We
live an age that, as tempted as I may be to define as ‘like no other,’ I find I
cannot. We live an age that pits
antagonistic forces against one another; these forces may (or may not) be
military forces; these antagonists may (or may not) be officially sanctioned
forces by any particular governing body. We watch the political parties seek
out weaknesses in the opposition, that they might exploit. We watch the
liberals take on the conservatives, conservative base chip away at the enclaves
of liberalism. We do not just
watch as passive bystanders rubber-necking an auto accident; we engage the
fray, whether out there on the front lines risking arrest (or worse) or from
the relative safety of our keyboards, iPads, and smartphones—oh we engage, all
right. An age like no other?
Hardly—An age like every other is more like it.
We
live in the Burger King age that says, “If you won’t give it to me my way— I
know a place that will.” And if that place does not exist, I’ll create that
place/space where I can have life on my terms and bring other like-minded
persons to join me in creating this space. How many times this has been replicated through history? The
pilgrim’s venture to live out their days under the guise of “freedom of
religion” quickly turned into “freedom of my religion” as religious persecution
of those who practiced something different seemed to become the law of the
land. I’m skeptical that those who desire to plant an utopian community will do
little other than restack the deck in their own favor.
And
yet, it’s this age, through this age, into this age that the Church as the Body
of Christ seeks to live faithfully. What will it mean for this body to be
faithful to the calling spirit of the Christ? What is one belief, practice or element of Christianity that we must hold
onto and live out more fully so that Christianity can move forward and truly
impact the world in the next 100 years? The ways we can honestly, truly, fully
love our enemies will determine how well, how faithfully we will live out our calling
as the Body of Christ.
“You
have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor,’ ” and we can all remember reading
countless blog posts and hearing sermons too numerous to count expounding on
this question, “and who is my neighbor?” We are good at loving our neighbor,
and we willingly redefine who our neighbor might be to avoid leaving out
anybody we are supposed to love.
“You
have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you,
‘Love you enemies and pray for those who persecute you’ (Matthew 5:43-44).” In
Luke’s gospel Jesus takes this a step further, “Love your enemies, do good to
those who hate you, bless those who persecute you, pray for those who abuse you
(Luke 6:27-28).”
Paul,
in his letter to the Romans says this, “God demonstrates divine love in this
way; while we were sinners (enemies, antagonistic, persecutors, haters,
nay-sayers) God reconciled us to God’s-self through the Christ event (Romans
5:8).”
The
Psalmist wrote of the reality he experienced of God’s love, “ye though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me . . . You prepare a
table before me in the presence of my enemies – my cup overflows (Psalm 23)”
Scripture
seems replete with examples of what to do with and how to treat one’s enemies, yet
we seem content to follow the world’s example, and either destroy them or
insist they be transformed before we sit down to dinner with them. Amazing how willingly we will sit at
table with those with whom we disagree, so long as we we’re able to pluck the
slivers from their eyes (so long as we are able to transform them into
something more like us).
So,
how do we go about this ‘loving my enemies’ thing? A starting point may be with
being willing to name who they are – who the antagonists, haters, those with
whom we disagree; who are those who are disagreeable? Who are the ones who
refuse to see life as we believe it should be seen? How do we view them? How do you view them? Do you see them
as the world sees them, as mere throwaways, individuals you’re really better
without? Or do you see the image in which they were created? And then how will
we love? Why will we love? We love
because God first loved us (while we were (and are) enemies) –
While
this self-giving love may not change the behaviors of the individual, the
target, the recipient, I do believe this self-giving love does hold the power
to transform our relationship with one another, and ultimately deepen our
relationship with, our reliance upon, our faith in the One who brings life
through the most seemingly lifeless of possibilities. This is the power of the
resurrection made known in the here and now.
