A Just Peace

 

Text: Luke 6:27-38

Focus: non resistance

Function: to help people see how gentleness and meekness can win the day.

²⁷“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. ³⁰Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

³²“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. ³⁵But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

³⁷“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; ³⁸give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

I titled this message, “A Just Peace.”

You hear me pray every week that we will become the peacemakers that Jesus said He has called us to be.

When I think of peace, I think of rest in my soul. But it is a result of a lack of conflict. And, since conflict seems inevitable, reconciliation between two sides is the path to peace.

And the concept of reconciliation is what is needed for peace to happen when we look at global affairs between different nations and when we look at affairs of the heart between different people.

How do we be reconciled to each other?

Did you know that we are ambassadors of reconciliation?

Look at this scripture. 2 Corinthians 5: ¹⁷So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! ¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. ²⁰So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

We looked at part of the beatitudes last week, but we didn’t get the one from Matthew, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. (5:9)

I believe that we become reconciled to each other when we become reconciled to God.

We know that this is by faith in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We place our trust in Him to save us and He indeed becomes our Savior.

Besides peace and reconciliation, There is another similarity between these two passages.

Forgive and you will be forgiven is the promise that Jesus gives. Paul said, Jesus quit counting our trespasses against us, after all, we pray for that every week, and the idea being for us to quit counting the trespasses and sins against us and forgive those who offend and harm us.

Forgiveness is hard, it takes a sacrifice. But forgiveness sets us free and is the path to the peace that Jesus has called us to.

Forgiveness is hard. It takes faith in the one who promises to judge the earth in complete fairness. But remember, Jesus made it clear that if we expect to be forgiven, then we must forgive.

Forgiveness like that is what sets Christianity apart for me. It isn’t easy, but when I find myself actively forgiving, that is when I sense the presence of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I have always taught that if one wants to have an answer to a desperately needed prayer, then one needs to stand in complete forgiveness of others.

And when we think about what Jesus starts the passage out with, turning the other cheek and giving the shirt off the back to the one who sued us for our coat, we see the need inside of us for the power of forgiveness.

How does one turn the other cheek in the face of evil?

Well, there is something to consider about the Jewish culture back at this time. A famous Bible Scholar, Walter Wink, studied this and gives us this description of what is actually happening when we turn the other cheek and give up the shirt as well as the coat.

Frankly, they didn’t have toilet paper and it was the custom of all people to use the left hand to finish after using the toilet leaving the right hand free and sanitary for greetings.

So, if a person slapped you with his or her right hand, that was dignified, but to use the left hand, which is what happens when one turns the other cheek, it forces them to switch hands and humiliate themselves because they are admitting that they are in the wrong as the oppressor by taking away your humanity.

It is the same thing with the coat. To force a person to become naked, which is what happens when they take away the undershirt as well, takes away their humanity and humiliates the the person who took the coat as the oppressor. The law says to give the coat back at night because it is the only way for the owner to keep warm.

Jesus is telling us to stand up to the oppressor without fighting back. But this certainly not a passive approach. It demands justice by displaying the unjust nature of the person who is oppressing you.

The principle is what was used by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in the Civil Rights marches of the 60’s when America overturned segregation.

My mother and father did their first ministry in Tennessee, a poor town where my dad set up a store front church.

My mother was appalled at the disproportionate nature of the facilities labeled “colored” vs “white.” She saw the evil of segregation and we have to remember that this it is not even one generation ago. It was the beginning of her journey out of racism. She didn’t get far, but she is still growing at 90 years old.

Dr. King obey the Lord and demonstrated a peaceful protest that was anything but meek. They were beaten, jailed, maced, water hosed and even murdered trying to win their freedom. And still today, if you talk to a black organizer of the civil rights movement, you will see that they have a lot of love and forgiveness for the oppressor. They realize that the oppressor is just part of a system that was used to keep them down and make the few wealthy.

I am not getting political here when I talk of racism. When I was 14, God spoke to my heart about the evil of racism and I too have been on a journey against it. I have had to learn and I have to continually examine myself to see where hidden biases are exposed.

I believe in Colin Kapernick’s taking the knee in protest. It was silent, and non violent. It was much different than the riots after George Floyd’s death or the insurrection at the capital by the other side.

Perhaps if he had been listened to, George Floyd would still be alive and the violence that proceeded would have been avoided.

He is doing what Jesus commanded. He wants peace, but not at the price of having to continue to suffer at the hands of the one who has been conditioned to be afraid of him simply because of the color of his skin.

Society conditioned me to be afraid of black people.

To many white folks, peace would be for "them" to be quiet and accept the fact that one of "them" got elected President. But that isn’t good enough for me. We want a just peace that reflects the love and respect due every single human person.

For me, it became more than a calling to eschew racism in my own understanding, but to become like Jesus and speak out against racism. To become an anti-racist and to help people see, in a loving way, that we all, black and white, have hidden biases that need to be dealt with if we are to love one another as Jesus commanded us to do.

I don’t hate those who don’t offer that kind of justice because I realize that I too, was raised with biases.

I was raised to believe that black people were terrible neighbors because they didn’t take care of their property and would steal all your belongings.

I was raised to believe that. I was preaching once, and I mentioned how Brother Kyerematen, from the Germantown Church of the Brethren in Philadelphia was a black man who did a great job of the morning bible study at National Youth Conference.

Someone asked me why it was important to mention that he was black? Was I surprised?

I was pleased that we had diversity in our leadership at NYC, but I realized that I was describing him as black because I didn’t expect that caliber of study from a black man.

My prejudice was exposed to me. And I know know that I have to check my reactions to people of different races all the time because I was raised with prejudice and I have to actively work to overcome them. Just as my mom is still doing before me.

Remember, Jesus told us that our message is going to be uncomfortable to those who are in power. But Jesus has commanded us to keep up His works and words throughout the ages.

I hope I have been faithful to His calling in my life this morning.