Why Church?

Ask any young person why they do not attend church, and they are likely to tell you that they don’t see the point. According to a the Barna Research Group, 30% of all millennials believe church is not important. Either they believe they can find God elsewhere, or they think church simply is not relevant to their lives.[i]

But this week after 7 tornadoes ripped across East Texas, killing four people, injuring dozens more and causing untold property damage, United Methodists showed up with cleaning kits, tarps, lumber and screws to shore up damaged buildings.

And in Zimbabwe, erratic rains and successive droughts have hit the country hard, and the prison farms have not produced enough food to properly feed all the inmates. So the UMC has donated more than $1,300 worth of food to female inmates at Chikurubi Prison. But the Church is giving more than money. They also plan to start a Holistic Horticultural Training Program for the female inmates so they can learn new skills and hopefully, in time, rejoin society and live as law-abiding citizens.[ii]

In Pearsall, Texas, the Rev. Liliana Padilla is cooking up breakfast tacos every Sunday morning for neighbors who don’t usually attend worship. Everyone who comes gets free tacos (or oatmeal and pancakes, if they prefer) as well as a devotional message, Bible study and prayer. And that’s all before the regular worship service at 11 am.

And right here in Shelby County, Heartsong Church welcomed members of the Memphis Islamic Center into the sanctuary for nightly prayer services back in 2010 because construction had not yet been completed on the new mosque. Seven years later, the two faith communities are launching a new joint venture known as Friendship Park, where they hope people will come together and build friendships that cross the lines of ethnicity, religion, race and gender.

Capleville UMC just hosted a job fair for recent high school grads and unemployed adults. And, this summer, our very own UMW is bringing a mobile mammography unit right here to Windyke because lack of access is one of the primary reasons that women do not get screened for breast cancer.

How’s that for relevant?

More and more, UM churches are taking an active role in society. In fact, in 2008, our denomination adopted an initiative called the Four Areas of Focus, which encourages every congregation to engage in ministry with the poor; improve global health; develop principled Christian leaders; and create new and renewed congregations.[iii]

“This is not just a program,” says Christian Alstead, bishop of the Nordic-Baltic Area. “This is our way of being as United Methodists.”

And the Council of Bishops, which met last week in Dallas, is urging every congregation to stay focused on that mission. “The church needs us to be accountable to the mission and ministries that transform lives for Jesus, our risen Christ,” Bishop L. Jonathan Holston of the South Carolina Conference said in his address to the council.

Alstead agrees. “…one of the ways of keeping unity is to remain focused in mission.”

It certainly worked for the very first followers of Christ. Acts 2:42 tells us that the very first converts to the Christian faith were very focused in their work. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

They knew what they were about. They had a purpose. A reason for being. And that held them together. In fact, it drew them together. They had a deep longing to know more about Jesus. And, since he had ascended to the Father, the only way the new converts could learn about Jesus was to spend time with his apostles. They were the ones who had heard Jesus’ sermons. They were the ones who had spent the most time with him. They knew what he believed and how he behaved. They were the ones Jesus had trained. Jesus had called them and trained them to carry on his ministry. His spirit was with them.

So, if you wanted to know Jesus, the best way was to spend time with his people. And so that’s what the new converts did. Acts tells us that they were all together, and they shared everything. They were so committed to the way of Christ that they sold their possessions and gave it all to the community. No one made them do it. God did not command it. They wanted to. They were so full of love for God that they did not hold anything back. They gave God all they had. And that commitment carried over to their relationships with one another. They gave God all they had, and they gave each other all they had. If anyone, anyone in the group, had a need, the others met the need. They wanted to help, and they did help.

That commitment grew as they spent time together. They worked together. They worshiped together. And they ate together. And when they gathered, they praised God and shared the stories of Jesus.

And it’s no surprise, really, that much of that worship took place around a table. In the Jewish tradition, “when the blessing is said at the table, the table becomes a holy place and eating together a sacred activity.”[iv]

It is certainly a place where bonds are formed. Yesterday, as we gathered together for pancakes, I watched as friends swapped war stories and women mobilized themselves for ministry and children played, and together we all worked to create a safe place where young men can gather and be molded into leaders.

That’s why we gather. That’s why we come together as a community. That’s why we need church.

“We learn to live by living together with others….”[v] Sure, we can encounter God anywhere. The Almighty God, Maker of Heaven and Earth, is not confined to the four walls of this or ANY building. But being a disciple of Jesus Christ is more than a one-time encounter with God. It is following Jesus. It is knowing him and following him day by day.

And Jesus laid down his life for us. He gave up everything for us. So, if we are truly following him, we will lay down our lives for one another. (1 John 3:16)

That is the paradox that Thomas Merton speaks of in his book No Man Is An Island: “We become ourselves by dying to ourselves. We gain only what we give up, and if we give up everything we gain everything.”[vi]

That’s probably the real reason why more people do not attend church. Because dying to self is not the most comfortable or convenient or common way to live. We would much rather live for ourselves. Do what we want, when we want to. But following Christ means dying to self and living for others. And, Lord knows, that is hard work.

It is hard work because, as Merton notes, we all have weaknesses and deficiencies. None of us is perfect. And we are all so very different. But that is exactly why we need each other.

“It is because of [our weaknesses AND our differences] that we need others and others need us. We are not all weak in the same spots, and so we supplement and complete one another, each one making up in himself for the lack in another.”[vii]

In his first letter to the Corinthians, The apostle Paul described the church as a body, with every member serving a different function. Merton says that, because we are all members of Christ, “What I do is also done for them and with them and by them. What they do is done in me and by me and for me.”[viii]

That, of course, is where things get tricky, because, as John Wesley once observed, we do not all think alike, and we do not all walk alike. But he was convinced that we CAN love alike. We can all love God, and we can all love one another. And we can encourage one another to be more loving and to do good works.[ix]

Where we disagree, Wesley encouraged people to hold fast to their beliefs but with the knowledge that none of us are perfect and we might in fact discover some day that we were not always right. And "they" were not always wrong. Peter, Andrew and Paul himself made their fair share of mistakes, but Jesus, the Good Shepherd, did not give up on them. He loved them. He truly loved them. He loved them with a love that is looooong suffering. He was incredibly patient. And kind. And faithful. He never stopped praying for them or teaching them or encouraging them. He pushed them to be better. To love more and give more.

And we are called to do the same.

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[i] “What Millennials Want When They Visit Church” was published March 4, 2015 at www.barna.com/research. Downloaded May 6, 2017.

[ii] Kudzai Chingwe. “Church in Zimbabwe donates food for female prisoners.” Published May 3, 2017 on The United Methodist Church website at www.umc.org/news-and-media. Downloaded May 6, 2017.

[iii] The information on the Four Areas of Focus and last week’s meeting of the Council of Bishops was written by Sam Hodges. “Keeping focused on Four Areas of Focus” was published May 3, 2017, on The UMC website at www.umc.org/news. Downloaded May 6, 2017.

[iv] Wiliam H. Willimon. Interpretation: Acts. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1988. 41.

[v] Thomas Merton. No Man Is an Island. New York: Harvest/Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1955. XII.

[vi] Merton, XVI-XVII.

[vii] Merton, XXI.

[viii] Merton, XXII.

[ix] Wesley, 93.

Cross Culture: Resurrecting

   It was the fourth day. The body had been washed, anointed, and wrapped in strips of cloth. Then it was quickly buried. Decay had already set in, and the stink of death put an end to their hope.

   In the beginning, when Lazarus had first fallen ill, Mary and Martha had been quietly confident. Jesus would help them. They had no reason to doubt or worry or fear. They had seen their friend perform many miracles. A dying child had been restored to health. A man who had been paralyzed for 38 years had been made to walk. And a man born blind had received the gift of sight. It was amazing! Jesus could do incredible things! And all of those miracles had been for strangers. If Jesus could do so much for them, then, certainly, he would come to the aid of his dear friend.

   So they sent word, “Tell Jesus to come quickly. Lazarus is sick. He needs you.”
   But Jesus did not come. And Lazarus had died. It was a great loss. But, of course, there was a lot to do. Arrangements must be made. The body must be tended. People must be notified. Work... it can be a comfort. But, slowly, the truth began to sink in. Lazarus was dead.
    Even then the two women held out hope. There’s time! His spirit has not left the body. When Jesus comes, he will make things right. Our brother will live again.
    But, still, Jesus did not come.
   And, finally, the women were forced to face the bitter truth. Their BROTHER was gone. He was not sleeping. He was dead. They would not see his face again. They would not hear his voice. They would not feel the comfort of his embrace. How could Jesus do this to them? Jesus had abandoned them. They had believed in his power to heal, and he had let them down!
    When Jesus finally arrived, the two women lit him with all their grief. And all their anger. And all their tears. “Where have you been? If you had been HERE, our brother would not have died.”
    Can you hear their pain? Jesus did. He heard the agony of hopelessness. Grief. Despair. He heard the cries of hearts that were broken. Dreams that were crushed. Lives that were shattered. And the pain moved him to tears. He wept. Our Lord stood at the entrance of his friend’s tomb, and he wept.
    And then Jesus did what no one even dared to hope for. He raised Lazarus from the dead. He called out, and Lazarus came right on out that grave! He had been dead, and Jesus brought him back to life!
    It was impossible. For you and me and even for the very best of doctors, it IS impossible. But not for God! Nothing is impossible for God. God can do anything. Even resurrect the dead. God is that powerful. God is more powerful than death.
    For the past four weeks, we’ve been looking at the way Jesus encountered the world. John 3:17 tells us that Jesus came into the world to redeem it. To save it. To make the most of it. Jesus called people to live differently from the world around them, so we’ve been looking at some of the traits of that alternative existence. We considered the rationale behind this Cross Culture: our purpose is to please God. Then we looked at resistance. Cross Culture resists the temptation to conform to the world’s expectations. Next, we contemplated redeeming love. Cross Culture seeks to redeem the world, not condemn it. And then we focused on reaching. Cross Culture reaches out to share God’s saving love with everyone everywhere. Then we concentrated on restoration. Cross Culture seeks to restore people’s relationship with God and their relationships with one another. Today, we turn our attention to resurrection.
    Seems like, everywhere you turn, people are trapped in hopeless situations. Immigrants escape war torn countries just to live for years right outside the gates of refugee camps. Inner city kids bypass the temptations of sex and drugs and alcohol just to get caught in the crossfire of gang violence. Teenage girls run away from abusive parents just to end up the victim of a jealous boyfriend. Then there are the working moms who face insurmountable stacks of overdue bills. Aging execs who get downsized. And one family after another is torn apart by infidelity or addiction or disease.
    But, for all those who have lost hope, Jesus offers the impossible. “I am the resurrection,” he says. “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”
    It sounds impossible. But it’s not for God! Nothing is impossible with God. Just look back at what God has done before. In the very beginning, God takes a formless void and creates the entire universe! Out of nothing! It was impossible! But not for God. Nothing is impossible with God!
    Just look at Abraham and Sarah. It was a hopeless situation. An elderly couple with no children and no hope of EVER having children. But God promises to bless them with more descendants than there are stars in the sky! It was impossible! But not for God. Nothing is impossible with God!
    Or how about Joseph. Now THAT was a hopeless situation! A boy sold into slavery by his own brothers. But God saves him, raises him up to a position of power and influence, and even manages to bring the family back together again in peace. It was impossible! But not for God. Nothing is impossible with God!
    Or what about Ruth. Could there BE a more hopeless situation? Her husband dies, and, instead of returning to her father for support, she commits herself to her mother-in-law, another widow. And, together, these two vulnerable women make their way to the tiny little town of Bethlehem, where they feed themselves off of the ears of grain that have been left in the fields after the harvest. But God saves them both! Ruth finds love again and becomes the great-grandmother of the King of Israel! It was impossible! But not for God. Nothing is impossible with God.
   Friends, this is good news! It is good news for all lost causes, every broken heart, and shattered lives everywhere. Sometimes, we lose hope. We find ourselves in the midst of an impossible situation. Like Mary and Martha, it is the fourth day. Optimism, hard work, and faith have given way to doubt and despair. We see no way out, no answer, no hope, no promise, no relief, no possibility of life. And then God steps in! And does the miraculous! The impossible! The unimaginable! Because nothing is impossible with God.
    Just ask Brooke Ellison. In 1990, she decided to walk home from school, rather than take the bus, and a car hit her as she crossed the road. Her body was thrown nearly 100 feet, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe on her own. The doctors were not certain the girl would live, but Brooke was worried only that she might fail junior high! Eventually, she left the hospital and began to be tutored at home. If she had math problems to do, she would figure them out in her head and then tell someone else what to write down. But not only did Brooke finish junior high with a top grade point average, she also graduated at the top of her high school class and then went on to study at Harvard, where she graduated magna cum laude with degrees in psychology and biology.[i]
    It was impossible! But not for God. Nothing is impossible with God.
    Or ask the people of Community of Grace UMC in Huntington, WV. In 2008, three local congregations voted to close and form one new congregation known as the Community of Grace. Today they offer 2 worship services every Sunday, classes for children, youth and adults, and 2 mission teams that have traveled to southwestern US Indian reservations, Haiti, and Africa. It was impossible! But not for God. Nothing is impossible with God.
    Just ask Eugene Clark. He was a gifted musician, but in college he began to have terrible problems with his eyesight and with arthritis. After graduation he secured a job as a music director and organist with the Back to the Bible Broadcast in Lincoln, Nebraska. But, ultimately, Eugene’s eyesight failed him completely, and rheumatoid arthritis confined him to bed. Despite these debilitating conditions, he continued to write music; he dictated melodies, harmonies, and lyrics for others to record. Eugene was bedridden and in constant pain for the last 20 years of his life. But he had hope in the midst of a hopeless situation. That’s why he could write:

Nothing is impossible when you put your trust in God. Nothing is impossible when you’re trusting in his word. Hearken to the voice of God to thee; is there anything too hard for me? Then put your trust in God alone, and rest upon his word; for everything, o everything, yes everything is possible with God.[ii]

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[i] Brooke Ellison and Jean Ellison. “The Brooke Ellison Story: One mother, One Daughter, One Journey.” (Previously published in Reader’s Digest as: “Miracles Happen.”) New York: Hyperion, 2001. Published on the Reader’s Digest website at www.rd.com. Downloaded March 11, 2005.

[ii] The story of Eugene Clark is told in A Promise Kept, a sermon written by Frank VanCamen, pastor of Northwest Community Church in Malcolm, Nebraska. The sermon is one in a series on the book of Genesis, and it is published on the Northwest Community Church website at www.incolor.inebraska.com/nccmalcolm/Sermon_Archive/Genesis /Genesis21/1-6.html. Downloaded March 10, 2005.

Cross Culture: Redeeming

How would you like to have a job where, every time you make a mistake, a big red light goes on and 18,000 people boo? Sounds pretty miserable, huh? But that was exactly what happened to former hockey goalie Jacques Plante, who led Montreal to six Stanley Cup victories and STILL took flak from the fans every time an opponent scored.[i]

Some folks are impossible to please. Unfortunately, that’s how many people have experienced the global Church – as a judgmental crowd that hisses and boos over every mistake. They have been led to believe that God is an impossible referee who calls everything foul. So is it any wonder that the number of adults who have never attended church regularly has grown from 15 to 23 percent since 1993?![ii]

Luckily, when Nicodemus came with his doubts and questions and shortcomings, he encountered a Jesus who loves and accepts and forgives.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee who came to Jesus under the cover of night. We are not sure why he came at night, but he was probably afraid of being seen. Nicodemus was a rich and powerful man in the community. He was respected; people valued his opinion. So maybe Nicodemus was afraid of what people would think of him if it became known that he had sought out this renegade teacher, Jesus. So Nicodemus came by night.

He came to talk, and, luckily, Jesus was there to listen. Not to judge. And not to make a point. Jesus listened.

Father Henri Nouwen, who was well known for his work in pastoral caregiving, once wrote that listening is so much more than simply allowing another person to talk while we wait for a chance to respond. Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them.[iii] Did you hear that? Listening is more than allowing others to talk while we wait to respond. Listening is paying full attention to others.

I’m afraid that’s a lost art today. One of the problems with social media is that everybody is talking, but few are really listening. At best, we pause long enough to get the general gist of the conversation, and then we bust in with our opinions and advice and thumbs up or down critiques on what we BELIEVE others have said. We don’t really KNOW what was said because we did not listen. We were too preoccupied with our own thoughts.

The thing is … people know when we are not paying attention to them. They can feel it. And our inattentiveness speaks volumes. It says, “You are not important. Your opinion does not matter. Your experience does not matter. YOU do not matter. Not to me.”

Sadly, people have gotten accustomed to being ignored. So they shout. Or attack. Or retreat. Or agree. Or protest. Or hide. They act out. They act silly. They act indifferent. They behave badly, or they try to be perfect! They do whatever they have to do in order to get the attention they so desperately need. Which makes me wonder if many, if not all, our problems could be solved simply by listening to one another.

A 2013 article in Forbes magazine says the first step to solving problems is transparent communication. Everyone’s concerns and points of view must be freely expressed. AND HEARD. But then, once every voice has been heard, a solution can be found.[iv]

Wouldn’t that be great? If we could find solutions to all the hatred and violence and greed that threaten our existence simply by listening to one another?

I suppose that’s why Nicodemus went to Jesus that night. He had heard about Jesus. Some were saying that Jesus was the great leader that the Jewish people had been awaiting for so many years. Nicodemus had to know. Was Jesus the one? Was he the one who would bring world peace?

So Nicodemus went to Jesus and said, “We know that you are a teacher sent from God. There’s no way you could do all the things that you do if God was not with you.”

And Jesus replied, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”

Huh? No one had said anything about the kingdom of God. Nicodemus had not asked if he could be part of the kingdom that Jesus was creating. But that’s the way it is sometimes. People don’t always tell you what they really want to know. They don’t always tell you what they really need. Sometimes, they don’t know themselves. But good listening reveals the truth. And Jesus listened well. He knew what was in the heart of Nicodemus. John 2:25 tells us that Jesus knew what was in EVERYONE. He knew what Nicodemus really wanted to know. Jesus knew the question that Nicodemus had not asked. “How can I be part of your kingdom?”

So Jesus told him. You must be born from above. Not surprisingly, Nicodemus did not understand. “How can that be? That doesn’t make any sense. You can’t be born after you have gotten old. It’s not like you can go back into your mother’s womb and be born again.” Nicodemus just did NOT get it.

But Jesus did not get angry or impatient with Nicodemus. Instead, Jesus lovingly explained, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.”

Nicodemus was astonished. “How can these things be?”

I can sympathize with Nicodemus, can’t you? The ways of God are hard to understand. Jesus spoke with a wisdom that confounds even the most educated of people. But we who are dead in sin need a new life, so Jesus offered it to Nicodemus. There was no condemnation. Only acceptance. Love and acceptance. You might call it grace.

That’s why God sent Jesus into the world. God loves the world. God does not want ANYONE to perish. God wants EVERYONE to have eternal life. God wants EVERYONE to be part of the kingdom. God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn it. God sent Jesus into the world to save it.

So when Nicodemus came to Jesus that night, the Lord did not reject him. The Lord did not judge him. Jesus listened to Nicodemus. They talked. Nicodemus found love and acceptance with Jesus. Nicodemus found that he was accepted by God. He was acceptable TO God. He was good enough for God. And that changed Nicodemus forever.

He was awash in the Spirit of God. He was awash in the LOVE of God. With Jesus, Nicodemus found total, undeserved and immeasurable love and acceptance. It was a cleansing so deep he was made new! It’s as if he had been born a second time.

That’s what happens when people encounter the redeeming love of Jesus Christ. They are changed.

Roy Sano was only 11 years old when vigilantes removed the boy, his mother and two sisters from their home in California and sent them to a camp in Poston, Ariz. It was just months after the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor, and the American people were afraid. They were afraid of anyone who was different. So they responded by rounding up Japanese Americans, taking them far away from any place they knew, and forcing them to live in internment camps.[v]

Such a roundup had already removed Sano’s father from the home, and now the entire family was being herded like cattle. It could have turned the boy into a bitter man. Instead, it was a lesson in grace.

As Sano’s family and other Japanese Americans were boarding buses that would take them to their forced exile, the boy spotted a man and a small group of women passing out refreshments. “Later,” Sano recalls, “I discovered it was a Methodist minister with the women of the church who were bold enough to come and wish us well.”

Such love in action – courageous action – is what Sano calls grace. I imagine that, in the face of such evil, passing out cookies and juice might not have seemed like much, but it was a courageous and loving act that had far-reaching implications.

“Even one good memory can redirect one’s life,” Sano says. And it was the memory of such grace-filled moments that later prompted Sano to respond to a call to ordained ministry.

When asked, “Anyone here want to choose Christian work?” Sano replied, “…I think I’d like to work for this island of acceptance in this turbulent ocean of hate.”

And as a bishop in the United Methodist Church, that is exactly what Sano did. And, as followers of Christ, that is what each of us is called to do: create islands of love and acceptance in a turbulent ocean of hate.

God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world – although, Lord knows, there’s plenty here to condemn: violence, hatred, fear, prejudice, dissension, and judgmental condescension, just to name a few. When Jesus walked the earth, he bumped into all kinds of dirty people – smelly fishermen; a Samaritan whore; hungry mobs; unsupportive relatives; a woman caught in adultery; sick people living on the streets.

But even from the cross, Jesus looked on the crowds that had screamed for his death and spoke not one word of condemnation. Not one word of hate or derision. Not one word of loathing. In John’s account of the crucifixion, Jesus says very little at all. He is beaten. He is flogged. He is ridiculed. And, still, he held his tongue. And so Jesus died a terrible death. A death he did not deserve. But he never condemned anyone. Instead, he told his followers to forgive.

Who does that? Only God. Only a God who loves us and wants to save us all.

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[i] Plante is quoted in James S. Hewett’s book, Illustrations Unlimited. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1988. P. 134.

[ii] Figures based on a report from The Barna Group, which was published October 9, 2014 on their website at https://www.barna.com/research/five-trends-among-the-unchurched/. Downloaded March 10, 2017.

[iii] Henri Nouwen. “March 11: Listening as Spiritual Hospitality.” Bread for the Journey. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1997.

[iv] Glenn Llopis. “The 4 Most Effective Ways Leaders Solve Problems.” Published November 4, 2013, on Forbes magazine website at https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2013/11/04/the-4-most-effective-ways-leaders-solve-problems/#29bdb6a84f97. Downloaded March 10, 2017.

[v] The story of Bishop Roy I. Sano is told by Cecile S. Holmes in “Wartime Internment Teaches Bishop ‘The Importance of Grace.’” Interpreter. February-March 2005. Pp. 28-29.

Cross Culture: Resisting

     Perhaps the greatest temptation that Jesus faced in the wilderness wax to become someone he was not, to conform to other people’s expectations. He would be faced with that challenge throughout his life and ministry. Each time, he would resist the temptation, and he would choose to obey God.

      Culture has a strong influence on us as individuals, but we can change culture. We can create an environment that represents God’s desires for humanity, God’s love for humanity. We can create a Cross Culture. Instead of the world changing US, we can change the world. One of the ways we change our world is by resistance. We can resist the temptation to conform to society’s expectations.
     Several years ago, Mode magazine featured on its front cover a tasteful but nude, plus-sized model. She refused to conform to the belief that fat women are ugly and should hide their bodies behind big, baggy clothes. Her resistance sparked a revolution. Large women began to demand attractive clothing, and now even Christian Siriano designs for them.
     Resistance is transforming. It is transforming because it can inspire others to break free. Remember Mahatma Gandhi and the Salt March? Britain had ruled India for more than 100 years. The colonial government had taken over the salt mines, placed taxes on it, and forbidden Indians from producing it themselves. So Gandhi and a few supporters walked across India to the coast where Gandhi picked up salt for himself. It was a simple gesture, but it inspired his fellow citizens to resist British rule, and, eventually, they gained their independence.
     Or maybe you heard about the singing revolution in Eastern Europe. In the 1980s, large groups of people gathered in the streets of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to sing protest songs, and, with the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, they finally gained their independence. Resisting led to transformation.
     History books are full of stories of individuals and groups who resisted the temptation to conform. But there are countless more who make life-changing stands every day: kids who say “no” to drugs and premarital sex; husbands who choose NOT to cheat on their wives or their income taxes; women who opt out of abusive or controlling relationships. Their choices change the world around them.
     That does not mean it is easy. Resisting is hard work. It requires great strength of character. And that type of character is shaped and molded as we spend time alone with God.
     Each day we are confronted with countless temptations to conform to the ways of the world. We are tempted to use our power and influence to get what we want and forget about what God wants or what others need. We are tempted to use our gifts and abilities to show off. We are tempted to take control of each and every situation, to do things our way, and to ignore God’s commands. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to resist such temptations. Sure, that’s how things work in the so-called “real world.” But we are called to be different. We are called to do things differently. We are called to make a difference. We are called to create Cross Culture. God culture. A community of love and grace and mercy. No matter how hard it is. And sometimes it is very, very hard. The temptation to quit or give in is strong.
     It is almost impossible to resist temptation on our own. But the good news for us today is that we do not have to do it alone. The Holy Spirit is at work in us, and it is the Spirit of God within us that gives us the strength to resist, even when it seems as if the whole world is working against us.
     Like Jesus, we can call upon the promises of God, and, even in the wilderness of our lives, we can find the strength and hope and courage to resist temptation. The choices we make will lead us to the resurrection and to that day when God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. And what a day of rejoicing THAT will be. Amen? Amen.

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[i] W. Douglas Hood, Jr. recounts this story in a sermon entitled “Identity Crisis,” which is published on The Sermon Mall website at www.sermonmall.com/TheMall/05/feb05/021305z.html. Downloaded February 12, 2005. Hood credits Roberts Kysar’s work John: The Maverick Gospel (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1976), p. 1.

[ii] Hood, 3.

[iii] Patricia E. de Jong’s sermon, “Entering the Wilderness,” is published on the First Congregational Church of Berkeley website at www.fccb.org/sermons/s98/sr980301.html. Downloaded March 3, 2001.

Love your enemies

These verses have never been easy to preach. They are not easy to teach. They are not even easy to read! They are hard words. They are hard instructions. They are hard to hear and even harder to follow. Who on earth would just stand there and let someone punch them in the jaw and then say, “Hey, it’s okay. Go ahead and punch me on the other side?” Nobody. And if you lose your shirt in court, you don’t strip down to your skivvies and hand ‘em over to opposing counsel, do ya? Of course not! And, if you give money to everyone who asks for it, you will wind up with nothing to give.

So what do we make of Jesus’ instructions? What do we do with these hard words? Do we ignore them simply because we do not like them? Do we make excuses because the implications frighten us? Do we explain them away as some sort of misunderstanding?

I don’t think it’s that easy. I don’t think God lets us off the hook just because the words are hard. Instead, I suspect that the very fact that they are so hard means that they are essential to our relationship with Christ. So, instead of running away from these hard words, we probably need to dig right in. So let’s do it.

Jesus tells his followers: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’” (5:38) How many times have we heard those words? An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. That phrase has been used for centuries to suggest that God approves of getting even when someone wrongs us. But that’s not exactly the case. The expression is used several times in the law books of the Old Testament. But, back in those days, when an enemy destroyed something of yours, the customary response was to strike back and destroy EVERYTHING of his. Which, of course, often led to the friends of your enemy to strike back at you and destroy EVERYTHING of yours. Which would prompt your friends to strike your enemy’s friends and their friends to strike your friends causing more and more destruction, until, finally, nothing is left. Which doesn’t help anyone.

So, when God advised the Israelites to respond “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” it was actually a call for restraint. You might even call it mercy. Basically, God was saying do NOT seek to destroy an enemy. If he kills one of your farm animals, take one of his. Not ALL of them. That kind of wisdom is seen in our justice system where the punishment is supposed to fit the crime. When someone gets caught stealing a TV set, they do a little jail time. We do not impose the death penalty. This way, there is justice. What was wrong is made right. Which is pretty generous, when you stop and think about it. The old way, if you come after me, I seek to destroy you, but, under the laws of the Old Testament, I merely seek to right the wrong. It was definitely a more gracious approach to maintaining law and order.

But then Jesus comes along and says, “You think that’s mercy? I’ll tell you what mercy is. Mercy is not striking back at all.”

“If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.” The words were as shocking then as they are to us now. Not fight back? That just seems wrong! Every instinct says, “Protect yourself.” And I certainly don’t want my daughter or your daughter or anyone else’s daughter to hear these words of Jesus and conclude that they are supposed to ALLOW men to abuse them. That CANNOT be right. I cannot believe that a loving God wants ANY human being to be mistreated. There must be something else going on here.

Some scholars believe that this strike on the right cheek would not have been an actual punch to the face. It would have been more like a backhanded slap that was really more insult than injury.[i] And, of course, if someone insults you or strikes you, you certainly have the right to defend yourself.

But, just because you have the RIGHT to strike back does NOT mean you SHOULD. You have a choice. You can CHOOSE to retaliate, or you can choose to show mercy. In those moments, when you choose mercy, when you choose to give up your right to retaliate, then you are acting like a child of God.

In Romans 5:10, Paul reminds us that there was a time when we were all God’s enemies. Every time we chose to do things our way instead of God’s way, it was like we were slapping God across the face. God had every right to get even with us. But God chose to set aside the right to retaliate. Instead, God reached out to us in love and grace and mercy. God came to us as Jesus and offered us forgiveness. In fact, Jesus even suffered the punishment that WE deserved. How crazy is that?

But that’s what love does. Love does things that do not make sense to the world. The world says, “Take care of number one.” But love seeks to do what is GOOD for the other. Love cares about the NEEDS of the other. Love puts the needs of the other ahead of its own rights.

So Jesus says, “Love your enemies. Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.”

It is not easy to do. It was not easy for Jesus either. Jesus did not WANT to go to the cross. He did not want to die. He did not deserve to die. But he chose to lay down his life so that we might be reconciled to God.

So is that what Jesus is asking of us? Are we supposed to sacrifice ourselves for the good of others? Are we supposed to lay down our lives so that our enemies might be reconciled to God? I think so.

But does that mean we are supposed to stand there and take it when bullies threaten us at home or at work or at school? Are we supposed to stand quietly by when they attack us on the playground or on the court or on a battlefield? Are we just supposed to allow terrorists to blow us to smithereens? I don’t think that’s what this text is saying. I believe Jesus is telling us that, when someone hurts us, we do not HAVE to retaliate. We can choose to forgive.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to interview the Rev. Ruth Wood. She was ordained an elder in the Methodist Church in 1959, making her the first ordained woman in Mississippi. It was not easy. She was only ever appointed to very small churches, and, quite often, the members of those churches were very unhappy to have been given a woman preacher. Some approached her district superintendent to request that a man be sent to fill the pulpit. One family left the church AND the denomination. One woman really struggled with the issue, and, to be honest, she wasn’t very nice to Ruth. She did her best to get rid of the lady preacher. But Ruth never retaliated. She just prayed. And tried her best to treat everyone with kindness and respect. In time, the woman who had fought so hard against a female pastor apologized. She had been praying, too, and, Ruth told me with a grin, “The Lord told her it was alright.”

When someone hurts us, we have the right to retaliate. But loving your neighbor means giving up that right. Just because others are mean to us does not mean that we must be mean to them.[ii]

Some of you may remember the violence of the Civil Rights Movement. Peaceful protesters were struck, hosed with water, fire bombed, and killed. But in a sermon delivered November 17, 1957 at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told his followers:

“There will come a time, in many instances, when the person who hates you most, the person who has misused you most, the person who has gossiped about you most, the person who has spread false rumors about you most, there will come a time when you will have an opportunity to defeat that person. It might be in terms of a recommendation for a job; it might be in terms of helping that person to make some move in life. That’s the time you must not do it. That is the meaning of love. In the final analysis, love is not this sentimental something that we talk about. It’s not merely an emotional something. Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all men.”

When someone hurts us, we have the right to retaliate. But loving your neighbor means giving up that right. Just because others are mean to us does not mean that we must be mean to them. We can find creative, loving ways to respond.[iii]

In last week’s episode of “Chicago Fire,” firefighter Christopher Herrmann is closing down the bar that he owns when a haggard looking stranger walks in off the street and asks to “borrow” a couple hundred dollars to buy a suit for a job interview. Herrmann is understandably wary. “What happens if I don’t loan you the money?” he asks. In the audience, we hold our breath and await a terrible outcome. We expect violence. Because that’s what often happens in the world, right? People take what they want, one way or another. But not this time. The stranger turns to leave, and something (could it be the Holy Spirit?) prompts Hermann, a good Catholic, to ask, “What’s going on?” Then he listens as the stranger shares his story, and, after a brief moment of contemplation, Hermann gives the stranger the money he was seeking.

It’s a foolhardy decision. No one, not even Hermann, expects that he will EVER get back the money he gave away. His friends and co-workers tease him relentlessly about being sucked into a con. But Hermann reminds them all of who they are and what they are called to do. They are firefighters. They help people in need, whether they deserve it or not.

Friends, in our text today, Jesus reminds us of who WE are and what WE are called to do. We are followers of Jesus Christ. We are called to love people, whether they deserve it or not. Which is exactly what Jesus did for us. He loved us even when we did not deserve it.

I won’t lie. Loving our enemies will never be easy. Loving our enemies will never be safe. Loving our enemies will never be popular. But loving our enemies will always be what God expects of us because loving enemies is what God did FOR us.

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[i] M. Eugene Boring. “Matthew.” The New Interpreter’s Bible. Vol. VIII. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995. 195.

[ii] Carolyn C. Brown. Forbid Them Not: Year A. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992. 51.

[iii] Carolyn C. Brown. Forbid Them Not: Year A. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992. 51.