“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.” (Lk. 6: 27; 35).
These verses summarize Jesus' Sermons on the Plain (Lk 6: 27-38) and the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5: 43-44), where Jesus lays out the principles of the Kingdom of God. The first thing that hits you is seeing Jesus turn upside down conventional wisdom and social norms.
Social norms teach us to lend and receive as much interest as possible in return, to stay away from our enemies, and to be ready to attack, i.e., to give back to our enemies what they deserve. Conversely, conventional wisdom teaches us to love our enemies and to treat others as we would they treat us.
The common question is, how? How are we to be compassionate to those who are not nice to us? It is the Golden Rule. Philosophers see this standard of teaching as a distillation of the most profound human wisdom. This rule existed in one form or another for centuries before Jesus. Confucius taught the Golden Rule in China, and Epictetus taught the same in ancient Greece.
In Confucius's traditional Chinese culture, the "others" in "do unto others" are "relevant" if they fall within one's class, gender, occupation, and family members (IEP). In other words, it is selective. However, outside the community of Confucian China, the rule reminds us that we ALL are peers to others who "deserve comparable consideration." But how does this moral rule impact us in today's social context? Who gains from this rule?
Jesus gives us a rule that demands action, not inaction. We are to initiate good, even (or especially) when it is undeserved, because this is how God behaves with us. This wisdom is based on the Hebrew Law – the Torah. It presumes we live in a community. Whatever we want done for us as a person, we do it for somebody else in the community. It means we take other people seriously in their point of need. Most importantly, we must extend mercy, advocate for the marginalized, support restorative justice initiatives, and work toward societal systems that reflect God's mercy.
Here's the tricky question? Are there situations or times when showing mercy is not the next best move? Hmm! That question is relevant but complex because there are situations where exercising mercy can be challenging or inappropriate. That's not saying take the law into your own hands.
A documentary on PBS a few weeks ago stirred up many questions and emotions about social ethics - accountability, justice, and forgiveness. The main characters are Eva Mozes Zeiger and her twin sister, Miriam, born in Romania. They were 10 years old during the Nazi occupation. Their family was transported to Auschwitz and separated, never to see their family again. In Auschwitz, they were subjected to daily experiments, including injections, starvation, and exposure to freezing temperatures. But they survived the Nazi camp. As can be imagined, they harbored intense anger and bitterness against their persecutors. Eva passionately launched a search for surviving Nazi doctors and bring them to justice.
Years into the search, Eva publicly forgave the killers of her family – even the doctors. Her supporters and companions were outraged. Eva’s decision to forgive was her means of promoting emotional, spiritual, and physical healing. Her story became a powerful testament to what capacity for forgiveness can do, which aligns with the teachings of Jesus on the Mountain and the Plains – love your enemies, bless, and pray for those who mistreat us.
Let's get this straight—while forgiveness is a moral imperative for believers, it’s not a blanket statement to ignore all wrongdoings. It requires balancing compassion with justice, discernment, and sometimes difficult decisions, holding individuals who commit serious wrongdoings accountable. Why? To protect others and maintain social order. At times, leniency might undermine the rule of law and the well-being of victims. Unfortunately, and quite frankly, the News Media has recently been full of the opposite of this truth.
Human justice systems strive to uphold fairness, but they can never fully capture the perfection of divine justice. In the Bible, we see examples of God's forgiveness alongside justice. For instance, in the story of David and Bathsheba, God forgives David but still allows the consequences of his actions to unfold (2 Sam: 12). Similarly, Joseph forgives his brothers but carefully devises a series of tests to ensure they have changed, before fully reconciling with them (Genesis 42-45).
So, my friends - whether forgiveness is within the family, as in Joseph's case, or the story of Eva, the Nazi victim, the standard is the same. Our spiritual health and relationship with God depend on our willingness to forgive and treat others as we would they treat us. It is a humbling and transformative practice. And we cannot achieve this without love.
Our Collect for today asks that God sends the Holy Spirit into our hearts so we meditate on a true bond of love, peace, and virtue, without which we are dead before God. AMEN!