Let change begin with me – Luke 6:27-38

The passage from Luke’s gospel for today may put you in mind of what is known as the Sermon on the Mount which is found in Matthew’s gospel. And while we often have a picture of Jesus speaking those words to a large crowd, the words were actually spoken to the disciples who were gathered with him on the mountain.  As much as we want to imagine the words of Jesus being experienced by as many people as possible, the teachings were directed mainly to that group of followers whom Jesus had called to be with him.  This group would learn from the Master and be able to experience how these teachings were to be lived through the words and actions of Jesus. Discipleship was never intended to be a self-help course that could be picked up and followed on your own.  Discipleship is about being in a relationship with a master and living life with that master. Too often we do not take the time to appreciate how much of a challenge Jesus’ words were to those disciples. By accepting Jesus as their Master, the disciples had opened themselves to a life of poverty, hunger, weeping, hatred, and defamation. But that decision would become a blessing because that decision would bring them into the kingdom of God, it would lead to a fullness within their body, mind and spirit and it would bring joy.  They were called to be witnesses to the truth that Jesus was sharing with them, a truth that would challenge and bring trouble to their lives but their willingness to stay the course with Jesus and believe in his words would bring them to a place where they would find something greater than anything they might imagine in this life. But if they were to turn away from this choice and choose to be rich, to be full and to laugh, they would find the end of their life to be far different.

Taken literally, the blessings and woes seem to indicate that all disciples are to seek to be poor, to be hungry and to accept that they will be hated and reviled. But it is really about decisions.  Jesus will teach the disciples what it means to live as people of God, what it will mean to make the decision to receive the kingdom of God. That decision may lead them to be poor, it may lead them to hunger and to be hated but if they stand firm and live as Jesus taught them, they will find blessing. Riches in and of themselves are not the problem, the problem is when the riches prevent us from living as disciples of Christ. Being full in and of itself is not the problem, the problem is satisfying our own needs to the point that we fail to see the needs of others. Laughter in and of itself is not the problem, the problem is when we choose to laugh in the face of others’ suffering.

Discipleship is not a course to be taken for a weekend or a series of studies that have a beginning and an end date. Discipleship is to be the start of a new life, one that will consume us for the rest of our life.  And that is what we need to ever remember when it comes to recognizing the call of God on our lives and our moment of decision to be followers of God as revealed through the teaching of the One we call Master – our Lord Jesus Christ.

We can all look back on moments in our lives when we made decisions about God and about our relationship with God and our relationship with one another. In those moments we made a choice to reveal to one another and the world the pattern, the guidelines, the principles, the ethics that we had adopted for our lives.   When we stand before this congregation or any congregation and declare publicly our faith, we affirm to all who are present that we are committed to being disciples of God in Christ and that we are prepared to encourage, support, and assist one another in whatever way we can for as long as we shall live as part of this community.

I have always believed that the record given in the Old Testament is critical to appreciating the record given in the New Testament.  So much of what Jesus shared with the disciples and that we are able to read and learn from today was not new ideas but rather a retelling of the lessons that the people of God had learned from the earliest times.

The account that we have from the book of Exodus that relates the encounter of Joseph with his brothers is a wonderful example of how the teaching of Jesus was already well known by people of ancient times.  In this account, we find Joseph, one of the favoured sons of his father Jacob, coming face to face with the very brothers who had tossed him into a well, bloodied his robe as a sign of his death, and sold him into slavery.  What a prescription for a person to be bitter and twisted. But Joseph’s response mirrors Jesus teaching in our lesson today. He sees his brothers who acted as enemies to him and loves them.  He does not judge them, nor does he condemn them. He forgives them.  Joseph understands that he had been chosen by God for a purpose and that purpose was to ensure the survival of his family.  He surely could have turned his back on them, but he made the choice to forgive them. And while the path that he took on life and the things he suffered were not his choice, he knew that the decisions he made with regard to his brothers was the choice that was in line with what he had learned from God.

That lesson is brought to the disciples by Jesus when he tells them to love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who treat you spitefully. Give to everyone who asks you; treat others as you would like them to treat you.

Disciples are to make a choice. The choice to love even those who are opposed to us; the choice to not sit in judgment of others; the choice to not condemn others; the choice to pardon others. We cannot control the responses of others, but we can control or seek to control how we respond.

Remember the adage: God isn’t finished with me yet.  It certainly rings true when it comes to our life as disciples of God in Christ. What Jesus said to those disciples in that day are the same things that we need to hear as disciples in this day.  Did those first disciples get it all right the first time or even the seventh time? No, but they were encouraged to not give up. They were encouraged to believe that the path revealed by Jesus in his teaching was the path that was directed by God for them to follow.  And they were to never forget to seek for the forgiveness of God to strengthen them, to seek for the Spirit of God to instruct and direct them and to seek for the grace and love of God to continually encourage them as they dedicated themselves to this revelation of God’s will made known through Jesus Christ.

AMEN