May 27, 2001
Relationships in the Kingdom – Part 6
INTRODUCTION
Before the reunification of Germany, each of Uwe Holmer’s eight children tried to enroll at the University of East Berlin, and each one was rejected. The East German Ministry of Education wasn’t in the habit of giving reasons for its rejection of applicants, but in this case the reason wasn’t hard to guess. You see, Uwe Holmer, the father of those eight applicants was the pastor of a church in East Berlin. And for 26 years the Ministry of Education had been headed by Margot Honecker, wife of Erich Honecker, East Germany’s Communist premier.
But then in the fall of 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. The same wall Erich Honecker had been in charge of building in 1961. Honecker and his wife were unceremoniously dismissed from office, and indicted for several criminal activities during his tenure as premier.
They were speedily evicted from their luxurious palace in the exclusive suburb of Vandlitz which was reserved the VIPs of the Communist party. Suddenly they found themselves friendless, without resources and no place to go. None of their former comrades showed them any of the humanitarianism their party had boasted about. No one wanted to identify with the Honeckers…
Except, Pastor Uwe Holmer. Despite the unfair treatment his family had received because of their Christian faith, Pastor Holmer extended an invitation to the Honeckers to stay with his family in the church parsonage.
Having nowhere else to go, the Honeckers accepted the invitation before eventually moving to the Chile. Though Mr. and Mrs. Honecker were outspoken atheists, Pastor Holmer reported the former premier and his wife were folding their hands and bowing their heads at the Holmer family prayer times.
That is not a natural course of action. Most people who had been wronged by the Honeckers and caused to suffer under their Communist dictates would probably rather have seen the former premier and his wife die in the streets. But to invite these enemies into your home? To show them love and compassion? That’s a pretty radical thing to do.
But Jesus tells us…
Loving my enemy is a way to show I belong to God.
TRANSITION: To really show we belong to God, to truly give evidence He’s changing our lives, Jesus would want each of us to realize, for starters…
I. I MUST LOVE INSTEAD OF HATE (v. 43-44)
He tells the crowd on the mountainside in Matthew 5:43…
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
Sounds like decent advice, doesn’t it? Trouble is the Bible never says such a thing.
The command “Love your neighbor” is found in Levitcus 19:18, but no OT Scripture says “hate your enemy.”
Those in Jesus’ day defined a “neighbor” as somoeone of my own people – in other words one of your same class or ethnic background. So, they figured, if the rule says love people like me…it must be taken as a permission, even an injunction, to then hate my enemy.
I suppose this rationalization could convince those who wanted to be convinced, but it’s certainly not what God intended. In fact Proverbs 25:21 says, If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty give him water to drink…and the Lord will reward you.
But the religious leaders conveniently overlooked those words and taught people to love only those of their own ethnic background.
One writer says the phrase, “hate your enemy” was a “parasitical growth” on God’s law.
To prove it, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan where a man is robbed and left half dead along the road. Those of his own ethnicity walked on by, and yet a hated Samaritan stopped to offer assistance and transported him to an inn where he paid all his expenses. Jesus ends this story with a question: “Which was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
Obviously it’s the one who prior to Jesus, was never considered to be a neighbor.
So, a “neighbor” is not necessarily a member of my own race/ethnic background, someone from my own country, someone of my own religion, or even my own church.
“Neighbor” in the vocabulary of God includes our enemy.
Or, to put it quite simply, if you have an enemy, God says, “He’s your neighbor too!”
ILLUS – Chuck Jones cartoon for Warner Brothers - Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf – in a very literal sense, they are enemies and next door neighbors and at the same time. Morning, Sam. Morning, Ralph. Walk past their mailboxes at the end of their sidewalks on the way to the pasture where they take their punch cards and clock in. The morning whistle blows and Ralph gets down low to the ground to go about his wolfly business of stealing sheep. And Sam, whose Sheepdog hair has grown over his eyes sits Stoicly guarding the flock. Ralph begins by carrying off what he thinks is a sheep only to discover it’s Sam in zip up sheep disguise. Sam pounds Ralph into the ground. Of course there’s the requisite Warner Brothers dynamite scene where Ralph attempts to blow up Sam only to have the dynamite explode near him – a scene where Ralph tries to vault Sam off a tall cliff only to launch himself off the cliff where he lands at the bottom in a cloud of dust. At the end of the cartoon, Ralph Wolf is severely injured and punches out at the time clock with Sam who says, “See you tomorrow, Ralph.” As they both head home.
To Jesus, anyone we consider an enemy is still a neighbor too. Because of this, He goes on to say in Matthew 5:44…
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…
Love them?
Love the ones who hurt us or hurt those we love?
Love those who hurt us physically and they hurt us emotionally?
Love them if we know them very well, if we do not know them at all?
Yes! Whoever they are, Jesus says love them.
This is the first time the word “love” is used in the Sermon on the Mount. But it’s what Jesus has been leading up to all along. Love fixes broken relationships – love keeps lust in check – love doesn’t divorce quickly – love simply tells the truth – and love doesn’t retaliate.
The kind of love He’s talking about has x-ray vision. It focuses on the soul. This kind of love sees another person’s soul, friend or foe, in great need of help, and puts compassion to work.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote:
“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”
The love Jesus is talking about sees an enemy as someone in as much need of forgiveness and grace as we are ourselves.
But what does it look like to love an enemy? Jesus gives us a couple of clues. For one he says…
1. Do something for them
Love them with deeds
In a similar passage, Luke 6:27, Jesus says (NLT): “But if you are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you.
Romans 12:21 says… Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.
What kinds of good things could we realistically do for an enemy?
An old Chinese proverb says, “If an enemy wrongs you, buy his son a drum. A very LOUD drum!”
That’s one approach. But I imagine Jesus would have us simply think of something our enemy might like, and then do it for them. Whatever it might be.
In Rich Mullins’ biography, An Arrow Pointing to Heaven, there is a story of one time when Rich got into a heated argument with his manager Gay Quisenberry. He stormed off all angry and the conflict was unresolved. But early the next morning Gay was woken up by the sound of a lawnmower, and peeking out the window she saw Rich Mullins with a pushmower, mowing her lawn.
I think doing good to an enemy might look something like that.
ILLUS - In the Shapra Indian tribe of Peru, an interesting event occurred. In this South American tribe of former headhunters, Christ has made a difference. One man used to kill his enemies after he captured them. After his conversion, he would hold them captive and teach them Scripture for three weeks! (cited by a missionary to Peru)
How’s that for love?!
After all, the alternative to loving an enemy is to hate him. BUT...
Hating someone is sort of like burning down your house to get rid of a bug.
Others may hate us. But those who hate us don’t win unless we hate them back. And then we destroy ourselves!
ILLUS - Soon after the Civil War had ended a hot-tempered contingency of die-hard Confederates were allowed to meet with President Lincoln. His gentle, friendly manner soon thawed the ice, and the Southerners are said to have left with a new respect for their old foe. But a northern congressman approached the president and criticized him for “befriending the enemy,” suggesting that instead of befriending them she should have them shot for the traitors they were. Lincoln simply smiled and replied, “Am I not destroying my enemies by making them my friends?”
Pretty tough to argue with that kind of logic.
Someone once said, “Love your enemies: they’ll go crazy trying to figure out what you’re up to.” (Unknown)
Jesus gives us another clue of what it might look like to love an enemy. He says…
2. Pray something for them
But I tell you love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. (v. 44)
How can you hate someone and pray for them at the same time? You can’t. Impossible to pray and not love. Jesus says, “Try it!”
Chrysostom said praying for our enemies is “the very highest summit of self-control”
But what should we pray for? Perhaps Jesus would suggest we pray for their success in their career, for their family times to be filled with love and joy, for their years of life to be long, full and healthy, and for them to find ultimate joy in an intimate relationship with Jesus himself.
Bonhoeffer wrote – “Through the medium of prayer we go to our enemy, stand by his side, and plead him to God.” (Cost of Discipleship, p. 149)
And that takes love, not hate.
TRANSITION: To further show that we belong to God, Jesus would want each of us to realize…
II. I MUST BE “PERFECT,” NOT MERELY HUMAN
We might think, “Pefect? Give me a break Jesus! I’m barely staying afloat as it is!” Listen to this in verses 44-48…
READ V. 44-48
Jesus isn’t talking about moral perfection, because in the Beatitudes he already gave a blessing to the poor in spirit and those who mourn the loss of their innocence.
Instead Jesus says the standard for our love is not some earthly standard. Aim high with your love. The standard is God Himself!
He sends sunshine and rain to the evil AND good. He doesn’t discriminate with his love. So…
To be “perfect” just means to love like God does
Jesus says if you love those who love you – big whoop! Traitorous oppressors, Mafia members and terrorists do that.
And, Jesus says, if you greet only your own kind…Do you ever do that? See your friends and say, “Hey, how’s it going. Nice to see you. Have a great day.” See someone you’re not real thrilled about (turn and whistle) – Everyone is capable of doing that!
Jesus says, Do MORE!
That’s probably the key word in this section of Bible. More. If we act like this…
Verse 47, what are you doing more than others?
So Jesus says, do way more. Be like God in His love. Do the extraordinary, the amazing, the unearthly – in your love, be like God!
Alfred Plummer says, “To return evil for good is devilish; to return good for good is human; to return good for evil is divine.”
ILLUS - In the fall of 1999 our entire nation witnessed an example of what it means to return good for evil. The story involves Dennis and Judy Shepard. They are the parents of Matthew Shepard, the young man from Wyoming who was kidnapped and murdered by Aaron McKinney and his accomplice, Russell Henderson. The incident drew enormous media attention, as you remember, because Matthew Shepard was gay, and the target of a horrible hate crime.
Aaron McKinney had been tried and found guilty of murder, and by the law of the state of Wyoming, he could easily have been put to death. But before the sentencing, Dennis and Judy Shepard spoke with the prosecuting attorney about the sentence and they arranged a plea by which McKinney would spend the rest of his life in prison, but the death penalty would not be administered.
The prosecuting attorney, Carl Rerucca, said this about the Shepards, "They lost what was most important to them but they could look in the eyes of the man who took their son and give him mercy."
David Smith of the Human Rights Campaign said, "I think it’s the most stunning act of benevolence I’ve ever seen. In essence, Judy Shepard spared his life."
Dennis Shepard said, speaking directly to Aaron McKinney, “I would like nothing better than to see you die, Mr. McKinney.” “However,” he added, “This is the time to begin the healing process. To show mercy to someone who refused to show any mercy.”
That’s what I call more! And though most of us wouldn’t agree with a lot of the things Mr. Shepard said about the views of conservative Christians, we still need to hold them up as examples of what it means to love someone who has shown only hate to you.
Jesus says, when we do this we’ll be sons and daughters of our Father in heaven – look just like him.
Augustine wrote, “Many have learned to offer the other cheek, but do not know how to love him by whom they were struck.”
But Jesus expects His followers to do the very things which others think cannot be reasonably expected of anybody. And when we love like God, God becomes visible to the world.
ILLUS - Bertrand Russell, the 20th Century British philosopher was raised a Christian, though later entirely rejected his faith. He once said, “The Christian principle, ‘Love your enemies,’ is good…There is nothing to be said against it except it is far too difficult for most of us to practice sincerely.” (in Divine Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard, p. 183)
Russell was pretty much right as he understood it. Thinking of how he and others remained inwardly, of course they would fail most of the time. In fact, Bertrand Russell himself is said by close acquaintances to have been a man filled with hatred.
Love for enemies is not genuinely possible without a complete and total inward transformation. (Dallas Willard)
1 Corinthians 13 Paul writes about how love is patient, and love is kind, how it isn’t easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs. We read this and understand that these are things we are to do – But if we look a little closer, we see it’s Love that does these things – not us! Love does not delight in evil. Love never fails! And yet when this love miraculously begins to live in us, we become that kind of person as well.
ILLUS - Corrie Ten Boom, the Dutch-born Christian who told her riveting story in her book The Hiding Place. She wrote that she and her sister Betsy were both placed in a Nazi concentration camp, where her sister died. When Corrie was liberated one of her deepest fears was that she would again encounter one of her Nazi tormentors. It happened one day, soon after the war, in Munich where she had given her testimony at a rally. She was suddenly face to face with a former Nazi officer - one who had stood as a guard at the showers back in the prison camp. This man reached out his hand and said to Corrie, “How grateful I am for your message, that Jesus has washed my sins away.”
She refused to take his hand, but in the same moment felt shame and guilt. So she prayed silently, “Lord Jesus, forgive me and help me to forgive him." But nothing happened. So again she prayed: “Lord Jesus, I can’t forgive him; give me Your forgiveness.”
And struggling, she reached out her hand and took his. Then, as she tells it, “the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder, along my arm, and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that overwhelmed me.” (from a sermon found on the Internet)
The love of Jesus Christ does those things we believe to be impossible. And this love is made available to our hearts through the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Jesus Christ living in us – changing us – allowing us to see the impossible begin to take shape in our lives.
At times is makes me sick how far I am from the ideal. But Jesus has given me his love – and I need to give myself more and more to Him so this love comes out of me.
The measure of our faith as Christians is surely the measure of love -- how we love, not only one another and not only our neighbors - but our enemies;
-- to seek the good of others who would do us physical harm or emotional harm.
Who might such people be within your life?
-- to seek the good of others, whether we know them well
-- or do not know them at all.
Who might they be?
-- to seek the good of others whether we can change them or whether we can’t.
-- to seek the good of others as God, through Jesus Christ, has and always will, seek your good and mine.
TRANSITION: When we love our enemies we show we belong to God.
CONCLUSION
When I was little, I used to ask my parents to tell me stories of their experiences. (I still find myself asking them to do that.) As Rich Mullins wrote, “stories like that make a boy grow bold, stories like that make a man walk straight.”
One story I loved to hear was the story of the wife of Tom Dace. The Dace’s were acquaintances of my parents who lived in Springfield, IL. One day, Tom just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and in a random act of violence a man on drugs came upon Tom and murdered him with a hammer. The man was convicted of murder and sent to prison. But Tom’s wife did something amazing. She went to the prison to visit the man who murdered her husband. She started going there regularly. She gave a Bible to the man. She started reading the Bible to him on her visits. She loved that man and led him to place His faith in Jesus Christ. He was her enemy – yet she showed him salvation.
Jesus says, But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
God would never ask us to do something He is not willing to do Himself.
God loves his enemies. At one time those enemies included us
In the book of Colossians it says, You were His enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. (Colossians 1:21-22)
We might say, I’d die for my spouse – that’s great! I’d die for my child – that’s wonderful! I’d die for my best friend – that’s heroic!
But, I’d die for my enemy – that’s just like God
That’s some amazing love.
