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Homilies by Rev. Andrew Collis unless indicated otherwise.
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Epiphany 7, Year A
South Sydney Uniting Church
February 19, 2017
Matthew 5:38-48
‘Loving our enemies doesn't mean we have to like them’
Again we are gathered to hear Jesus teach. We are like the disciples and the crowd at the mountain, listening to Jesus who is seated on the mountainside so that everyone can see and hear him. God be with you …
Do you remember last time (two weeks ago) when Jesus said we are like salt and light?
We are precious and useful just like salt is precious and useful for giving food its flavour, for preserving food so that it can be stored and shared, for healing when we have a cut or infection (thanks to Jacob for making that excellent point).
We are precious and useful just like light is precious and useful for finding things we’ve lost in the dark or under a chair, for guiding travellers or ships, for making prayers …
With God’s help we can be more interesting and more interested people, helping to make the world a safer and happier (more blessed) place.
Today Jesus is talking about making peace — being strong, brave and creative when people are behaving badly and when people are afraid of one another. There are many ways that this can happen. And sometimes it’s not easy at all to be friends. We might even feel that we have enemies. Do you know this word? …
The most striking thing Jesus says today is “Love your enemies”. This is really challenging. The disciples and the crowds would have been shocked to hear this teaching. And we should probably be shocked too.
Loving our enemies doesn’t mean we have to like them. And it certainly doesn’t mean we should let anyone push or hurt another person. Sometimes that happens in the playground or in the street, when a bully is really mean to someone else.
We should try to do two things. Firstly, we can say, “Stop!” if we see a bully, or if someone is being a bully to us. Firstly, we can say, “Stop!” and we can make sure that nobody is in danger.
The second thing we can try to do — and this takes real strength and love — is to become a peacemaker, which means making sure we’re all safe and then seeking what’s best for everybody involved, even the bully.
Our hope is that the bully will stop being a bully and start treating people with respect and kindness.
This is a difficult teaching. It can seem so much easier (and more effective) to just push back, call someone terrible names, fill our heart with hate, or just be mean to someone who has been mean to us.
Jesus knows this is hard. That’s why he says we need to pray … for ourselves and for our enemies. What kind of prayer do you think we could say? …
Jesus knows this is hard. It’s why he tells the disciples and the crowds about real strength and creative love — because we all need to work together to make peace. Children, adults, teachers, parents, uncles, aunties, grandmas and grandpas …
We all need to say, “Stop!” when we see someone behaving like a bully. We all need to make sure there is no danger of things getting worse. And we all need to become peacemakers, together, seeking what’s best for everybody.
Otherwise, the meanness will just go on and on, like a circle that keeps turning round and round.
Here’s another thing. Jesus knows that sometimes even the sweetest person can behave like a bully. Sometimes even the smartest person can be harsh and unfair. And often a bully is just a tired, frightened, immature or lonely person who hasn’t learned self-
Firstly, we can say, “Stop!” And then we can try to become peacemakers. We can do this together.
What do we think? …
God, thank you for giving us your teaching about love.
Thank you for the way that Jesus teaches us,
making sure we all can hear and understand.
Help us to think of ways we can respond
to difficult situations,
seeking what’s best for everybody involved.
We feel blessed that Jesus wants us to be loving
and to make peace.
May it be so.
Amen.