Seventh Sunday after Epiphany
Genesis 45:3-11, 15
Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40
1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50
Luke 6:27-38
Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
grace and peace to you from the one whose love is grace. Amen
There’s a question that is hovering over all of our readings for today,
over our lives right now,
it’s a question directed at God by people of faith
people who believe that God is good and powerful,
who listen to the teachings of God
and yet when they look at the world
it seems
to paraphrase the psalm,
like the ones who are prospering are those who are succeeding in evil schemes,
this causes us to wonder
How then shall we live God?
How do we live your way
when it seems like the other way,
the way of the wicked is more successful?
These are also the questions on the tips of tongues
of those who have just heard Jesus tell them
that Blessed are the poor, and hungry,
the weeping and persecuted
and woe to those who are rich and full and laughing
who are spoken well of.
The poor have been promised the kingdom of God
and the hungry will be filled,
and the mourning will laugh
and the persecuted will receive a great reward in heaven.
Okay Jesus,
that sounds great
but how shall we live,
right now?
To which Jesus responds:
“But I say to you that listen, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”
offer the other cheek,
give more those to those who take and to those who beg…
in essence start living out the reversal of the kingdom of God right now,
and why?
To gain points with God?
To earn the good measure that will be poured into your lap?
To be successful by worldly standards?
No,
none of the above
To live this way,
the way of God
is an act of faith in God,
and a way to resist affirming the power of evil
by giving into it.
And this like many of Jesus’ teachings
is not new,
we see this in our psalm for today
as the psalmist advises
Do not be provoked by evildoers;
do not be jealous of those who do wrong.
For they shall soon wither like the grass,
and like the green grass fade away.
Put your trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and find safe pasture.
In the words of one commentator: “Those who strive for righteousness are choosing to live in a world in which God reigns as the moral and economic authority—not, as it may be tempting to believe, the wicked, the wrongdoers, and their minions. Righteous living, in other words, is a protest against the machinations of the wicked and a concrete expression of faith in God.” https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/seventh-sunday-after-epiphany-3/commentary-on-psalm-371-11-39-40-3
We are to live this way
because we have faith in God
who is merciful,
kind to the ungrateful and the wicked
we are to live this way
because we have been made in the image of God
who loves all creation
with a love that expects nothing in return,
it’s love that doesn’t keep accounts,
it’s not a payment for good deeds,
it’s a gift,
it’s completely free,
it is grace.
This is what Jesus is referring to
when he points out
that the current ethic of the world
is one that is reciprocal,
someone loves you,
you love them in return,
if you think you might need to borrow something from someone in the future
or draw on your relationship
then it makes sense to lend that person something
so that they will be in debt to you.
What credit is that to you? Jesus asks,
pointing out that even sinners do this.
Interestingly the word translated as credit here
in Greek is charis
which can also be translated as grace
in other words Jesus is rhetorically asking
where is the grace in this reciprocal love that even sinners practice?
His point of course is there is no grace in that.
As another commentator remarked this week:
“A closer look at such transaction-based behavior reveals the problem: In such a world, what you do dictates what I do. When we return hate with hate, the original hate has won! It inspires and directs our actions. This is not to be. In the reign of God, what we do is not directed by what others do to us. In the reign of God, what we do is a response to the God who alone fills us, the God who “is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked” (Luke 6:35).” https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/seventh-sunday-after-epiphany-3/commentary-on-luke-627-38-3
In other words
when we refuse to participate in this reciprocal ethic
we protest the power of the world
and express our faith in God,
God who will forgive and give what is needed
not because of how we’ve lived,
that’s the old way of thinking,
but God because that is who God is,
the ultimate giver,
the ultimate source of life.
And yes it is difficult
if not impossible
to live perfectly in this way,
which is why we need Jesus,
who lived and taught this way
and was crucified by the world for it
but of course that was not the end of the story
because God raised him on the third day
in the ultimate ‘NO’ to the success of the ways of the world,
we need Jesus who joins us to his death and resurrection,
who forgives us when we find ourselves provoked by evil doers
who strengthens us with his very self
before sending us back out to live lives of grace filled love,
lives that say “YES” to life in God.
This is how we are to live,
one moment of love and grace at a time,
rooted in our faith
in the one who prevailed for all time
through love and grace.
May God grant us the strength and courage to do so. Amen
Commentaires