In our Gospel, is Jesus setting up an impossible standard? After all, who could “love their enemies, do good to those who hate them, bless those who curse them, and pray for those who mistreat them?” Anyone besides Jesus? This was the way Jesus lived. He prayed even as he was dying on the cross. But before we write this off as impossible and something that only Jesus could do… I’d like you to consider hearing Jesus’ message as both a description of the way that Jesus lived –and as an invitation to all who have ears to hear – that there is another way to live.
What Jesus is preaching is not the way of the world. This is not the way to be successful, rich or famous. Instead, Jesus preaches about a different kind of life - kingdom life. The life that Jesus invites us into is a life with a different attitude of heart, a lightness of spirit, and infused with joy. This is the kingdom life and this is what God is like. 1
Too often God is portrayed as a gloomy, angry God. But Jesus, who knows God and who is one with God, gives us a different image of God. God is the one who showers all of creation with good gifts. Instead of competing for the highest score – or the right to be on the podium of the Holy Olympics, God sets the sun to shine and the rain to fall on all of us and God sent his Son Jesus to us and for us - not because we are worthy – but because God is generous and gracious and abounding with steadfast love. We don’t have to be anxious about whether or not we are doing enough to be saved from the powers of evil. Jesus has already saved us.
And so, confident of who we are – children of God – and knowing that God is with us, always, we can open our ears to hear Jesus’ words as offering new possibilities into what at times seems impossible. For Jesus is inviting us – and all those who have ears to hear – to live in the way of Jesus: loving our enemies, doing good for those who hate you, praying for those who mistreat you and forgiving others as God has forgiven you.
Joseph, in our first reading, learned that lesson. You may remember the story – especially if you’ve seen the musical Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. Joseph was the favorite son of Jacob – the first child of his favorite wife. He had vivid dreams of greatness in which he was the lord over his half-brothers…and then he shared these dreams with them. As you can imagine, this did not sit well with his brothers – nor did they appreciate the fact that while they were working in the field with sheep, Joseph was being given a beautiful robe and doted on by their father. So, one day, the brothers plotted to kill Joseph. But after they had thrown him in a pit, some traders came by and they ended up selling him into slavery. That’s how Joseph ended up in Egypt – beaten and then sold into slavery by his brothers. But God was with him and he did well there… until he was falsely accused of adultery and thrown into prison.
But again, God was with him and gave him the gift of interpreting dreams. After he had correctly interpreted the dreams of two of his fellow prisoners, he was called to interpret Pharoah’s dreams about seven years of feast and seven years of famine. Impressed, Pharoah put Joseph in charge of all of the grain of Egypt during the good years and the years of famine. This is why, in one of the years of famine, when they had nothing to eat, his brothers ended up coming to Egypt to buy food. They did not realize that Pharoah’s CEO was their brother.
Joseph’s dreams of his brothers bowing before him had now come true. He was now in the position of power. He could have gotten his revenge and thrown them all in jail forever. He could have reminded them of the dream and sent them away empty handed. But instead… he chooses to not only forgive them, but to overwhelm them with generosity, giving them not only food but also land and opportunity.
Looking back from a different perspective, Joseph saw the way God had made something good come out of his brother’s cruel actions. This is why, instead of extracting justice for past wrongs, Joseph chooses to both speak the truth of what his brothers had done to him and reflect on his life story in the light of God’s work in his life. He chooses to forgive his brothers, treating them not in the way that they treated him, but rather how he would like to be treated so that he could establish a new relationship with both them and his father. This brings him great joy.
Jesus is calling you and me and all those who have ears to hear into this kind of life, a life filled with joy.
But in a world faced with so many challenges is this even possible? The pandemic has not made things easy for anyone – and I know that it is harder for some than it has been for others. Some families have been torn apart by whether or not to get the vaccine and whether or not to mask. Other families have been set at odds with one another over politics. There are so many things dividing us – how can we even begin to have ears to hear Jesus’ words to love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you, forgive one another and do onto others what you would have them do to you.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dali Lama, co-authors of The Book of Joy, tell story of two soldiers in an army medical center. Both were paraplegics who had lost the use of their legs in combat. They had the same diagnosis and the same prognosis. But one of them, Tom, was lying in bed writhing in pain and railing against the injustice of his situation. The other one, Chuck, was out of his bed, in a wheelchair. He said he felt as if he had a second chance on life. Not only was he grateful that he was living, but he discovered a new perspective, for now he was closer to the flowers and could look directly into the eyes of children.2
The difference between the two men was their perspective. Tom was stuck grieving the injustice of his loss – which was great. But Chuck, who had the same loss, was able to mentally step back and move beyond himself to see a different picture, and to look at his life from a different perspective. From his new perspective, instead of seeing loss, he saw flowers and children and a new opportunity to live.
Like Joseph, who was able to look back and see that even though his brothers had intended to do him harm, God was able to use the situation for good, Chuck was able to put his situation into a bigger perspective. As a result, his future was filled with possibilities and not just regrets. In their book, Tutu and the Dalai Lama point out that while our first response is often to react to bad situations with fear and anger, and they acknowledge that stress can make it hard for us to step back and see other perspectives, they challenge us to “take something bad that happened in the past and then consider all the good that came out of it.”3
So I did. The death of my father when I was 17 gave me compassion for others when their loved ones die – especially those who die – as my father did – far too young in my eyes. And, when I received a head and knee injury after being hit by a car, the first prognosis that my family received was that I would spend my life in a care facility, unable to remember or do much of anything. As my mother sought a second opinion and as God healed my brain, I became grateful for every day of my life. Other good and wonderful things happened as a result - including marriage and raising a family, and becoming a pastor. I began to see – and still see --every day as a gift.
How about you? Are you willing to back at something bad that has happened in your life – and see God’s hand in working through a bad situation to bring out good? If it doesn’t come naturally or easily, be patient with yourself. Not everything can be forgiven or put into a bigger perspective easily or readily.
Cori ten Boom, a survivor of the Holocaust, was once confronted by a former guard at an event that she was speaking at. He asked if she could forgive him. She looked at him, and recognizing him as one who had played a part in her sister’s death, she had to tell him – no, not yet. She eventually did forgive him, but she also knew that she couldn’t say the words if she didn’t mean them. She and Jesus and the Holy Spirit had some more work to do.
Jesus is inviting you and me – and all those who have ears to hear -- into a life that is more expansive than what the world has to offer. As Cori ten Boom discovered, loving your enemy, praying for those who mistreated you – and those you love - and forgiving them isn’t always easy to do. But doing so, frees you up to live a life that is filled with joy.
May the Holy Spirit work in you to see life from God’s perspective and fill you with joy and blessings beyond number. Amen
Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane
1 N.T.Wright, Luke for Everyone, page 73
2 The Book of Joy page 195
3 The Book of Joy p 197.