The Hits Keep Coming

We last left Jesus preaching against anger, lust, divorce, lying, and anything that separates us from our neighbor in yesterday’s Gospel lesson. We have to lay down our gift at the altar and deal with anything we are holding against our neighbor before we can be right with God. My colleague Evan gave such a clear message about our need to see this, as he said “there is a brokenness among us that can only be healed if we recognize that victory for our side isn’t as important as communion with the other.” After such a profound and pointed message from Jesus within his Sermon on the Mount, I am sure that when we open up the Lectionary to see this coming Sunday’s Gospel it will be a piece of cake… 

What? Are you serious? In this passage from Matthew Jesus says, “Turn the other cheek,” and “Give your cloak as well,” and “Go also the second mile,” and “Give to everyone who begs from you,” and “Love your enemies,” and “Pray for those who persecute you” and to top it all off, “Be perfect!” Come on man! Seriously? Could we not get a week of “It is okay to be mad at those who are mean to you.”? Or, perhaps “If someone slaps you it is appropriate to hit them back.”? How about “Be pretty good, for you are a pretty good person.” I mean this is asking a lot of us. And, in all seriousness that is precisely the point of discipleship, of following Jesus, and of taking on our true nature as a child of God. Being a Christian is not a hobby that we take up in our spare time!

As we travel through this part of Matthew we may feel as though the hits keep coming, and that every week Jesus ups the ante. We experience this sentiment because it is true. Discipleship as outlined in the Sermon on the Mount requires not just more and more of us, but all of us as we grow closer and closer to God and to one another. The examples Jesus used of how to follow God in everyday interactions with one another push us to examine how we treat ourselves, our families and friends, and our neighbors. A full life, a life in Christ, does not consist of retribution, vengeance, and defensiveness, but something else entirely.

To be a follower of Jesus calls us to live detached from the automatic, instinctive response when others treat us with disrespect, anger, or meanness. Not responding to disrespect with disrespect or anger with anger or meanness with meanness cannot happen overnight, nor can it happen on our own. We must live life differently than how we so often live. We instinctively follow the impulses in response to our thoughts, feelings, emotions, conditions, situations, or other persons. To turn the other cheek is to ignore the rage that wells up inside of us when we are mistreated, so how do we do this?

Jesus ends this passage with the answer to this question: being perfect (and this deserves more exploration throughout this week). Perfection is the way that we must live our lives if we wish to live differently than the world around us; however, perfection is not what we may think it is. It is not a perfect score, like on a standardized test or in Olympic Gymnastics, nor is it pitching a perfect game like in baseball (Pitchers and catchers report today by the way!), nor is it any other human measure of being really good at something. Perfection in the Father is about one thing: fulfillment. Being fulfilled not by the result or the outcome, but by growing ever deeper in relationship with our true self, our neighbors, and our God. Let us be fulfilled by our Almighty Parent!

Luke 21:5-19: When Practice Doesn't Make Perfect

"So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict."

"Practice makes perfect" is one of those sayings that I took to heart from an early age. I was never the tallest, the fastest, the most athletic, or the best skilled player on any of the soccer teams that I played on as a kid. So what I lacked in ability I tried to make up for in effort... AND PRACTICE (Sorry Allen Iverson, I'm talking about practice). I practiced and practiced and practiced. Everyday of the week, every week of the month, every month of the year, I practiced. Through that time I was urged on by the thought that if I practice hard enough, then I will be prepared to play a perfect game.
Sometimes this mentality creeps up in me as I prepare for something upcoming in the life of the parish. In particular, I think, "If I can practice hard enough, then I will preach a perfect sermon and everyone will walk away saying things like, 'Wow, I really want my spiritual life to grow!' and 'I can't wait to serve at St. John's Church more often!' and maybe even, 'That Seth really can preach!'" Yet, this upcoming Sunday's gospel from Luke describes a very different vision than practice makes perfect.
One day, according to Jesus, the religious and political structures will begin to fall, and wars and earthquakes will shake the earth, and famines and plagues will encircle the globe. At that point those who follow Jesus will be given an opportunity to testify. Well, the truth is our earthly systems continue to fail, wars and natural disasters continue to cripple nations, and food shortages and disease kill thousands every day. All that Jesus has said is going to happen is already happening and has been happening since he ascended into heaven. We have the opportunity RIGHT NOW to speak in his name, so what is stopping us?

I often wonder, what does it mean then to testify to God? Does it mean that we have to rehearse some Bible verses that we shoot at unsuspecting passersby? Maybe. Does it mean that we memorize some passionate narrative about turning away from a life of sin? Perhaps. Does it mean participating in dramatic debate about all of the signs (earthquakes, wars, famines, etc.) pointing to Jesus' impending return? Probably not. I think to testify is to engage in honest conversations and instead of "preparing [our] defense in advance," we leave our defenses down.

When we come in defenseless we can more honestly engage with those whom we might see as enemies. God already gives us words and wisdom if we would just slow down enough to listen to what is being said within our hearts, minds, and spirits. If we come in having a practiced script we might be too tied up in spitting out what we want to say. We might miss that our supposed opponents are just like us. We might miss that God removes those things that stand in the way of connecting with our opponents. We might miss that no division exists in God's reality, they are merely our own fabrication.

There are certainly things to practice in this world. Yet, there is one area where not practicing leads to perfection. When we talk to our "opponents" leave the memorized monologues behind and rely upon taking down our defenses, so that we stand together on the sacred ground that we share in interacting with one another. Christ will give us the words to say, but only if we first remove our shields of apprehension, fear, prejudice, doubt, and hatred.

Loving Father, you constantly give us words and wisdom, I ask that You help us to remove anything that we build up between each another, that we might see that Your Kingdom is that space that exists between us, and that we are the ones who are charged with revealing it to one another. All this we ask through the loving example of Jesus your Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen!