American Church in Paris - Sermons

ACP HOME - About Us - Weekly Church Activities - Music at the ACP - The Women of the Church - FACC Activities

Sermon Archives - Past ACP Sermons

Loving Our Enemies by Rev. Carol M. Simpson, Associate Pastor 18 February 2001--Ordinary 7 TEXT: 13 Genesis 45:3-11, 15; Luke 6:27-38 © 2001 C. M. Simpson

Has anyone ever put you down? Has anyone ever given you what you considered to be an unfair evaluation at work? Has anyone ever circulated a false rumor about you? Has anyone you trusted ever betrayed a confidence? Has anyone you considered a friend, let you down in a time of crisis? Has anyone you love ever hurt you? Have you carried hurt and anger around inside you for days or weeks or even years? If we’ve ever been hurt, felt betrayed or let down, today’s scriptures are for us.

It’s almost as if Joseph had sat at Jesus’ feet on that hillside, listening to the Sermon on the Mount, and then had gone home to practice what he had heard preached. But, of course, that’s not the case. The story of Joseph, the obnoxious, favored younger brother, being sold into slavery by his jealous older brothers, takes place many centuries before the birth of Jesus. Yet here, in Luke’s gospel, we have several of Jesus’ key ethical teachings, and in the conclusion of the Joseph narrative, we see how four of those teachings are put into practice by Joseph: love your enemies; judge not; be merciful; give generously. Joseph’s fortunes and misfortunes in Egypt, his rise to power and the arrival of a famine in his homeland, set the stage for an unusual scene of family reunion.

When famine drives Joseph’s brothers to Pharaoh’s court in Egypt seeking economic aid, they fail to recognize Pharaoh’s chief advisor to be their brother. They surely assume that he is either dead or still enslaved, but the very dreams which had so annoyed his brothers, have helped Joseph find favor with Pharaoh, and have led him to hold one of the most powerful positions in Egypt. For several days, probably even months, he toys with his brothers, testing them and requiring them to bring their youngest brother to Egypt. In this moving scene from Genesis, when all the brothers are finally united, Joseph at last reveals his identity to them. As one might imagine, his brothers are appalled and terrified. Their fate, their future, their very survival depends on the generosity and mercy of Pharaoh’s most trusted advisor who turns out to be none other than the brother whom they had sold into slavery more than a decade ago.

Clearly Joseph has many courses of action open to him. He could throw these Canaanites into prison; he could have them killed as presumed thieves or spies; he could deny their request for life-saving grain. But the story which unfolds in our reading for today tells quite a different tale. Joseph embraces his brothers and weeps for joy. His first statement after revealing his identity is: "Now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life......God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors." He continues, "It was not you who sent me here but God." In retrospect, Joseph clearly sees God’s plan for good. Had Joseph not been sold into slavery, had he not been tested and tried in Egypt, and had he not risen to power in Pharaoh’s court, he would not now be in a position to save his family from the famine.

God created humanity with the ability to choose good or evil and unfortunately, all too often, evil choices are made. Those choices constrain us and bind us, but God remains free, free to work his purposes out with us, through us, even in spite of us. God wills and works for life for his people. This story affirms that God’s purposes are worked out in concrete history through the actions of identifiable persons. The giving of life to this family may have been willed from eternity by God, but it is in the life of Joseph, spoiled boy become ruler, that the way of God is finally revealed and accomplished.

The principles taught in today’s portion of the Sermon on the Mount, and so poignantly illustrated in Joseph’s story, are difficult to hear and even harder to put into practice. Listen again to Jesus’ words: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." This is merely an expanded version of the commandment to love our neighbor. Those words, enemy, hate, curse and abuse are harsh words. Most of us have some difficulty relating to them because few of us could point to any one person and call him or her an enemy, and hate is such a strong word. How many of us would admit to actually "hating" someone? Yet I heard a friend use that very word just the other day. She said she "hated" the other woman to whom her husband was attracted and with whom he had been having e-mail correspondence. She is finding it difficult to love and impossible to trust and forgive, but until she can do those things, she has no possibility of salvaging her marriage, because the hatred consumes, making her bitter and resentful, not the kind of person her husband will be eager to turn back to.

These principles which Jesus offers are not just building blocks for a peaceful and harmonious society, they are tools for living a happy, satisfied life. The reality is that when someone hurts us, unless we deal with the hurt in a constructive way, resentment will build, bitterness will creep in, and that relationship may be destroyed. Hurt comes in a multitude of packages: harsh words, lack of responsiveness or caring, infidelity, neglect, judgment, slander, lack of support, misunderstanding, the list is nearly endless. While we may not have in our hearts a file marked "enemies," each of us has been hurt at some time by a friend, a relative, a spouse or a co-worker, maybe even by a pastor. And each of us has no doubt caused hurt to someone else. How we deal with our hurts is important because all too often, hurting people hurt other people. We've all seen parents under too much stress strike out at their children. An unknown author captured the frustration and the guilt of many parents when he or she wrote:

A weary mother returned from the store,

Lugging groceries through the kitchen door.

Awaiting her arrival was her 8 year-old son,

Anxious to relate what his younger brother had done.

"While I was out playing and Dad was on a call,

T.J. took his crayons and wrote on the wall!

It's on the new paper you just hung in the den.

I told him you'd be mad at having to do it again."

She let out a moan and furrowed her brow,

"Where is your little brother right now?"

She emptied her arms and with a purposeful stride,

She marched to his closet where he had gone to hide.

She called his full name as she entered his room.

He trembled with fear--he knew that meant doom!

For the next ten minutes, she ranted and raved

About the expensive wallpaper and how she had saved..

Lamenting all the work it would take to repair,

She condemned his actions and total lack of care.

The more she scolded, the madder she got,

Then stomped from his room, totally distraught!

She headed for the den to confirm her fears.

When she saw the wall, her eyes flooded with tears.

The message she read pierced her soul with a dart.

It said, "I love Mommy," surrounded by a heart.

Well, the wallpaper remained, just as she found it,

With an empty picture frame hung to surround it.

A reminder to her, and indeed to all,

Take time to read the handwriting on the wall.

Hurting people hurt people. Parents take out a hard day on their children. Spouses take out a hard day on each other. Employers take out a hard day on employees or on their families. When someone treats us harshly, we need to stop and realize that sometimes it may have nothing to do with us. That person may be hurting in some other area of his or her life. When we encounter someone who is lashing out at other people, we need to ask: What could be going on in their lives that could be causing them to behave this way? Perhaps there is some way we could offer sympathy or support.

Jesus’ teachings in this passage are intended to help us get over those hurts and avoid causing hurt to others. Listen as Jesus continues: "If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat, do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you." These calls to non-retaliation, generosity and mercy are based on God’s own nature and on our assumed relationship to God. To be God’s children is to relate to others as God relates to us.

It is easy to love those who love us and to do good to those who do good to us. Jesus says even sinners do that, so he challenges Christians to go the extra mile. "Love your enemies, do good and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High...be merciful just as your Father is merciful."

There are two key principles spelled out in this section of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. First we have the general principle that Jesus’ followers do not reciprocate, do not retaliate, and do not draw their behavior patterns from those who would victimize them. Following this statement of principle are numerous examples of forms of mistreatment: hating, cursing, abusing, striking, stealing, begging. Two observations are in order here. First, the teachings assume that that the listeners are victims, not victimizers. Jesus offers no instruction on what to do after striking, abusing, cursing, etc. Such behavior is foreign to those who live under the reign of God. Second, followers of Jesus may be victims but are not to regard themselves as such or to allow themselves to be shaped by the hostilities and abuse unleashed on them. We are instead to take the initiative, but not by responding in kind. We are not to react, but to act according to the kingdom principles of love, forgiveness and generosity.

The second part of this section of the Sermon on the Mount repeats from a different perspective the principle of the first: that is, one is not to reciprocate in one’s response the behavior of another; we shouldn’t just give back what we get. Here the principle is applied to our relationships with those who love us and do good for us. In other words, just as our lifestyle is not to be determined by the enemy, neither should it be determined by the friend. Rather than hating in response to hatred or loving in response to love, Christian behavior and relationships are prompted by the God we worship who does not react, but acts in love and grace toward all. That is what we are called to do. That is what it means to be children of God.

The Gospel mandate is clear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who persecute you." If we would follow those simple precepts, we would have fewer ulcers, fewer headaches, fewer sleepless nights, and a great deal more peace in our lives and in our hearts.

The challenge is clear: to examine our lives, to ferret out those festering hurts and to deal with them as God instructs us. If we have an enemy, we are to love; if we’ve been hurt, we are to turn the other cheek and respond with compassion; if we feel persecuted or abused we should pray for those who persecute and abuse us. Like Joseph, we are to dwell not on the past with its troubles and hurts, but on the glorious future where God’s purpose will be worked out in us, through us, and for us. Amen.

ACP HOME - About Us - Weekly Church Activities - Music at the ACP - The Women of the Church - FACC Activities