February 20, 2022 Sermon
Sermon title: "The Golden Rule"
Scripture: Luke 6:27-38
(Other lectionary choices include Genesis 45:3-11, 15, Psalm 37, and I Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50.)
Luke 6:27-38
Love for Enemies
27"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34If 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. 35But 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. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Judging Others
37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38give, 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."
The sermon title is "The Golden Rule", but Jesus didn't give what he said that name. And I don't know who gave it that name, but we all know it, don't we? "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." That sounds fairly harmless, doesn't it? The negative of that saying is DON'T do unto others what you DON'T want them to do to you. I have to say that every religion has some form of the Golden Rule in it: Don't do to others what you would not want done to you. But I also have to say that Christianity is the only religion that says it in a positive way.
Usually, I like to give all religions credit, because I truly believe that God is too big, too awesome, if you will, for only one religion. That may sound funny coming from an ordained Christian minister, but that's what I believe. And if I had been born a Muslim, there's a good chance I'd be an imam today, or if I had been born a Jew, there's a good chance I'd be a rabbi today. My wife Harlane already calls me a "Jew wanna be", and it is true that I love the Old Testament and find it compelling. The Old Testament prophets' view of God as this Mighty Force yet Loving Being moves me very much, and if you were here a couple of weeks ago, you may have heard my voice catch just a little when I read from Isaiah 6 about Isaiah's vision of God in the Temple. God says, "Whom shall we send?" And Isaiah says, "Here am I; send me."
Okay. So, we know that I am drawn to the Old Testament and moved by some of its passages. And there is a lot of great stuff in Judaism, particularly a high moral code, which probably comes from the Ten Commandments. But permit me to say, please, Christianity goes Judaism one better with its Golden Rule - in fact, it goes ALL religions one better with its Golden Rule, because it says DO unto others, not DON'T do unto others. Now let's not be PROUD that we're Christians! The ancient Greeks had a saying: "Pride goeth before a fall". And Jesus couldn't STAND pride! So don't be a prideful Christian. That term ought to be an oxymoron: "prideful Christian".
Also, don't be too proud until you realize exactly what Jesus was saying when he uttered that Golden Rule. He says that in the midst of telling people to love their enemies. And, he says, "Do good to those who hate you." What? That's impossible! Not if you're a true follower of Jesus, and how many of us truly love our enemies.
To DO unto others means that we ACTIVELY seek the good of everybody, even our enemies! Do you know anybody who has done that? I do, and he's a retired Baptist minister whom I met in my previous church. He and his wife and I think her sister have been to at least two services here at Upland Christian Church. I like this guy because he lost two preaching jobs: one for being too liberal, and one for being too conservative! I told him he must have done something right. These parishes were in Kansas, and in one of those churches, a certain male member of the congregation worked to get my minister friend fired, and he was successful. Well, my minister friend knew that this guy was out of a job, and even though my friend knew this guy wanted him out, my friend still worked to find him a job, and he was successful! THAT is what DO unto others means: working for the good of your enemies! I don't know if the guy who got my friend fired knew that my friend helped find him a job, and I guess it doesn't really matter. We DO unto others NOT because we're looking for a certain reward, but because it's the right thing to do, it's the JESUS thing to do. Can you do that? Can I do that? Do I WANT to do that, help my enemy? If I'm a follower of Jesus, I had better try. Not because I'm afraid of what will happen to me if I don't, but because I won't think I'm a very strong Christian if I don't. I'll be a mealy-mouthed "pretend to follow Jesus" type of Christian if I don't.
There is a German word called "Schadenfreude", which means taking joy or satisfaction in your enemy's bad fortune. It is so much fun to have that feeling, but clearly - if we are Christians - it is not an appropriate feeling for you and me to have. Again, it feels good...... but that doesn't mean we should engage in it! Do you remember the series, "Highway to Heaven", starring Michael Landon? He played an angel, I think, and it was quite a successful series. I did NOT like "Highway to Heaven", and here's why: In one episode there's a mean kid and he's riding his bike. Well, the bike runs off the road, and Michael Landon's character looks up to heaven and smiles. The kid deserved to have the accident, and everybody watching just LOVED seeing him have the accident - but that is an example of Schadenfreude, and such a feeling is unbecoming of a true follower of Jesus.
One more thing.....remember the story of the rich young ruler in one of the Gospels? A young man asks Jesus, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" First of all, Jesus says, "Why do you call me good? There is but one Good and he is our Father in heaven", or something like that. Then Jesus answers the young man, saying something like, "You know the Ten Commandments. Keep them and you will live." The young man says, "I have kept all those from my youth." Then Jesus tells him that he lacks one thing, and he tells him to sell all he has, give the proceeds to the poor, and then follow Jesus. But the man goes away in a downcast mood, and we are told, "The young man had many things." The reason this Scripture passage came to mind is that this young man had kept his nose clean and had kept all the DON'TS of the Law. But he had not DONE anything, he did not DO unto others. Friends, love and the Christian faith is an ACTION thing. Love is something you DO, not something you DON'T. That's why Jesus says to DO unto others, even your enemies. Especially your enemies! Amen.
Pastor Skip
