But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies

"But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

"But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

"Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

- Luke 6:27-38

In yesterday's reading, we read of Jesus praying all night before choosing His Twelve Apostles. Then, He "stood on a level place" and began His Sermon on the Plain, saying, "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." It is similar in content to what we know as the Sermon on the Mount, beginning with Beatitudes, but also including "Woes."

"But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you." How difficult is this statement with which Jesus addresses His disciples. Can we do this? Love our enemies, and do good to those who hate us -- bless those who curse us and pray for those who spitefully use us? I must say, I have endeavored to do these things. There are times when I can, and times when I cannot. But prayer is a very powerful tool, and during the worship service - the liturgy - I find an easing in my heart that helps with prayer for those who have hurt me, even "spitefully used" me. But once we get beyond the seeming difficulty of these commands, we find several things. The first is an understanding that Jesus' logic of the kingdom and its mercy which we are to share in and express through ourselves is one which stands the logic of the world upside down. Jesus has just finished His Beatitudes and also the Woes in this Sermon. They, too, reflect a paradoxical sort of picture of reality. What we think is real and important is not: there is a spiritual kingdom to encounter and to be a part of, in which we are to participate. So, these teachings reflect the power and the meanings in that spiritual way of life, that kingdom which true disciples seek. It's not the way of the world, but of the kingdom. And this is what He invites us to enter, and in which to participate.

"To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise." We recall that those listening to this Sermon have just heard about the Beatitudes and Woes of those who are "rich" and who are "poor" - and we approach these in spiritual terms. But here Jesus speaks of acts of violence: beating and stealing. But we have the key to this passage in the last statement here: "Just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise." We know that Jesus Himself doesn't shrink from confrontation at the proper time -- even, when cleansing the temple, to acts that might be seen as violent. But what we have here is a way out of the usual reality of the world and its logic, its cyclical violence, defense and retribution. We have a way into the kingdom, in which we seek God first -- and in God is love and mercy, first.

"But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful." Again, the logic of the kingdom is at work here, and not the logic of the world. What does it mean to love our enemies? In Jesus we have an example of One who will tell His enemies the truth, even as it enrages them -- but this is truly doing good, presenting love as it must be presented. And so, again, we enter into seeming paradox. I personally do not believe Jesus can be encouraging us to allow ourselves to be endlessly taken advantage of, or beaten, or abused. But He is teaching us about love, the openness of God, and our encouragement to understand and live that life of love that is the reality of the kingdom. We do good for its own sake, and not for the purpose of "getting back," and let go and live in relationship as the disciples He asks us to be -- and in so doing, our relationships with others are mediated through our relationship with a loving God. And that is the participation I believe He seeks of us, of His disciples.

"Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." Again, there is the full emphasis on mercy, on acting unilaterally with mercy. And also the emphasis on the mediating relationship with God: as we act, so will we be given (by God). "With the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." We give judgment to God, we give all things to God who is love: this is the power of the Gospel.

Have you had abusive relationships in which there is no trust? What do you do with this, that defies the logic of the world? Can you pray for such people, give up the situation to God? Can we do good for its own sake, without expectation of a reward? I believe that Christ asks us in relationship to go further and further toward the "good for its own sake." As disciples, we seek that which is of the kingdom, and we seek to move further into relationship with a loving God and to express God's love and mercy through our choices as well. This is what He asks of us. It may look to the world as though we are simply made to be taken advantage of, but in my opinion it is nothing of the sort. It is a setting apart for a purpose, a goal, a love, so that we come to God and lay our relationships within this perspective. Take your troubles to God, and see what response you find there in God's love. Find the logic of the kingdom and not of the world.