Seventh Sunday After Epiphany, Year A

Donna G. Joy

Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18; Matthew 5:38-48

Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, “Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, ‘Love your enemies.’ It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. That’s why Jesus says, “Love your enemies,’ because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform them. But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption.”

Many of you have heard of the film Philomena; some of you, I know, have seen it. I, myself, have not yet seen it, but am familiar with the storyline: It is based on the true story of a woman named Philomena – who becomes pregnant in 1951 and is sent away to a Roman Catholic Abbey. After giving birth to a little boy she is forced to work for the nuns to pay off the cost of her stay. One day she is devastated to discover that the nuns have adopted out her son to a couple without warning, or any chance to say goodbye. Over the decades that followed she returned to the Abbey and made several attempts to find him, but the nuns repeatedly told her that they were unable to help her track him down. Finally, various circumstances connect her with a journalist and together they are able to discover who had adopted him and the way in which his life had unfolded. They also discover that Philomena’s son had also tried to get information about her but the nuns told him his mother had abandoned him and they had lost contact with her. Apparently, when the nuns were confronted with the way in which they had lied to both Philomena and her son they were unrepentant and even went so far as to say that losing her son was Philomena’s penance for the sin of fornication.

This past week on CBC radio I heard an interview with the real Philomena and was astonished to discover that she chooses to forgive the nuns rather than live with bitterness and anger. She said that the teachings of her faith make it very clear that forgiveness is what is required. She also said that it is easier to forgive when she remembers that those nuns were a product of a very different time, and she likes to think that they would conduct such situations differently today. One of the primary steps towards forgiveness, according to Jean Vanier, is to believe that each of us can evolve and change. He says that we often lock people up in ready-made judgements, but forgiveness requires us to look beyond that and toward future possibilities that God may be calling that person into. Philomena’s decision to recognize the possibility that in time those nuns could see things differently is a testament to this step that can lead to forgiveness.

Loving instead of hating has inspired that redemptive experience that Martin Luther King Jr. talks about. Instead of locked into a condition filled with hatred, Philomena’s inner being is healthy, at peace and strong – filled with the love and grace of God. And, this gift of redemption now spills out to countless others as she and her daughter work tirelessly on the Philomena project which they have established in order to help other women relocate the children they lost.

Indeed, at the very root of love is the power of redemption, and this – I believe – lies at the very centre of our readings today. You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. These words heard this morning from the Book of Leviticus define the very essence of who we are as the people of God, and what we are called to be. You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. To be holy as God calls us to be holy is to be grounded in God’s love and channels through which that love is made known to others. And then this passage from Leviticus goes on to challenge the reader to be generous, never steal, be fair, be truthful, to honour God’s name, etc. And finally, you shall love your neighbour as yourself.

Indeed, all this seems consistent with how we interpret our role as the People of God. The difficulty, however, with how these teachings became understood in certain circles within the ancient world over time, is that they were often seen as strategies to bring oneself into closer union with God. In other words, if I treat my enemies well, then this will win favour with God. Clearly these interpretations are, at the end of the day, primarily about self-preservation. I’m treating my enemy well because in the end things will work out better for me.

But then along comes Jesus, and as is his way, he turns this upside down. This morning’s Gospel is a continuation from last week. Those of you who were here last week will remember Terry talking about Jesus’ teachings known as the ‘antitheses’: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ . . . but I say to you . . . if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also….    You have heard that it was said . . . ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy . . .’ but I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”

Love your enemies. Keep in mind the context in which Jesus is offering this challenge. The world in which he lived was as distressed and conflicted as ours. Evil was as real then as it is now. Relationships with neighbours and co-workers and family members were complex as they are today. In Jesus’ time, a Roman soldier could actually order a Jew to carry his pack for a mile whether that Jew wanted to or not.

In hearing what he said, Jesus’ audience would have been shocked. The desire for retributive justice or more simply vengeance – “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” – was a direct quote from Hebrew Scriptures and very much at work in the lives and the hearts of the people.

What Jesus said carried the application of the law much farther than anyone could be expected to go in ordinary day to day living. But here again, we are reminded of the words from Leviticus, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

It seems that Jesus is taking this call to holiness to a deeper level. To love one’s enemies does not simply mean to experience an emotion of affection for them; it means to be committed to their well-being – in prayer and in action – to be committed to their well-being. Loving our enemies is a decision . . . not a feeling. To love one’s enemies is to be holy as the Lord our God is holy.

Jesus’ challenge is to go beyond simply doing the right thing. He is calling us to not just treat our enemies in a certain way; he is instructing us to love them. Everything in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is transformed by the mandate to love one’s enemies. Everything is driven by Jesus’ command to love your enemies. And, as it turns out, Jesus not only taught this, but lived it and died it – for us. As he hung, dying on a cross, he prayed, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.” As we have been forgiven by Jesus on the cross, we are empowered to offer that transformative/redemptive gift to others.

On October 2^nd, 2006, Charles Roberts entered a small Amish schoolhouse and proceeded to shoot ten girls aged 6 to 13, killing five and seriously wounding five others, before committing suicide himself. The emphasis on forgiveness and reconciliation in the response of the Amish community to this tragedy has been widely reported. However, there are some additional details which I found to be particularly moving.

On the day of the shooting, a grandfather of one of the murdered Amish girls was heard warning some young relatives not to hate the killer, saying, “We must not think evil of this man.” Another Amish father noted, “He had a mother and a wife and a soul and now he’s standing before a just God.” In other words, he acknowledged that judging Roberts was not his place; it belonged only to God, the just judge. He believed that the responsibility of the community was to offer him and his family only one thing: forgiveness.

Jack Meyer, a member of the Brethren community living near the Amish in Lancaster County, explained: “I don’t think there’s anybody here who wants to do anything but forgive and not only reach out to those who have suffered a loss in that way but to reach out to the family of the man who committed these acts.” A Roberts family spokesperson said an Amish neighbour comforted the Roberts family hours after the shooting and extended forgiveness to them. Amish community members visited and comforted Roberts’ widow, parents, and parents-in-law. One Amish man held Roberts’ sobbing father in his arms, reportedly for as long as an hour, to comfort him. The Amish have also set up a charitable fund for the family of the shooter. About 30 members of the Amish community attended Roberts’ funeral, and Marie Roberts, the widow of the killer, was one of the few outsiders invited to the funeral of one of the victims.

Marie Roberts wrote an open letter to her Amish neighbours thanking them for their forgiveness, grace and mercy. She wrote, “Your love for our family has helped to provide the healing we so desperately need. Gifts you’ve given have touched our hearts in a way no words can describe. Your compassion has reached beyond our family, beyond our community, and is changing our world, and for this we sincerely thank you.”

Again, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr.: “Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, ‘Love your enemies.’ It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. At the same time however, in situations like this, a question that is often asked is, “where is God in the midst of such tragedy?” Well, God is most certainly not in the murder of, and injury to, these innocent children; but rather in the extraordinary response of the families of the victims, a response rooted in their deep, abiding and authentic faith. This commitment to forgiveness is based on their belief that forgiveness exists at the very heart of the Gospel.

We all know that this is not easy. It flies in the face of all the natural human feelings that lead to revenge, retaliation, retribution, vengeance; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. But nevertheless, it is what we are called to do if we call ourselves Christians, that is, followers of Christ. If we are his followers, then we try to the best of our ability to live by the principles Jesus taught; the principles through which he lived and died. And one of the most basic is forgiveness, a principle that can only be achieved through faith, as the Amish have demonstrated so well.

Following Martin Luther King Jr’s words about the redemptive power of love, he goes on to say, “You must keep on loving people and keep loving them, even though they’re mistreating you… There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies.

There is a little tree planted on a little hill and on that tree hangs the most influential character that ever came into this world. But never feel that that tree is a meaningless drama that took place on the stages of history. Oh no, it is a telescope through which we look out into the long vista of eternity, and see the love of God breaking forth into time. It is an eternal reminder to a power-drunk generation that love is the only way. It is an eternal reminder to a generation depending on nuclear and atomic energy, a generation depending on physical violence, that love is the only creative, redemptive, transforming power in the universe.

So this morning, as I look into your eyes, and into the eyes of all of my brothers in Alabama and all over America and over the world, I say to you, “I love you. I would rather die than hate you.” And I’m foolish enough to believe that through the power of this love somewhere, people of the most recalcitrant bent will be transformed. And then we will be in God’s kingdom. We will be able to matriculate into the University of Eternal Life because we had the power to love our enemies, to bless those persons that cursed us, to even decide to be good to those persons who hated us, and we even prayed for those persons who despitefully used us.”

And so, I say to you today, perhaps in your own lives you are dealing with situations that challenge your own faith and your ability to forgive. We all need to pray that the Spirit will give us strength to be faithful followers of Christ; to make this virtue an integral part of our lives; to love your enemies – to be committed to their well-being – in prayer and in action – to be committed to their well-being. This, I believe, is what it looks like to be holy as God is holy. At the very root of love is the power of redemption.

And again, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., let us pray:

“Oh God, help us in our lives and in all of our attitudes, to work out this controlling force of love — let us join together in a great fellowship of love and bow down at the feet of Jesus. Give us this strong determination. In the name and spirit of this Christ, we pray. Amen.”