another just because they think
or act or look differently than you. As my followers, there is no
such thing as a smug superiority over another. We are all the same in
that we are all equally loved by God.
Jesus
then goes on to teach.
Read
Luke 6:39-42
The
parable reinforces what Jesus is trying to show us, as his disciples,
about living a better way. If we are no better or behave the same as
those around us, how can we lead others to new relationships, and a
better sense of being part of a community? In this teaching, Jesus
seems to cross that line between preaching and meddling. He seems to
be meddling when he says, when it comes to behavior, when it comes to
relationships, when it comes to being in a community where you are
called to give as you have received from God, take a look at your own
behavior first, before you try to correct another’s.
I
believe the only way we can live this teaching is in being
compassionate as God is compassionate to us.
The
Word of God for the people of God.
Sermon:
As
I think about moving on, I must admit I wonder if and what I might be
remembered for. For example, I know Todd Rogers will always be
remembered for driving his motorcycle into the sanctuary as a part of
his sermon. Sarah Olsen Dean is remembered for her knowledge, but
also for the discomfort she brought to some by praying to Mother God.
Nancy, will always be remembered for her long sermons and
consistently going overtime in worship. Maybe I’ll be remembered
for the first sermon any of you ever heard preached from a prone
position.
Seriously,
I believe I am like most people, and wonder what Nancy and my legacy
will be. What were we able to accomplish together? Did we make a
difference? Did we become a church that lives the good news more
fully and richly? If I was able to choose my personal legacy or what
I may have helped strengthen, it is a deeper sense of community as
the church. I believe that relationships not only matter to God, but
that they are the fundamental cornerstone of what it means to be
followers of Jesus. I believe this is the foundation of what Jesus
was teaching his followers in this passage we just read. He was
teaching his followers about what it means to live together and
relate together as community.
So
what does that mean to relate to each other in deeper community? The
root of the word community means “to make common,” that there is
something that we all share together in relationship. For example,
the word communion has the same root. And what is it that we find in
common in communion? It is the celebration of the grace of God given
to each and every one of us. I kind of shared half in jest a quote
from Martin Luther that said “If Jesus came to save sinners then I
had better be one.” It brings us back to the passage in Luke. We
all have in common places where we are separated from God, and we all
have in common the grace that seeks to reunite us with God. And
because of this, we also have in common a genuine sense of thanks
giving and gratitude on knowing forgiveness, new life, hope and
promise. We have a lot in common that make us one and makes us
community.
But
is there more to being community than sharing the understanding that
we have all received God’s grace? I believe there is, as we see in
this passage. As one theologian states, “Real community means
falling in love with one another en masse.” It means love as agape,
which isn’t a deep feeling toward another, but having in common
genuine respect for each other. It means having a real sense of
commitment in our relationships. The root for both commit and
compassion means, “to bring together.” (Repeat). It is through
commitment and compassion in our relationships that we are brought
together to find community. Commitment and compassion toward each
other is what we must share with each other if we are to live in
common and if there is to be real community.
Scott
Peck says there is a fantasy among many of us that we need to change
if we are ever hope to find community. It goes like this. “Someday,
if we can learn to resolve our conflicts, maybe we can live in
community.” (Repeat). Peck says the fantasy understands the issue
of being in community backwards. He says, “In reality, if we learn
to live in community, maybe someday we will be able to resolve our
conflicts.” (Repeat).
We
will always find that there will be disagreements among us. The
question is, “Will we be able to find a common ground that will
keep us together, and help us to continue to care about each other,
or will we let the disagreements separate us from one another.” It
is not the disagreements that destroy community, but our inability to
be able to address them and embrace them and still care about each
other.
I
have a close relationship with someone who is Episcopalian. When Gene
Robinson, a practicing homosexual, was made Bishop, he was very
upset. So much so, he wrestled with whether he could remain in the
church. But his comment to me was, “I wonder if there is still
room, a place for me in the community, even if I do not agree with
the stance and belief of my church? My response was, “I hope so,
for I have had a differing opinion on this issue than my church, and
I often wonder if there is a place for me.”
What
is difficult is that when your belief is different, do you not act on
it to keep harmony, or do you express it and hope people will listen
and try to understand. For me, and for many, to not act on what we
believe are social justice issues, a deep love for whole groups of
people is to not actively live our faith. It means we say no to God
who asks us to live justly. As Rabbi Abraham Heschel said, “God is
concerned about injustice, not because laws are broken or rules are
not followed, but because the lives of children of God are being
diminished.” It is that thought, yet again, that relationships are
important to God, because the relationship you build with another
either brings life or takes away from the quality of life from those
whom God loves. For many, to not act is to not live the commandment
to love one another as God has loved us. And the hope is, even if you
do not agree, you can understand that we feel convicted, and to not
act is to be unfaithful.
You
see, this is what compassion and commitment do, they allow us to
enter into a relationship with another or stay in relationship with
another who we may not yet understand, but allows us the chance to
learn, listen and even experience who they are and what they face and
experience in their life.
It
is the whole premise of what is now an important understanding of
what it means to practice real community. We, as the church, are
called to enter into “Holy Conferencing.” It is based upon the
reality that we, as the church who seeks to live in real community,
can talk about anything together, no matter what the issue or topic.
But, it is unlike communication as we often experience it today.
Where we enter into a dialogue with the purpose being to try and
convince another that we are right and you are wrong. I know that one
of the greatest needs we all have is the need to be understood and
then be embraced for who we are. In fact, one communications expert
has said that this need is so important, that listening has become a
competitive exercise in our culture, where the first person to draw a
breadth is declared the listener. But, when our purpose is to simply
point out the speck in the other’s eye, rather than trying to see
what may be clouding our vision, no one ever gets to be understood,
only rejected, and feel pushed away and pushed out.
Jesus
is trying to show us that in real community, the cornerstone is
indeed trying to understand each other and still care, even when we
may not agree. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you.” Be compassionate, take the time to really get to know another
and understand their fears, their hopes, their concerns, their
dreams. Real listening, real commitment to bringing people together
is found in the ability to wrestle together trying to understand and
learn from each other. The name Israel literally means, “Those who
wrestle with God and prevail.” In this passage, we learn that God
expects us to wrestle and try to understand, and that in our
wrestling, God will never give up, for God is totally committed to
each and everyone of us. It is what we all have in common as a
community.
It
is only in real community that love is able to be expressed. It is
only in real community that one would even dare to try and be
understood. It is only in real community that one can know they can
express who they really are and what they are wrestling with in their
life, and know someone will say, let me walk with you, and together
we will seek an answer. It is only in real community, that we will
find the ability to resolve our conflicts and live in peace. It is
hard, but “When you see real community happening, you have seen the
glory of God being lived.”
|
