Dear Friends in Christ -
In an effort to keep a promise I made two weeks ago, I'm posting (at long last!), the main points from my sermon on Sunday, February 20th. The Gospel text for that day was the passage from Matthew (5:38-48) in which Jesus tells his disciples to turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, and surrender not only their cloaks when asked, but also their tunics. At first glance, such instruction could lead one to think that Jesus was teaching his followers to give in to their oppressors. But what Jesus was actually doing was teaching his followers to be revolutionaries.
I hope you enjoy benefit from these summary notes from the sermon I offered two weeks ago . . .
Blessings,
Janet+
CHARACTERISTICS OF JESUS' REVOLUTION
Indeed, revolutions are springing up all over the world these days. Political revolutions in Egypt and Bahrain and Libya and Yemen are changing political landscapes and toppling governments.
The kind of revolution that God wants to happen here – beginning with us – is just as powerful – and has the potential to be even more sweeping and long-lasting. The kind of revolution that God wants to happen here is a revolution of the heart.
Jesus himself teaches us what this revolution looks like – and it’s like nothing this dog-eat-dog, all-about-me world has ever seen. The keys to the revolution are the four ‘S’s – it’s SUBVERSIVE, it’s SWEEPING, it’s SHOWN, it’s SUSTAINED.
SUBVERSIVE - Jesus taught his followers that the best way to be free from oppression was to choose for themselves, to declare their independence by offering more than was demanded of them. On the surface, this may look like giving in, but really it's graciously rising above the circumstances and oppressions around you.
SWEEPING - The Gospel passage for the day ends with Jesus invitation to "be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." Before we give up trying before we get started on this seemingly impossible task, we need to be aware of the real meaning of the word that's translated here (from the Greek) as 'perfect.' This word actually means 'whole' or 'complete.' In other words, Jesus is inviting his follwers to be fully who they were created to be: power-full children of the living God.
SHOWN - Jesus did not expect his followers to figure out on their own how to live the life to which he was calling them. He lived in order to SHOW them how to be full, holy, true, joyful people of God. The path to living the kind of faith we're called to live is paved with the stories of the faithful. Think of the people you most admire, people who are fully good, fully alive; follow the example they've shown.
SUSTAINED - Remember that Jesus only expects us to do the possible. And what makes this kind of revolutionary living possible is the power of God. We cannot - we should not even try! - to do this on our own steam. This kind of life, this kind of love, requires us to be connected to God so that his goodness and hope and peace can flow through us. It is God's never-ending supply of power that sustains us in the wild kind of loving life to which we are called.
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