Domes - Our Monthly Newsletter
Dunbar UCC
September 16, 2007
Luke 6:26-38
Preemptive Love
- Conflict is a part of life. People have been fighting each other since the first human beings, Adam and Eve. When God asked Adam why he ate the forbidden fruit, Adam pointed to Eve and said, “It’s Eve’s fault -- she gave it to me!” That was the first marital conflict. Later, they had two sons, one a farmer and one a shepherd. The farmer was jealous of the shepherd so he killed him. And from that time on, murder has been used to settle disputes. Today, thousands of years later, killing is still one of the most popular methods of conflict resolution.
- But Jesus told his followers not to use that method. Even though the Bible’s pages are soaked with the blood of murder and genocide -- Jesus forbid his followers from using violence. He said, “ Killing isn’t my way. If you have enemies, love them; do good to them.”
- There was never a teaching like this in the Bible. Leviticus said love your neighbor -- but not your enemy -- not the person who’s trying to hurt you. Jesus’ teaching was so different that people, including his family, thought he was crazy. And Jesus wanted his disciples to have a different attitude toward thieves. People had always been punished for stealing. But Jesus said if someone steals, give them more. If someone steals your Toyota, give them the Chevy too. If they take your diamond ring, give them your Rolex. Jesus said that we, his followers, have to be the ones to break the chain of violence. What if someone cuts us off in traffic and we’re so angry? Jesus would probably want us to say a prayer for them, that they may arrive at their destination safely, and enjoy the rest of their day.
- And what about slander? If you hear someone maligning another person, Jesus wants us to break the chain of the gossip. Just break the chain -- don’t let the poison words get past you.
- Isn’t it ironic that Jesus, who protected others from violence, would himself be tortured and killed. But, practicing what he preached, some of his last words were prayers for the well-being of his executioners.
- This is the man we follow. So if we practice our faith, we don’t have to wait for someone to be kind to us before we’re kind to them. We don’t have to wait for someone to show us mercy before we show it to them. Jesus freed us from that tit-for-tat mentality. Now we can initiate peace ourselves. We can forgive people who don’t deserve our forgiveness. Because we follow Jesus, we can pray for people who hurt us; and help people who hate us. No need to wait for others to be good to us -- we can be the first to love.