What if we try it? [Epiphany 7C - Luke 6:27-38]

 The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson

Luke 6:27-38

What if we try it?

 

What if it doesn’t work?  What if you try it, try everything that Jesus asks of his followers in today’s Gospel, every single thing, and it doesn’t work?  What if you walk this way of love, give your heart to this crazy code of ethics, do all of these hard things that no one really wants to do, and the world is still is mess?  What if you try it, and it doesn’t work?

 

Today’s Gospel is what Jesus says to those who made it through the woes.  You might remember last week’s Gospel; it was the Lukan version of the beatitudes.  You might also remember that after all of the more memorable happy blessings at the beginning of that little sermon, Jesus issues a series of woes that are decidedly less pleasant than what precedes them.  And that probably is why he opens this portion of the sermon by basically saying, “And now for those who are still listening, here are some more things you probably don’t really want to hear.”  It seems like Jesus spends most of his earthly ministry trying to do whatever is the opposite of church growth.  And usually it works.

 

The advice Jesus offers in this sermon is not terribly pragmatic.  Those who dare follow this advice are unlikely to thrive financially – neither under the obligation and benefaction system of ancient Rome, nor in a modern capitalist economy.  One cannot expect to meet one’s long-term financial goals by literally or figuratively losing one’s shirt, giving money to every beggar one encounters, or by lending to those who have no intention of ever returning the money.  If anything, this seems a sure road to financial ruin.

 

It is almost as if Jesus is living in a fantasy world, a dream world.  And then inviting his followers to join him in that dream world. 

 

Actually that is exactly what Jesus is doing.  He is living in a dream world and he is inviting his followers to join him.  And that is because Jesus believes that dreams come true.

 

But do not mistake him for a wide-eyed optimist or a naïve shill.  Jesus’ dreams were dangerous.  They were the kind of dreams that put cracks in the foundations and topple thrones and send the rich away empty.  Jesus was a dreamer; he followed his dreams, all the way to a Roman cross. 

 

He was not unaware; he knew exactly what he was doing; he knew well what happens to prophets; he understood the fate of those who sing the wrong songs and dream dangerous dreams and dare to dedicate their lives to the courageous work of love.  Jesus knew the cost and still he preached the sermon.  

 

The thing about Jesus: he lived every word he preached.  The one who said “love your enemies” had a crown of thorns pressed into his skull.  The one who said “do good to those who hate you” forgave his murders with his dying breath.  The one who said “pray for those who abuse you” was beaten and flogged.  The one who said “do not judge, and you will not be judged” was judged guilty and sentenced to death. 

 

Even before Good Friday, Jesus encountered the ugliness of this world on a regular basis.  He saw his people harassed by Roman soldiers and decimated by oppressive taxes.  He touched the lepers who were left to rot in the gutters and the beggars who lived as carrion.  He stepped between a woman and the stones that were meant to punish her to death.  He fed the starving and healed the sick.  He gave life to those from whom life had been taken.  He looked into the eyes of those ruined by this world and he loved them.  And also he looked into the eyes of the ungrateful and the wicked and he loved them.

 

Jesus was not naïve.  He saw and lived the pain of this world.  In a world of despair, he had hope.  He saw the worst that this world had to offer, but also he believed love could create a better world. 

 

And so he preached, to those willing to listen, this sermon.  Because the only way that better world can happen is for people, just normal people, people like you and me, to wake up every single day and decide to see others through the loving eyes of our loving God, to be merciful, just as our God is merciful.  That is the only way to live this Gospel.  That is the only way to live the dream. 

 

Admittedly, it is probably an impossible ask, to see people just as God sees them, and yet clearly Jesus sees something in us.  Because he said it.  Also, he modeled it; he walked this way of love before us, and for us.

 

But he never promised it would easy, or even enjoyable.  It is possible, perhaps even likely, that if you do live the love of Jesus in this world, people will not be as kind in return.  You might love your enemies, you might love those whom you find difficult to love, and they might not love you back.  You might do good to those whom you dislike, and they might not thank you.  You might pray for those who mistreat you and the bad behaviors might continue.  You might offer the other cheek and some jerk might take you up on your offer.  You might even do unto others as you would have them do unto you and they might not do unto you what you were hoping.

 

The hard truth is: you might love with the best love you can muster and the world might still be a mess.  You might give everything you have, your time, your efforts, your money, your heart, to make Jesus’ dream come true only to find your days littered with broken dreams and shattered expectations.  What if you try it, and it doesn’t work?

 

Jesus never makes any promises.  In fact, if anything he suggests that you will never run out of ungrateful and wicked people in need of your mercy. 

 

This is not easy advice.  It really only makes sense if your vision is really, really big.  To make sense of Jesus’ sermon you have to be able to see God in this world – to see the image of God in each and every person, even the wicked ones, and to see the hand of God at work in the world around us, and to see the kingdom of God as the future, as a dream that is destined to come true. 

 

Can our love really create a better world?  Jesus thinks it can and so maybe it can.  Maybe the love we live will prove contagious.  Maybe the seeds we plant will grow into something beautiful.  Maybe the cracks we make in the foundations will be the openings for the coming of the Kingdom of God.  And so maybe this passage begs a better question: What if we try it, and it does work?