February 22, 2004
1 Samuel 26:2,7-9,12,13,22-23 +1 Corinthians 15:45-49 + Luke 6:27-38
One of the basic assumptions in the economy of the Greek and Roman world was the notion of charis. There whole world turned on this notion that charis was kept in constant motion. They believed that the divine would “grace”, that is to says, provide benefits for humans, and then the humans would in turn respond, or make eucharistia by acknowledging such favors through gifts to the temple worship. Then, these gifts would mean good construction jobs. Better temples would enhance the “glory” of the divine which would in turn effect further gifts from the divine to the human.
It was a cycle, a constant round of gift giving and growth. There was something out there circulating all the time. No one held on or kept this “charis” as their own
because to do so would stop further gifts from the divine.
All of us from time to time have been invited into “Chain Letters” for various gifts — to receive requires that you pass it on, and the only way the system works is for the “letter” to stay in motion. If anyone stops or breaks the chain, it’s over.
Luke builds his image of grace and his most fundamental moral message on this ancient idea. It is the end of the old “tit for tat” idea. It is the beginning of a new age of grace. It is not a “spiritual” plan, but a way of living in the concrete reality of the present What Luke puts before us in this conclusion to the sermon Jesus began last week is the most radical and clearest expression of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
It would have been nice and a lot easier if Jesus had just left it at that. “Love your enemies.” It is a good slogan. It looks nice framed on the wall. Luke’s Gospel however is not a catalogue of slogans; it is a way of life – a way of being – a pattern for relationships. This faith we share is not a list of beliefs about God plus behavior. We are Christians not because of what we believe, but because we have been called to be disciples of Jesus. to become a disciple is not a matter of new or changed self-understanding but rather to become part of a different community with a different set of practices.
So, this Gospel today is just as tough as the one we proclaimed last week. There are no loopholes to avoid this challenge. There is no way to make this teaching a “theory” or an “ideal.” There is no way to lift this challenge out of reality and turn it into a abstract void that would allow us to reason: “Well, I’ll love my enemies but I won’t like them!” That reasoning is evasive. It is a faceless alibi – an excuse for avoiding what is asked of us. To keep us from running in that direction, Jesus closes the door on that thinking with the details of his plan for enemy love.
“Do good to those who hate you.” “Bless them.” “Pray for them.” Yet something in us reasons that Jesus failed to see what was to come. That evil regimes and terrorist attacks that we have come to know could never have been in his mind. We think he never could have imagined the horrors and evils we have seen. But to think that way is to reveal that we have never stood under the cross and never heard Jesus Christ speak through blood-stained lips: ”Father, forgive them.” We need to go there to get it right. We need to hear those words from that place. Then, the opening words of today’s Gospel will make sense to us:
“To you who hear I say, Love……”