Joe Kutter Preaching

August 19, 2007

Love Your Enemies

Luke 6:27-36 

Let’s start with the hard part, today’s scripture.  Jesus said “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Lk. 6:27)   Then, I suppose to make sure that we heard him, he said it again. “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend them without expecting to get anything back.  Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.” (Lk. 6:35-36)

Jesus logic is clear. First, God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. God is merciful. God is loving. Second, we are created in God’s own image. We seek to be faithful to God and faithful disciples of Jesus. Therefore, Love everybody including your enemies.

An old story comes to mind. I have told it before in this sanctuary. Two boys have a single candy bar to share and they are fighting over who gets the biggest piece. Their mother stops them and says, “What would Jesus do?” The older brother gives the candy bar to his little brother and says, “Here, you be Jesus this time!”

Be honest. When you hear Jesus say, “Love your enemies”, aren’t you tempted to look around for somebody else who is willing to be Jesus this time? 

Let’s remember what we already know. In other places, Jesus said things like this:

“Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” “Love one another as I have loved you.” If we dare to listen to Jesus, we’ll be led to believe that love is the essence of our spiritual and moral lives.

This teaching of Jesus is so hard that Rhinehold Neibuhr called it “the impossible possibility.” It is totally impossible except where the grace and power of God make it possible!  Without the help of God, you cannot do it! You cannot love your neighbor let alone, love your enemy!

Let’s talk about the spirituality of this teaching. Have you ever felt that you were just a little too dirty to come into God’s presence? Have you ever felt unworthy? Have you ever wondered why the creator of the universe would want to pay attention to you?

Now, have you ever had a moment in which you knew, you just knew, beyond logic and understanding that God loves you as a Father or Mother love a son or daughter. Some of us have had moments in which our emotions were deeply stirred and tears have been shed in the awareness of God’s love. Others have had quiet reflective moments in which the dawning came as a still small voice saying “I love you.” 

If you have not had that kind of experience, I want you to hear this part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a father or mother dearly and deeply loves a son or daughter, God loves you. Let yourself hear it as the very center of your soul. God loves you. Let yourself be loved.

My granddaughter Abby is now four years old.  She is deeply into pink. And she is a princess. Right now, in her heart of hearts, she is a princess.

I think that it was at the gift shop in Windsor Castle that Peggy bought Abby a pink shirt with that part of the nursery rhyme that says, “I’ve gone to see the queen.”  It is printed in silver sparkles, “I’ve gone to see the queen.”

We gave the shirt to Abby and we read the line to her and we said, “Do you know what a queen is?”  And she said “No.” So we said, “When a princess grows up, she becomes a queen.”  And Abby’s eyes grew wide and she put her hands on her chest and she said, “Me?” 

In a very real way, as a son or daughter of the King of the Universe, because of God’s never ending love for you, you are a prince or princess of the universe. Me? Yes, you.

As you begin to realize just how much God loves you, then you will be willing to hear and understand Jesus’ instruction to love one another and to love our neighbors and to love our enemies. Why? Because God already loves them.

Given our American context, we have to say a word about love.  When Jesus talks about love, he is talking about a very specific kind of love. So let me try a translation. The word that Jesus uses means to desire their well-being. So, to love the enemy is to pray for their well-being.

So when you pray for Osama Bin Laden, when you love Osama, you are praying for his spiritual and emotional well-being. You are praying that all hatred will be drained from his heart and that the spiritual sickness that leads to suicide bombings will be made whole.

Are you praying for his success? Absolutely not. Are you excusing the indescribable injuries that he has inflicted on others? Absolutely not. Do you necessarily like him or have warm feelings about him. No. You are praying that his broken and distorted soul will be healed so that the world will be a safer place. That, I believe is what Jesus intended when he instructed us to love our enemies.

Most of us will never meet Osama so let’s look at matters closer to home. Did you hear about the Baptist who had been stranded on an island for a very long time? When they found him, his rescuers found that he had created a very civilized life for himself that included several simple buildings.

As he gave the little tour, he said, this is my bedroom and this is my kitchen  and this is my storage shed and this is a church which I call “First Baptist” and this is another church which I call “Second Baptist.” The question is obvious, why two churches.

“Well”, he said, “I attended First Baptist for a time. And then I had an argument with myself and realized that I couldn’t go to church there anymore so I had to build another church where the doctrine was correct!”

His name is Bill. He is about 6’4” and he played college basketball. He is a pastor in Southern California and a member of the American Baptist Ministers Council. Two years ago, in the Ministers Council, we had a very serious debate about a bylaw change that has to do with homosexuality. His side lost the vote and Bill was deeply disappointed. He was angry almost beyond speaking.

The next year, last summer, he came back to the senate meeting and preached the first sermon. He said something like this. “Last year was as painful as anything that I have ever experienced in my ministry. I went home prepared to quit this body and the American Baptist Churches.”  Then he said something like this. “But you are my family and I will not leave my family.” I have to tell you. It was as incredible an act of love for those who disagree and those who disappoint as I have ever seen.  In essence he was saying, “Though I believe that you were wrong, I love you anyway.” God will finally tell us who was right and wrong, but about this I am certain, Bill got it right when he said, “I love you anyway.”

I am one of those who voted in the other way. But I will tell you that Bill showed me that our love for one another which is grounded in the never-ending love that God has for us is bigger and better than our understanding of any one issue. Bill’s love reminded me that even if I am wrong, God loves me still. Bill is my brother now and forever and I think that is what Jesus intends to happen.

Some day, I will have to tell Abby about another princess story. There is this story about a frog. Actually, he was a prince but a spell had been cast on him and he was turned into a frog.  In order for the princess to find her prince she first had to kiss the frog. When she kissed the frog, he became the prince of her life, so goes the old fairy tale.

The Apostle says it this way.  “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8 (NIV)) God looked about and saw a bunch of people whose sin had turned them into frogs and through the death of Christ, God kissed us and turned us from frogs into princes and princesses of the Kingdom of Heaven. That is the Gospel.

Let God love you. Let the Spirit of God kiss you. And then we will learn how to love one another, even when we feel like enemies in our disagreements.

Do you ever feel a little too ugly for God? Do you ever feel unworthy? God has already proved his love for you in that while you still a sinner, Christ has died for you.