Pentecost
15A 2005
Jeremiah
15:15-21
Psalm
26:1-8
Romans 12:9-21
Matthew
16:21-28
It has been
said, most clearly by Theologian Walter Wink, that violence is
Think of
the last movie you watched,
there is a pretty good chance that the world was saved, the
problems were solved, with violence.
This isn’t a recent trend either.
Superheroes, TV heroes, westerns, cop shows,
violence. Have an international
crisis? Violence should solve it. At least the threat of having more access
to violent weapons should settle things down; the old playground threat of my
nuclear weapons are bigger than your weapons missiles.
So don’t
mess with me, with
us, with our country.
Violence
permeates our culture. The threat of
violence keeps women indoors after dark,
keeps our kids safely corralled in their own back yards, and puts us on edge if someone walks to
closely behind us.
What is it
about violence that is so attractive? What
is it that keeps it in business, selling movie tickets and tv ad space?
The good
guys who do violence in movies may do it to save the world, but they also do it so that they do
not lose face. The threat of violence
is a means of control,
the good guys kicking but look good, the tiny superheroes have reputation to
uphold. And violence fits more neatly in
a ½ hour time slot than, say, extended negotiations or sensitivity
training.
And
violence is also fits nicely with a culture of instant gratification. It can be quick and decisive and sends out a
“don’t mess with me” message to the world.
Again, you
won’t want to lose face.
So lets see, what’s the worst
that could happen if we said NO to solving problems with violence? What if we actually lived out the Romans
text for today? Starting with our home
life, sending
waves out into our neighborhoods, maybe
even our world?
What if
everyone who called themselves Christian lived by this text? “Love one another with mutual affection, outdo one another
in showing honor…” We can this much. One another. We like each other here.
But it gets
harder…”Bless those persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” Honestly, I have a hard time blessing people who
annoy me, much less persecute me!
“Do not be
haughty, but associate with the lowly.”
Now we can lose face,
hanging out with the wrong folks,
the outsiders, the avoided, the downtrodden, the struggling…what will our friends say?
“Do not
repay anyone evil for evil,
but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all…never
avenge yourselves, but leave room for
the wrath of God.”
But, he started it! She pushed me first! He cut me off in traffic! He cheated!
She took that from me and never returned it! They won’t let me have the oil I need! I’ll get even!! I’ll show her! We’ll get what we need no matter what!
See how
easy that is!! How quickly violence
spirals out of control!
And how hard peace is. Peace requires humility and losing
face. It is quieter and softer and leaves
the vengeance to God. It requires us
giving up some control. Giving up power. Giving up the need to look better, stronger, braver than the next person.
Not only
that, we are to
go one step further and feed our enemies,
give them something to drink…overcome evil with good.
I often
wonder what would have happened in
What would
happen if the Powerpuff girls sat down to eat with
their arch enemies,
offered them a listening ear or a place of chocolate chip
cookies?
What would
happen if we took the time to understand another person’s environment before we
judged them as unfit or anti-social?
What would
happen if we spent more time and money of early childhood prevention, on reading
specialists, on developing parenting
skills and strong schools?
What would
happen if we took the time to understand why another country might hate
us? Before we dropped
bombs.
What would
happen if we saw love of our neighbors not as a “feeling” but an action, acting in another’s
best interests even if we personally can’t stand them…
Call me an
idealist. Call me unrealistic. Call me crazy.
I’m just
reading the book, folks. Do not
overcome evil by evil, but overcome evil with good.
In doing
this we might lose face. We might lose
our identity as the world’s super power or the tough guy at school or the woman
who has it all together.
We might
lose our control over our lives, we might lose our old “friends”, we might lose our reputation.
“But those
who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my
sake will find it, for
what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?”
If we lose
face by being peace-loving-enemy-feeding people; if we lose face by refusing to
fight back at every real or imagined slight;
if we lose face by leaving room for God to judge, not us…
We will
find our life. A life held together by
God’s own hands. A life centered in
Christ’s own peace. A
life full of richness unimagined in our daily lives.
When we
lose something like our hatred, our fear of other people, our insecurity that has been carefully
covered with bravado, when we lose face…. we are not left with emptiness. But have more room for God.
This isn’t
easy. Going against a
culture of violence. Loving our enemies.
Maybe we can start with blessing the people that annoy us. Pray for them by name each day. Then we can move onto associating with the
lowly…and leaving vengeance in God’s hands and little by little grow into
larger acts of love.
A little at
a time we lose ourselves in the actions and attitude of love. And in loosing ourselves we find God. And in
God we find ways to live in peace and harmony and true joy.
And so “let
love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another
with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend
hospitality to strangers.
“Bless
those whose persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with
those who weep. Live in harmony with one
another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be
wiser than you are.
“ Do not
repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of
all. If it is possible, so far as it
depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave
room for the wrath of God….
“If your
enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to
drink…Do not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21)”
“For those
who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my
sake will find it. (Matthew 16:25).”
Amen. May it be so.