Luke 6: 27 – 38
“Listening to the Invitation”
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God, the Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, thru the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I hope you’re doing well after the ice and snow deposits we had last weekend, forcing many to stay home Saturday and cancel Sunday’s worship. That can be a problem understanding today’s gospel because we pick up the conversation where Jesus left off. What Jesus was saying last week were words of blessings and woes in what’s called Luke’s, “Sermon on the Plain.” And as Jesus finished up those words, we pick up today’s passage with…”But…”
Jesus says, “But I say to you who are listening…”
Now, imagine yourself listening to Jesus. One might wonder, “You talking to me? Dude, I’m all ears!” Or…perhaps you really weren’t listening and now carry a tinge of guilt. The point is, why would Jesus be speaking to people who aren’t listening?
He may have sensed some of the folks were a bit irked by the “woes” he had just finished peeling off and many were feeling guilty or maybe had feelings of shame they had been carrying around. We just don’t like to hear that kind of talk, do we? Warnings – woe to you who are rich now or laughing now. You get the idea.
Perhaps those words were so harsh that they didn’t want to listen anymore. Or possibly we don’t want to listen anymore to those same words that can apply to today’s world.
So, let me pose this question. Are we willing to listen? When our Lord – God in the flesh – said, “But I say to you who are listening…”
Are. We. Listening?
I know we all have a lot on our plates; even those of us who are retired! I have commented since I retired 8 months ago, “How in the world did I get work done?” Kuh-razy, right? Think about it. Regardless of age, we have so much going on that completing those tasks we identify as “Job One,” limits our capability to really listen. And what Jesus is saying are not idle words. They are invitations to us to be more like him each day.
The invitations to love our enemies – uhhh, nice try, Jesus. Not happening today.
The invitation to not judge. Gee, everybody else does it!
The invitation to not condemn. Gee Jesus, we’re surrounded by that. From the playground to the office, and even at home, there seems to be so much condemnation. You don’t suppose it’s because we’re not listening to each other, do you?
Oh – there’s one more invitation: Forgiving others.
Are these challenges, or what? According to Jesus, they shouldn’t be because he is asking us to respond to God’s mercy and love, and they are found with the four exhortations in verses 27 and 28: Yes, “love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; 28 bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you.”
That reminds me of my father, who was a pretty big guy, deep voice, and walked tall; he used to tell my brother, sister and me, “Just kill ‘em.”
“Kill them with kindness.”
We kill ‘em with kindness by loving them. Now, I can only imagine what you’re thinking, especially if you combine Jesus’ requirement to forgive folks as well. For some reason so many of us just want to hold on to that feeling of “I’ll never forgive him/her! They don’t deserve it!”
Well – how about us? Do we? Do we deserve forgiveness? Do we deserve the grace or the mercy God freely gives us?
There’s a line of distinction between grace and mercy, both of which we receive from God on an everyday basis.
Grace is receiving what I do not deserve.
Mercy is not receiving what I deserve.
Friends, this is not to try to “guilt us” into doing what Jesus is inviting us to do. But when the times come when those feelings of anger, bitterness, contempt, or disdain surface, can we take a moment and remember the grace and mercy of Jesus who we know loves us, who we know forgives us; who we know blesses us with abundance, and who we know does not condemn us but offers us life everlasting, plus, giving us the abilities to do things we can’t even imagine doing ourselves? I mean, Jesus loves us even when we fall short of the mark.
You see, when we better understand that Jesus gives us more insight as to realize who we really are, we might better understand the world around us. I know we have the capacity to show the grace and mercy that’s been shown to us. I also know it sounds simple, but you know what? I daresay each of us, at one time or another in our lives, have uttered the familiar words of the “Golden Rule,” that we find in verse 31: Do you want to say it with me? “Do unto others as you would them do unto you.” Yep – straight from the Word of God.
There’s one final invitation we hear all the time, isn’t there? The invitation to come forward and unburden ourselves when we receive the body and blood of Christ Jesus. No, we are not worthy of it, but that’s why Jesus went to Jerusalem. In just 3 chapters – in Luke 9 – we’ll read in verse 51 that “Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
He set his face.
What is it that comes to mind when you hear the word, “set?” Like concrete setting, once hardened it becomes immoveable. That was Jesus. He was determined – he was resolute to do one thing: have nothing encumber him to reach his destination –
the Cross.
May you and I respond to this “holy invitation” to share the love of God thru Christ to all – to our enemies and friends; to the condemned and the liberated, to the forgiven and the unforgiven. It is the lavish love of God in Christ that encourages us to unabashedly, unashamedly, share it with all. No exceptions. Ever.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.