‘Love Your Enemies’ by Rev Allister Lane – 20th February 2022

Genesis 45: 1-7, Luke 6: 27-38

Sometimes something happens in the life of a preacher, that almost immediately they think to themselves: “This would make a great sermon illustration.”

One such things happened to me just two weeks ago.

·      I’m sitting on the sofa

·      My wife carries a box through the living room

·      White trail in the carpet behind her.

·      I say “what’s that?”

·      Paint!

·      A 4-litre tin of paint had tipped over in the box

·      As she walked, she left an unbroken trail of paint from the front door across the carpet, right through the house to the back door (about 20 metres)

·      What do you do…?

·      Three hours later we had scrapped and scrubbed the paint off the carpet

The lesson for me…? Stuff doesn’t matter so much.

Relationships are what matter.

You might be saying: that’s not a very profound insight,

and it’s certainly not a new insight.

But it was still something I had to re-learn.

That’s how it is in life sometimes.

And so perhaps we need to hear Jesus’ words again today.

“I say to you that listen, Love your enemies…”

In Luke's writing the inclusive language leaves no room for misunderstanding – in our relationships we cannot choose to love some people and leave out the ones we don't like.

We are to love all people – not to judge, discriminate or exclude,

but to welcome all people in love,

just as Jesus did and asks us to do.

“Love your enemies…”

This is perhaps the most significant and most recognisable teaching of Jesus of Nazareth.

It’s so radical!

Even those who know very little about Jesus are probably aware that Jesus was about loving and forgiving people,

…and that he taught his followers to do the same. 

How are we going…?

It’s about as easy as it’s ever been!

And recently , perhaps it seems harder for specific reasons…

1.     Perhaps someone you live with

2.     Someone in our wider family

3.     Someone you work with

4.     Someone who makes noise when you are trying to sleep!

5.     Protestors at Parliament…

To live as a Christian is to do more than just be tolerant:

to love is to be attentive (active) in our relationship with others – even those whom we most despise!

On Waitangi Day I shared the history of the transformation in this country through the Good News – Te Rongopai.

When Europeans came to Aotearoa, Māori tribes were engaged in a common custom: Utu – reciprocity that perpetuated harm in return for harm done - eye for an eye, life for a life.

The Good News of Jesus shared by Christians essentially replaced the tradition of Utu with peace-making.

The Tangata Whenua took Jesus words to heart.

What about us…?

An older story about loving enemies is the one we hear a snippet of today from Genesis…

Here, the enemies were brothers!   

Summary of the big story of Joseph…

1.     Joseph's self-centred dreams put him at odds with his brothers

2.     The brothers throw Joseph in a pit

3.     Joseph is sold and ends up in Egypt

4.     Joseph's dream later came true and he is now second only to the Pharaoh himself.

Despite all that had happened in the past, we hear in today’s part of the story, Joseph and his brothers recognise relationship is key. They choose not to let the past stand in the way of reconciliation.[1]

Joseph says to his brothers, ‘Come closer to me.'

Reconciliation involves action, not just words.

In a world with so much pain, and division (racial, political, economic, social),

reconciliation is as necessary as it always has been.

In teaching us to “Love your enemies”, Jesus invites us to trade-in corresponding retaliation, for actions that express love and seek the good of the other.

It’s not about ‘remaining a victim’, but finding new ways of resisting evil;

ways that are grounded in hope for reconciliation.

This new priority of relationship is at the heart of the new community Jesus creates.

And to be able to live out these words: "love your enemies” in real life, …we need God's grace.

By inviting us into radical reconciliation, Jesus knows we need to first receive reconciliation.

Just as Joseph said to his brothers ‘Come closer to me’,

Jesus offers the same invitation ‘Come closer to me’.

When we recognise and trust the gift of salvation through Jesus’ death on the cross – that we have been reconciled with God (once and for all)

we come closer to God

and closer to each other.

In this reconciliation, we experience the extraordinary peace and healing that comes from letting go.

‘Letting go’ of what..?

Of bitterness and of hate and of anger.

When we let go, the peace of God (that passes all understanding) flows into our hearts and minds through Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Allowing ourselves to be conformed to Jesus,

we share in true personhood.

What we were made for;

and what Jesus has fulfilled and shares with us.

It’s not about impossible moralism,

it’s not about tree-hugging philosophy from an ancient wise-man,

it’s not a humanist attempt as ‘social cohesion’.

Allowing ourselves to be conformed to Jesus, is to experience the grace of God bringing to life all that is hoped for when the universe was created.

And we get to experience it for ourselves!

Our St John’s Mission Statement articulates the action for us in response to Jesus’ words “love your enemies”:

    “Live and share Christ’s hope for the world”!!!

As I said at the start of this sermon,

To ‘Love your enemies’ is radical –

and it expresses the radical reality Jesus proclaims:

“The kingdom of God is near…”

Thanks be to God.

Amen.

[1] The text notes: " …Joseph made himself known to his brothers…”  (Think about that subtlety – how does a Jewish man in a land of Gentiles show his brothers beyond doubt that he is Jewish, like them…?