You have heard it said...
class=MsoNormal>Do you want to be a child of heaven?
Well today we have the wonderful good fortune of welcoming Mya into the family of God by the sacrament of Holy Baptism
And in doing so she has become a child of God
By her birth she was creature of God – one of God’s creation
But by her baptism something wonderful has happened and she has become one of the family and a child of God
Today, as every time we as a church community celebrate baptism, we all claimed or rather reclaimed our own baptismal covenant with God, our Father
And so everyone here today made a declaration to be a child of heaven
Our Gospel today also gives us a window into being a child of heaven
43“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But what I tell you is this, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may be children of your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:43-45)
What a wonderful opportunity and privileged to be given this window into becoming a child of heaven
This message, as wonderful as it is, is part of a much bigger task and mission
In baptism, we are made one of the family, it is an initiation rite, it is the first step in a life of faith
What lies ahead for young Mya, and in fact all of us, is a life of responding to God’s grace-filled invitation
Stephanie, and Nathan – Derek, Rachel and Benjamin, as parents and Godparents have all promised to help Mya along her journey of faith
And we as a congregation have made a promise as well
We have promised to do all in our power as we are able to support Mya in her life in Christ
And, we have all made a statement of faith known as the Apostle’s creed
Today, Jesus the Christ tells us some of what it means of our responsibility in the relationship with God
We are continuing our several week series on the Sermon on the Mount
We began with the warm message of blessing that God declares, known as the Beatitudes
Then we jumped into the first part of the ethical teachings of what it means to be a Christian – starting with the Lord’s claim that WE are the salt of the earth and the light of the world
Which brings us with our passage today – so appropriate for our baptism celebrations – appropriate because we are told of our responsibilities to be a child of heaven
To be a child of heaven – we are told to: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44b)
Wait a minute – love our enemies… that doesn’t make sense
Intuitively, we all know that enemies are not to be loved
Dictionary defines an enemy as: a person who feels hatred for, fosters harmful designs against, or engages in antagonistic activities against another; an adversary or opponent.[1]
These… are the people that we are to LOVE?
I think most people would agree that we live in an ‘eye for an eye’ world
Our whole system of justice is built on it
If someone wrongs you physically – you call the police and their actions have consequences
If someone were to soil a person or business’ reputation – it is called slander and there is a response that strives to evoke justice from the situation
It is the same in our homes, I imagine many of you could relate to this situation
At the beginning of school year, we were wondering if Matthew was not going to make it
You see on the first day of classes, one of his classmates was in his face – literally putting his hands on Matthew’s face
Well, Matthew being a 4th child has learned to take care of himself and punched the other boy to get him away
We were told by the teacher, and we of course told Matthew that this was not an appropriate way to act
But, in reality we were really not that concerned, I mean the other kid ‘started it’ and Matthew just finished it
The next day was fine, but the third day of school, Matthew was building something with the building blocks and another boy came over and knocked it over
Matthew again reacted and this time by throwing a block at the other kid
Again the teacher spoke to us and again we reprimanded Matthew and told him, this was not the appropriate behavior
But deep down, we still weren’t that upset – we told Matthew that he was not to hit others in any form what-so-ever but we still weren’t that concerned
I mean, if the other kids hadn’t wronged Matthew, nothing would have happened – … an eye for an eye
Matthew has basically settled down and started to understand what is appropriate behavior and what is not
But one day when Kelly was volunteering in the class, she overheard one boy say to another “don’t mess with Matthew he hits back”
To a four year old and in fact to our entire system of justice “an eye for an eye” makes sense
It would be considered common sense in our society today and common sense in Jesus’ time
Jesus says: You have heard that it was said … But I say to you…
Jesus takes the common understandings of the world and calls for something better – something higher
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44b)
And the reward is to be called ‘a child of heaven’
Consider some of the other things that Jesus instructs them to do
If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; (Matthew 5:39b)
Matthew, and most of us, don’t think this way
And on the surface it simply seem illogical and might be the reason why Christians are sometimes seen as doormats – pushed around by society
There are some Christians that believe that Jesus was teaching an ethic of passivism – sometimes exercising their religious freedom to abstain from military service
There are others that direct us to look at what Jesus is saying in the culture that He is in
Walter Wink in an insightful book “The Powers That Be” provides some excellent commentary on this
In this book the chapter titles give some clue to a different response
Jesus’ answer to domination
Breaking the spiral of violence
Jesus’ third way
Practical non-violence
Beyond pacifism and ‘Just war’ [theory]
Wink suggests that when Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek, he is not merely suggesting that Christians take a beating and trust that it is a nobler way
But in fact that the socially acceptable way to strike one’s slave (and 1/3 of the population were financially indentured slaves) was using the back of the right hand (and 90% of the population is right handed) across the right cheek
So when Jesus suggested that one offer up the other cheek, it would have meant that the person would have to strike the left cheek with an open hand
This was socially unacceptable and seen as an act of violence
Back of the hand – simple social discipline
Open hand – violence, assault
And thus humiliation
What Jesus has suggested is practical non-violence or also referred to as creative non-violence
Not to roll over and passively be beaten – but create a situation where violence is exposed for what it is
Jesus also says and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; (Matthew 5: 40)
In Hebrew culture is someone was owed money they were allowed to ‘sue’ the debtor for their coat. This would create a constant reminder of the debt and would be humiliating and hopefully mean that they would pay it back soon
2000 years ago, before central heating, the coat would also be returned each evening
What Jesus is suggesting is that if someone forces you into a humiliating situation of taking your coat, give them your cloak as well, something that was not allowed, thus reversing the humiliation
Again, Jesus has reversed the power balance by creative non violence and there-by exposing the oppressive behaviour
Jesus also says and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile (Matthew 5:41)
In Jesus’ time Israel was occupied land – the Hebrew culture was allowed to exist but within the Roman Empire’s oversight
The Roman military even though the most powerful, was always smaller in number then the people of the land in which they occupied
Roman soldiers were often a mobile force and by Roman rule, they could make someone carry their packs one mile
But aware of not wanting to overburden the people of the land, Roman soldiers were not allowed to demand someone to carry their load more than a mile
So Jesus suggesting that if forced to go one mile, go a second mile – He is exposing the power for what it is an oppressive imposition
Again Jesus is not suggesting that someone simply give in and let others take advantage of you – but to be creative in your response – striping the power
Jesus taught a new way – to follow Jesus is to be engaged in the world – but engage in a different way
A way of peace – a way of creativity – a way of non-violence
A way in which a disciple exposes injustice – and works towards peace and righteousness
This the way for us
This is at the heart of the promises that are made by Stephanie, and Nathan – Derek, Rachel and Benjamin
And they are what we, each and every one of us, are called to do as we live out the promises of our own baptism
Which we re-committed, reaffirmed today
And when we turn the other cheek – offer more than is asked – go the extra mile - Love our enemies and pray for those that persecute us
We are living a righteous life – we are perfect in the eyes of our Lord
And we are a child of heaven
Glory to God, whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine! - Amen
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