Our Gospel message comes to us today from Luke the 6th chapter, beginning at the 27th verse.
“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 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. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But 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; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” (Luke 6:27-38, NRSV)
All mighty God, we thank you for your word and the way that you in it revealed to us who you are and what you've done for us in Christ. Now as we open that word we pray that your spirit may be present, that all thoughts of worry or distraction may be removed and that the Spirit will allow us to hear your voice. And so, oh God, fill us with your spirit through the reading and proclamation of your word this day. We pray in Jesus name. Amen
“Blessed to be a Blessing”
I. INTRODUCTION
Martin Luther King in his “I Have a Dream” speech that he delivered in Washington DC on August 28, 1963 proclaimed at the end of the speech, “Free indeed, free indeed, thank God I’m free indeed.”
Christians of all times and places are able to echo Dr. King’s words when we stand at the empty tomb on Easter Sunday. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are truly free.
It is one thing, however, to proclaim one’s freedom. It is an entirely different matter to live freely. Though we live in a free nation, there are very few people who are not enslaved to some addiction, or various attributes of the modern lifestyle.
II. FREEDOM IS OURS
Because of Jesus life, death and resurrection, we are free from sin. We no longer need to be concerned about our eternal destiny. Jesus has paid the wages of sin--death.
We no longer need to be concerned about impressing God in order to win God’s favor. God proclaimed God’s love for us in the cross. Because of what Jesus did, ever petal that we pull off the blossom saying, “God love’s me, God loves, me not,” is a resounding, “God loves me,” now.
God has declared that there is absolutely nothing in the entire universe that is able to separate us from God and God’s love for us. Satan and the forces of evil have no power over us. The dictates of modern society do not need to control us or compromise our faith and integrity. Death can’t even separate us from God.
The God, who provided for our salvation in the person of Jesus Christ, also provides for all of our physical, emotional and spiritual needs. God invites us to come to him as children do to their father and ask him to give us our daily bread.
Such knowledge and truth brings with it a certain freedom and boldness—even a recklessness. We can walk the edge knowing that Jesus is our net.
III. A DIFFERENT STYLE OF LIFE
We are blessed to be a blessing. We are loved to love both the unlovable and the unloving in word and deed.
We are challenged to love and bless indiscriminately. The words of Jesus that are contained in the gospel reading today clearly tell us that we are to widen the boarders of our giving. In fact, Jesus is telling us to break down the boarders of our giving and blessing.
God instructed His children not only to be generous but also to show that generosity in a way that was selfless and non-determining. He forbad His people from selecting targets for their generosity or limiting the scope of their generosity. Simply, generosity was something that should flow freely and without restrictions from a loving heart that was filled with gratitude to a gracious God whose supply of mercy and grace was never-ending. It sprang from a wellspring of love that could never be diminished or used up. Therefore, when they planted a field they planted that field not only with themselves in mind but also the weary traveler that might be journeying along that same field at the time of harvest. There were to be no distinctions as to whom that traveler might be. It may be their neighbor but it was more likely to be a stranger. It might even be an alien, someone not living in the land. This reminded God’s people that they were mere caretakers of what He had generously given them in the first place. It wasn’t a supply of grace that they owned. Rather, they were tapped into God’s eternal grace that flows without end. This is also how God asks us to show our generosity. When we qualify it or attempt to “perfect it” through our own wisdom and understanding, we become more concerned that the good we possess might be depleted and we would suffer for it. God grant that we may never measure our generosity by our own poor standards, standards of grace that can never hold a candle to the One who IS grace!
God invites us to be creative in our loving and blessing. The invitation is not an example of being used and abused by people. Instead it is an example of responding in such a way to a person that our actions cause the other person to think about what he or she has said or done.
There is the story of a Chinese farmer who was a Christian. He farmed the side of a hill along with a few other farmers. One of the most difficult tasks that the farmer had was to irrigate his crop. He had to carry water from a lake below the hill up to his land. The farmer who owned the land below the Christian farmer was not a Christian. He made life for the Christian almost unbearable, because whenever the Christian farmer irrigated his land the non-Christian would knock down the damn separating their land and the water would flow down and irrigate his land. The Christian farmer, wanting to be a good Christian, would swallow his anger and not say anything. As time went on, however, and the behavior of the non-Christian farmer didn’t change the Christian began to harbor hard feelings and hatred began to grow in him.
The Christian thought that the solution to the problem was in his neighbor becoming a Christian also, but the neighbor was unresponsive to the Christian’s words. While praying about the situation God spoke to the Christian, convicted him of his hatred and showed him how he was to love his neighbor. Next time the Christian farmer irrigated his land, he first went and knocked down the damn between his and the other farmer’s property. He then proceeded to water both properties. He did this for several weeks until the non-Christian farmer came to him and shared with the Christian that he was giving his life to Christ because he could no longer stand against a God who could inspire such love in a man.
An attitude change and an understanding of the freedom that is ours in Jesus Christ changed the situation and created a miracle.
IV. CONCLUSION
The cross is a sign that God is a God of abundance—abundant love, abundant commitment, abundant everything. God is not stingy.
We rely on God’s abundance and mimic God’s generosity. Such a life is lived in freedom—freedom that is unmatched by anything this world has to offer.
The cross of Jesus changes our lives, and our changed lives transform the world.
God our Father, You redeem us and make us your children in Christ. Look upon us, give us true freedom and bring us to the inheritance you promised. Your word says that the second greatest command is to love our neighbors as ourselves. Teach us Lord, how to love our neighbors. Teach us how to be a blessing to others around us. We want to show the world your love and salvation with our actions. We pray that our lives and marriages would be a blessing to others. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
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The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
God invites us to be creative in our loving and blessing.
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