“’Cause Jesus Said So”

Matthew 5:38-48

The evangelism event that occurred last weekend was an uplifting time for this pastor. I got excited about evangelism in a way that I never have before. I’m getting excited about the possibilities, and hope that some of you feel the same way.

If last weekend was an upper, most of the past week was a downer. There was the inevitable low that follows every high. Part of that was reality setting in. Now what? How do we follow through? When do we begin? Who will help lead the way? I almost reached the point of wishing that the weekend hadn’t taken place, because now the other leaders of Grace and I have to deal with it. Part of me doesn’t want to deal with it. But deal with it I will. Why? ‘Cause Jesus said so.

But that wasn’t all that got me down. A variety of issues led me to start second-guessing my own leadership style. Maybe I ought to be more on top of things. Maybe I should become one of those micro-managing pastors for whom I’ve always felt a certain amount of disdain. I don’t want to do that either, but if being your spiritual leader requires it, I’ll do it. Why? ‘Cause Jesus said so. And as I make whatever changes in my leadership style might become necessary, I will be reminded over and over again of the wise words of my late friend Bill McSwegin: “You always get the problem you don’t want.” Thanks a lot, Bill!

And then there was tonight’s study of Ron Sider’s book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity. In it Dr. Sider references John Wesley’s sermon on Matthew 6:19-29: “Christians, Wesley said, should give away all but ‘the plain necessities of life’ – that is, plain wholesome food, clean clothes, and enough to carry on one’s business. One should earn what one can, justly and honestly. Capital need not be given away. But Wesley wanted all income given to the poor after bare necessities were met. Then he goes on to directly quote Wesley: “Any ‘Christian’ who takes for himself anything more than the plain necessaries of life, lives in an open, habitual denial of the Lord. [He has] gained riches and hell-fire.” Oh no, not another one of those ‘cause-Jesus- said-so things. If he really did say so, then I’m in a lot of trouble.

To top it off, or more correctly bottom it off, there was today’s text. In this text Jesus is telling – not asking – his disciples that, in order to follow him, they had to start behaving in a manner that is contrary to basic human instincts, the most basic of which is survival. To quote Barbara Essex, “In a world that is ‘all about me,’ Jesus offers an alternative that we find difficult to imagine and embody. Today who can be perfect? It’s easier to be mean, hold grudges, ignore those in need. If I give to everyone who begs, I will have nothing left for myself. If I turn the other cheek, I will get slapped again. If I get sued, I am hiring the best lawyer I can afford to find a loophole in my favor. If I love my enemies, I will be more persecuted or even killed. If I am too nice, I will be seen as weak, a pushover, a doormat.” Why should we take the words of today’s text seriously? ‘Cause Jesus said so.

All this led me back to an article by Shane Claiborne I recently quoted, more specifically the title of the article: “What If Jesus Meant All That Stuff?” Did Jesus mean all that stuff he talked about, and if so, how are we to respond to it? Well Jesus did mean all that stuff, especially that stuff he shared with his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount. Again I ask, now what? If we take this stuff seriously, and Jesus made it pretty clear that we should, how do we respond to it? The why is obvious: ‘cause Jesus said so. How is the tricky part.

As someone who struggles with letting go of grudges and an occasional desire for vindictiveness, one of the ways I’ve discovered for dealing with my darker side is the fine art of detaching with love. There come those times in and about various relationships and situations when we must simply let it go, or as Susan McDonald once said, sometimes the only reconciliation we can achieve is to be reconciled to the reality that there can be no reconciliation. That’s sort of similar to Jesus’ words about stamping the dust off our feet and moving on.

However, the key words in this letting go business – this moving on business - are “with love.” Not hate. Not vindictiveness. Not holding a grudge. And a key part of letting go with love is forgiveness. Wrote Melody Beattie: “… no matter how solid our spiritual ground, we may still feel an overwhelming desire at times to punish, or get even, with another person… we want to see the other person hurt the way he or she has hurt is. We want to see life deal that person [his or her] just rewards. In fact we would like to help life out. Those are normal feelings, but we do not have to act on them. These feelings are part of our anger… But our goal is to release [those] feelings and be done with them. We can hold the other person accountable. We can hold the other person responsible. But it is not our responsibility to be judge and jury. Actively seeking revenge will not help us.”

Or as Jesus put it, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer… if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.” He went on to talk about going extra miles and doing more than is – often unjustly - demanded. And then there are these words that were shocking to the ears of those listening, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” Why? “… so that you may be children of your father in heaven…”

So that you may be like your Father in heaven… hmmm. What did Jesus mean by that? Some quotes from other sources may help. First, from Ron Sider: “Jesus’ followers are to reverse normal human patterns precisely because they are sons and daughters of God and want to reflect his nature.” Or as verse 48 is paraphrased in The Message: “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” Why are we to be generous and gracious, maybe even displaying foolishly extravagant generosity and grace? Why should we desire to reflect God’s nature? ‘Cause Jesus said so.

That brings me back to a line from an earlier quote by Barbara Essex: “It is easier to be mean, hold grudges, [and] ignore those in need.” And we human creatures will almost always choose the easy way over the hard. That’s human nature. It’s also very much a cultural pattern. Displaying extravagant generosity and grace are not the standard way of operating in our society. It’s all about taking care of me and mine. It’s all about doing unto others before they can do it unto you. It’s all about an attitude of entitlement. It’s all about defending my rights. It’s all about taking the attitude portrayed by Al Capone in a movie several years ago: “If you mess with me, I’ll mess with you.”

Greg Carey had something to say about that: “Loving their neighbors, even their enemies, disciples sacrifice their personal rights in order to demonstrate their imitation of God.” The goal of our discipleship is the perfect imitation of God – as it was modeled for us by Jesus. Jesus didn’t just say so; he did so. Or if you prefer, he didn’t just talk the talk; he walked the walk. And he walked it all the way to the cross and beyond, even to the point of saying from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

That kind of perfection is impossible this side of heaven. We live daily in a tension between human nature and being children of God. More often than not human nature wins. Whatever bits of perfection we might attain are possible only because we are willing to follow Jesus, and more importantly, by the grace of God. It is only by grace that we are able to forgive, let go of grudges, not give in to the temptation to retaliate, love our enemies, and be extravagantly generous toward those in need.

With that grace comes a certain kind of power. Again quoting Barbara Essex, “The reign of God is inaugurated in the person of Jesus, and we, Jesus’ followers, are empowered to live the reign of God’s values.” In other words, we are empowered by Jesus to deal with others as God has dealt with us, to be kingdom subjects, to be the sons and daughters of God.

And why should we want live that way? ‘Cause Jesus said so. Amen.