Listen to Jesus
Where do you get your news these days?
Who are the “experts” that you listen to?
How do you know that what you hear from these experts is true?
As I was studying the scripture texts for today, my attention was drawn to the first words of the gospel reading –
Jesus said “But I say to you who are listening…”.
This reading is a continuation of the reading from last week; and, indeed, both readings are part of the same story. This story is Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount (found in Matthew 5-7); Luke’s version is often called the Sermon on the Plain. Here’s how the Sermon on the Plain goes.
After spending the night in prayer on the mountain in Galilee, Jesus comes down to the plain and “stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem and the coast of Tyre and Sidon”.
Imagine this picture in your mind – Jesus is standing among a large assembly of people – people of various backgrounds and ethnicities and religions and gender and ages; some local people, some foreigners; no doubt they had different points of view regarding the public policies of their day. One thing they had in common – they were all living under occupation; under the rule of the Roman Empire.
They gathered around Jesus, to hear his teaching and to be healed of their diseases and cured of their troubled souls. And there is Jesus…standing right next to them…on the level place…eye to eye…close enough for them to reach out and touch him and find peace (that is, shalom – wholeness; completeness; wellbeing; perfection; healing).
In this intimate setting, as the people crowd around him, Jesus teaches them a different way of living…a way to live in and under the loving reign of God …a way of living that sharply contrasts with the standards and expectations of the Empire…
Blessed are you who are poor…
Blessed are you who are hungry…
Blessed are you who weep…
Blessed are you when people hate you…exclude you…revile you…defame you on account of the Son of Man…
Jesus is standing among the people, teaching them with his words and showing them through his healing and curing that God’s own self stands with the people who live on the margins of Empire – God is with those who are poor and hungry and mourning and hated for following Jesus. God is with the people who know the kin-dom has come near; who have put their trust in the Lord; they trust God’s promise to provide for all their needs; even as they live under the hierarchy of Empire that tries to take away their humanity.
The Sermon on the Plain continues this morning with Jesus standing among these same people – these people whom he has taught and healed and cured and gathered in and under the reign of God – and proclaiming to them “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you.”
Whoa! Talk about a hard teaching! With these words, Jesus is telling us exactly what it means to follow him; and how different that is from following the way of Empire.
With these words, Jesus is teaching us a way of living that contrasts sharply with the way of living demanded by Empire, where might makes right and power is given – or taken – by the wealthiest of people – and every interaction is seen as a transaction – what’s in it for me – and people look out for their own selfish and greedy interests, with no regard for the common good. Living under Empire harms all people – both those who are oppressed and those who are doing the oppression – and strips all people of their dignity – their ability to live fully and authentically as the beautiful person God has created each one of them to be.
Jesus teaches us a different way of living…a way of love…a way of loving all people in the same way that God loves each person; each person created in God’s own image. It is God’s nature to love all that God has created.
We love because God first loved us. (1 John 4:19).
God’s love is freely given to us – and all people – through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; it is revealed to us through the waters of baptism and the body and blood of Christ that we receive when we gather together in worship.
God’s love for us is relational – not transactional.
This is the love that affirms and restores the humanity and dignity of those who are oppressed and the humanity and dignity of those who are doing the oppression..
This love seeks the good for our neighbors and for our enemies, as we share in the abundance of life that God provides for all people.
This love seeks understanding and common ground when there are differences in opinion; it opens up space for conversation and holds out hope for transformation and reconciliation (“When being in relationship is more important than being right” – ELCA Pastor David Lose).
This love calls us into action – the action of loving, doing good, blessing, and praying for those who’s own brokenness leads them to dominate and mistreat those who are poor and hungry and mourning and hated because they follow Jesus.
This love works for shalom, the peace that passes understanding.
This love will bring in God’s kin-dom and do God’s will on earth as in heaven.
Imagine, again, this picture in your mind – Jesus is standing among an assembly of people – people of various backgrounds and ethnicities and religions and gender and ages; some local people, some foreigners; no doubt they – and we – have different points of view regarding the public policies of their/our day. One thing they – and we – have in common – we are all living under occupation; under the rule of Empire and the hierarchy of Empire that is trying to take away our humanity.
And we have this in common. We are loved by God; we are children of the Most High. Our salvation – our freedom – our liberation is assured through Jesus Christ. And that makes all the difference for how we live today.
Today Jesus stands among us – this assembly of people of God – gathered here this morning and Jesus proclaims: “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you.”
Are you listening to Jesus? Did you hear what he said?
This is indeed hard work. Yet, God is with us and Jesus has blessed us. Pray for strength and courage and persistence, as you continue to follow Jesus in the way of love in these hard times. Thanks be to God for the love of God that creates us; the strong words and and actions of Jesus that redeem us; and the power of the Holy Spirit that sustains us with joy and peace.