“Do
unto others. . .” This is probably one of the most widely known and quoted passages
in all of scripture. Although it has roots outside of scripture, there had been
similar sayings in circulation for quite some time before Jesus took his place
on the Mount and began to teach the crowds who had gathered. It is the way in
which Jesus stated it which was new. When Jesus presented “the golden rule” for
the first time, it turned a familiar sentiment upside down and on its head.
The
traditional way of stating it was, “Do not do to others what you would not want
done to you.” On the surface there does not seem to be much difference between
this way of saying it and the way Jesus said it. Is seems to be almost the
exact same thing. But where the common way people of Jesus’ day were used to hearing
it, presents the idea in the negative, “do not do”, Jesus presents it in the
positive, “do.” In the first way of stating it, you can be content to “no do,” that
is to do nothing; as long as you take no action, you can live by this
particular axiom. You can make no movement in the direction of your neighbor or
those around you and fulfill its requirements. It does not move you forward but
instead stays your hand.
When
Jesus turns this saying on its head and presents it in the positive. It spurs
its adherents into action. It requires for followers of the Gospel to move on
behalf of their neighbor. It requires us to “do,” to act, to do the good that
needs to be done. It requires us to do the good we would want others to do on
our behalf. “Do not do,” requires nothing of us, but “do,” forces our hand, causes
us to move, compels us to go into the world with compassion and empathy. We
begin to see those around us as versions of ourselves, their hurt becomes our
hurt, their needs becomes our need and it then it asks us to imagine how we
would want those around us to act, to behave, to do and then pushes us to do
exactly that, because when the other is us, then we begin to act, behave, speak
with kindness, and gentleness to all. Nobody wants to be treated roughly,
without respect, or to be disregarded and dismissed, so when we put ourselves
in the place of others, we suddenly begin to treat everyone we meet with
kindness and dignity.
A
world in which we all go around treating one another with the kindness,
compassion and caring, with which we would want those around us to treat us, is
a world where compassion is the rule. What we have here is a glimpse of the
world Jesus envisions for us. A world where the kingdom of God is at hand, is
near, is here, in us, in our actions and the way we live our lives. The Kingdom
of God is a kingdom of compassion, a world of wonder where each person is
continually treated with utmost dignity and respect. When we think about a
world in which we all truly lived by this one rule, with this one revision of a
statement that would have been familiar to his audience, Jesus pulls back the curtain
and gives us to see through the window into a new world, a better world, a
world where God’s will is done; where were forgive one another freely; where we
ask for no more than we need (to think back to the passage we looked at last
week). It is truly a world where God’s kingdom has come to earth in a new and
powerful way.
Throughout
the Sermon on the Mount this is exactly what Jesus is doing, opening windows
into a world that we have yet to truly imagine. He pulls back the veil that keeps
us from seeing the world as it should be, as it could be, as God created it to
be and allows us to see that God’s re-envisioning of the world, which Jesus
allows us to catch a glimpse of can be reality. Jesus is showing us the world
as he sees it and gives us the ability to reimagine the world with him. And it
is that world as it can be; a world where all things are made new, where God
reigns and where all God’s creation reflects the love and goodness of God. Where
equality is lived out in the kindness, compassion and caring of all, where we
treat one another with respect and dignity, where the peacemakers are blessed
and the humble are inheriting; a new world, a better world, God’s world, God’s
kingdom, here and now. Throughout this passage, Jesus is repeatedly pulling
back the curtain, opening the shutter so that we can see a picture of this God’s
kingdom, as it is, when the children of God live it out in their lives.
The
piece of the Sermon on the Mount, which we have before us this morning, begins
with another oft quoted and misinterpreted bit of scripture. “Do not judge.” At
this particular point in history, this might very well be the most quoted bit
of scripture. The sentiment, “Don’t judge me,” “What right do you have to
judge,” “I’m not one to judge,” gets tossed around all the time. And each and
every time this passage is referenced, it is done so in such a manner that is a
complete misunderstanding of what Jesus is saying in this passage.
Throughout
the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is telling us to judge, to discern between what
is right action and what is wrong action. It calls for us to look within
ourselves, as well as those around us and see right ways to act, right ways to
speak, right ways to treat those around us. The Sermon on the Mount calls for
us to make judgements.
And
then here we have this sentiment that seems to contradict all that has come
before, “Do not judge, so that you may be not be judged.” And the failing in
understanding comes from what Jesus is meaning when he says, “Do not judge.”
Jesus is not saying that you cannot make determinations between right and wrong
actions or ways of living. Although this is the common way of applying this
passage, it is not at all what Jesus was telling us here.
The
word, “judge”, in the original language does not mean that we are not to make
calls on what is sin and not sin. It is not about not declaring the actions of
others sinful and going against the will and desire of God for how we are to
live our lives. It is not about discerning together right and wrong as it is
lived out in our lives and the lives of the Christians around us. It does not
say that we cannot call out sins when we see it. This is the call of the church
as we encourage one another other to live out the kingdom ways that are set
forth here in the Sermon on the Mount, as well as other places in scripture.
The
word used in the original language is the word that specifically refers to
final judgement, the kind of judgement that can only be made over the sum of a
person’s life. We are not to pass judgment on others. That is to say that we do
not have the power or the authority to consign those around us to hell. Neither
you nor I get to sit in the judgment seat and divide the goats and sheep, or
declare who is accepted into God’s kingdom and who is not. That is not our
place, that is not our role in the universe.
Not
only so we not get to pass final judgment on others, but way in which we pass final
judgment on others, we will receive that same kind of judgment; the measure we
use declare final judgment will be the same measure that God will use on us.
The first thought is that we should simply avoid doing this, but if we, for whatever
reason think that we should, or that we can, it is best that the measure we
choose to use is wide and broad, is forgiving and full of grace, because we
will be judges with the same measure we use on others.
Christians
it is not our duty to tell others that they are going to Hell. It is not our
place to act as if we get a say in these matters. This does not mean we do not
call sin, sin. This does not mean that we cannot lovingly call one another to
better ways of living. As we envision the better world which Jesus presents through
his teachings. Although it is not our place to sit on the judgment seat of God,
it is our place, to call those around us to join us in our endeavor. When we
see others around us who are not following Jesus, who are not journeying toward
the Kingdom of God with their lives and their actions, it is our place to
invite them to join us. To invite anyone and everyone we meet to live into this
vision of a world ordered by the goodness and love of God, to come and get to
know the Jesus we know; to invite them to live lives that reflect the love of
God as well. Our place is to call others to join us, not to put a chasm between
us and those who currently are not, by consigning them to eternal damnation.
On
the same vein Jesus, when Jesus speaks about the speck in our neighbor’s eye
and the plank in our own, Jesus is showing the absurdity it is for us to judge
others harshly. From our perspective we often think we have a great view of the
failings of those around us. We see that they are falling short of Jesus’
kingdom vision. “They” are not living up to the measure which we see Jesus has
placed on our lives. “They” do not love their neighbors as fully as they might.
They clearly do not love God the way they should. They are not treating others
with dignity and respect, compassion and kindness. “They” are failing, at
living the Jesus way. And we are quick
to want to set them right. To show them where and how they are falling short,
how they are failing. But Jesus reminds us that although we may believe that we
have perspective to see and show others how they can do better in their lives,
often times we lack the perspective to see how we ourselves are failing.
So
instead of reaching out to fix and correct those around us, we should first
work to have perspective when it comes to our own lives and the manner in which
we ourselves fail. This is not about abandoning each other and only worrying
about ourselves, our own salvation. It is not a shift of focus from other to
ourselves, only worrying about our walk with God and our own journey with
Christ, so that we become self-serving Christians who only care about our own
spiritual journey. The Christian journey is not ultimately a solitary walk; it
is a journey in community. We are called together to be a body, living and
working together, journeying with one another toward the vision of the Kingdom,
Jesus presents here. We are walking together in caravan toward the borders of a
heavenly nation. As we work together to bring that kingdom into this world here
and now, we should work to correct our own failings before we begin to worry
about the ways we need to correct the failings of those around us. Instead we are
called to support one another help each other, to journey together, protecting
and giving guidance in love and mercy, with kindness and forgiveness. Living
the example Jesus set forth with his own life?
When
we are working to correct our own lives, it is much easier to come alongside of
others to help and encourage them, so that we can help each other. When we
begin with correcting ourselves it becomes easier to be a part of the
corrective community around us. This is about helping and encouraging one
another, instead of continually just seeing the fault in those around us. When
we allow others to help us with the ways in which we so greatly fall short of
who God is calling us to be, it is easier to help those who are also struggling
with God’s call on their lives as well. We allow others to help us with the
planks in our eyes, as well as to work with those dealing with specks in their
own.
Another
bit of this passage which is all too familiar to many of us who have been in
the church for years, calls for us to seek and know and promises that when we
do so we will find. To be exact Jesus actually tells us to seek and keep on
seeking to knock and keep on knocking. As we journey together toward the world
Jesus is revealing to us we must not be timid in our desire to seek after the
things of God. As we work to live as Jesus calls us to live as we “work out our
salvation” (as Paul put later puts it) we should know that it is a continually
endeavor. It is a daily seeking, in which we search and keep on searching for
all that this live with God has to offer. To not just give a cursory glance and
expect to be able to see and understand all that can or should be seen and understood.
If
the door to life with God seems closed knock and keep on knocking, knock so as
to be heard. Call out to the person in
the house for just as surely as someone will come when you knock and keep on
knocking, God will not ignore your request to come close. God will not abandon
one who is continually seeking to live and walk in the ways God is calling for
them to walk. The door will not be locked and closed to anyone who wishes to
come into God’s kingdom. There are no enemies that will be kept outside the gate;
everyone is will be invited in. This is
a world where no one is barred from relationship with God, no one who desires
communion with God will be held at arm’s length and told they are not worthy. Everyone
is invited to come in, everyone is family, and everyone is friend.
But
although everyone is invited, everyone is accepted we should not be surprised
to find that the road to God’s kingdom is hard and ultimately the gate is
narrow. The call is broad, the invitation is expansive but few RSVP and even
fewer actually come. No one who comes
will be turned away, no one who seeks will find that they have been invited to
a snipe hunt or lead on a goose chase, but in the end only those who actually
seek and those who actually know will find and be let in. Our goal is to bring
the entirety of world with us. Our goal is for the reimagining of the world to
be pursued by all, but even as we call, even as we reach out in love and
compassion some will turn away, some will refuse our call. Some will not understand
the world we are proclaiming to them and they will stay where they are, they
will not join us on the road, they will not seek the gate, and they will not
knock on the door.
When
we invite others to come do not be surprised when they do not come, do not be
discouraged that some do not see and understand, or hear and be moved. To
expect everyone to respond positively to our message, to believe that the
calling God has placed on our lives or that the vision of a world in which we
all love and respect one another and the work that involves in our own lives
will appeal to everyone is to expect dogs to the sacredness of what is holy or
for pigs to understand the value of a pearl. Some will not be wooed by the love
and goodness of God. It is hard for those of us, who have come to see the
kingdom of God to believe, but some will not see it as desirable, not everyone
likes the vision of a world where we are all loved equally, where every person
is treated with kindness, goodness. A world of inequality, partiality and
privilege works well for them. They know their place and the place of those
around them. It is easier to be kind only to those you desire to be kind to. In
some respects it feels good to bar the way for some; keep them on the outside
while we are inside. Some will not catch hold of the kingdom vision and desire
God’s revision of the world to come into being here and now. This should not
discourage us; this should not cause us to fall away as well. It is to be
expected. The road is hard and not everyone is willing to put in the work that
is involved in reimagining our broken world into the glorious world of love and
grace and mercy which is the kingdom of God. And although our heart mirrors the
heart of God in desiring for all to come in, for everyone to join us in the
journey, for the whole world to reflect the vision of the kingdom of God here
and now, lived out by everyone, allowing God’s kingdom to truly come on earth
as it is in heaven, we realize that some will turn away, and reject the call to
kingdom living here and now.
This
is the thing. Some will hear the words of Jesus and be amazed. They will act.
These teaching will change how they see the world and how they live their lives.
But others will listen, they will hear and they will turn away. Some will be
wise and some will be foolish. Some will not be able to see the world as Jesus
sees it. Some will not be able to imagine things any other way than they broken,
messed up way they are now, they are foolish, they lack imagination. But some
will heed Jesus’ words, some will, some will join Jesus in his radical
re-envision of things and journey together with him, bringing the Kingdom of
God, near, bringing it here.
As
we come to this last chapter of the sermon of the mount Jesus continues to give
us glimpses into the Kingdom of God we get a collection of glimpses that
continue to create for us a picture of the world as God would have it, the
world Jesus desires to bring into existence here and now. When Jesus says, the
Kingdom of God is here, what he means if we live, if we act like this now, in
our lives, through our actions we can live God’s kingdom here in earth, bring
it into existence with our lives, with our words, with our actions and by
bringing others alongside of us, inviting them to come and see Jesus and by
coming to believe in him and allowing his words and his teachings to shape
their lives they too can bring God’s kingdom to earth. Let us be wise, let us
be hearers of the world. As Jesus pulls back the curtain, let us look long and
hard at the world he is revealing to us and join together to bring that kingdom
to earth, God’s kingdom so that God’s will can be done, is done in us and
through us in this world, as it is done in heaven. Let us be the ones who bring
the love, the mercy, the equality for all, that is the kingdom of God into this
world, in all that we do, in all that we say, each and every day of our lives.
Let us pray with our words, our actions, our lives, “Your kingdom come, your
will be done, on earth as it is heaven.”
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