On February 23, I gave the homily at Soup and Bread which is a gathering for The Practicing Christian Facebook group John and I started back in October.
The four scripture verses we read are below, but I primarily spoke out of the Luke passage.
Genesis 45:3-11, 15
Psalm 37:1-12, 41, 42
I Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50
Luke 6:27-38
Jesus said there are two great commandments. Practice these two commandments, and you step into eternal living. The first is, Love the Lord your God with your whole self. The second, Jesus says, is like the first, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
This means, when I love my neighbor, in some beautifully, mysterious way I am also loving God, the One who created my neighbor.
John and I have started talking about faith in terms of having a faith practice, a way of life. I’m convinced people are no longer out there searching for a one-time prayer to pray at a revival, but are mostly searching for a way to live. How do we live well in this world? How do I live in such a way that I can commune with God, be a good parent, be a thoughtful friend, and a kind co-worker?
I need to know how to live.
This Luke passage, Luke 6:27-38, is the practical path, the Christian faith practice mapped out. These are our instructions on how to love God with our whole being, and how to love my neighbor as myself. This is our spiritual road map. If someone were to tell me they wanted to practice the ways of Jesus, I’d send them right here. This is how we love our neighbor as we love ourselves. This is how we comport ourselves in this world, this is how Jesus invites us to treat people. It’s counterintuitive in every way.
Love your enemies.
Bless those who curse you.
Pray for those who abuse you. (Even if you have to walk away from a relationship that is abusive, and toxic, there is a way to walk away and pray for God to redeem that person’s life.)
Do not retaliate. No matter what. If you want a good example for how to do this, look at the life of Dr. King.
Give, even when there will be no repayment.
Do not judge. Withhold judgement, in as much as you are able. We do not know the whole story.
Do not condemn. Anyone. Even those with whom you radically disagree.
Forgive. Forgive. Release the wrongs over to God.
To sum it all up, as the ground of your life, as a foundational way of going about your days, be generous, open wide your heart.
Many years ago, like almost six hundred years ago, people believed the sun orbited around the earth. There was a strong belief that we were at the center and heart of the universe. Through a couple incredibly brilliant mathematicians and scientists, astronomers, it was discovered that the earth is not in fact the center of the universe. In fact, our earth orbits around our sun. The sun is the central point in our galaxy. Galileo confirmed the theory that Capernicus had discovered, and the church, which was quite powerful at the time didn’t like the idea that we were not the center of the universe. They asked him to recant, and eventually they threw him into prison and he lived out his days under house arrest.
Humans love to believe we are the center of the Universe, but we’re not. When we begin to put Jesus’ words into practice, we also realize that our enemies are not the center of the universe either. When we put into practice these life-giving instructions, we begin to realize that God is the center of the Universe and God is merciful and kind.
If we want to know the character and goodness of God, we have to emulate the character and goodness of God. As Jesus says in Luke, “Your reward will be great. You will be children of the Most High.”
These words of Jesus from Luke, invite us into a life of prayer, into living as if God’s ways are the right ways, and the good ways.
This is the invitation to step away from tribal loyalties, from clan mentality, and really learn the language and the cadence of love. In the words of Dr. King, where we learn the way of peaceful, non-violent resistence.
These life instructions are counterintuitive, and require a prayerful approach to life. Where we enter into a conversation with God about the people who are in our lives, about the way we live in relationships, how we practice love and forgiveness, and generosity. It’s not about doing it perfectly, it’s about returning again and again to your spiritual practice.
My dad is a horse trainer. He also teaches people how to ride horses. Now, you could go and look up and read all kinds of books on how to ride a horse. You could even take a class with a horse trainer who stands in a room and teaches you the mechanics of riding. But I can assure you, nothing will teach you how to ride a horse, without getting on a horse and practicing.
Because of distance, Emma had to start going to a different barn, and when she got on the horse to take her first lesson, the trainer looked at me afterward and said, “Um… she can ride.”
“She’s had a good teacher,” I told her. My dad teaches people how to ride in ways that are foundational to horsemanship. When the right trainer teaches you how to ride, you ride any horse in almost any style because you have the foundation in place.
These words of Jesus are the path for how to live inside the goodness and love of God.
These words from Jesus … are our foundation. When we practice his words, and set them as the moral compass for the way we live, we can go anywhere, take any job, be in any place, and gain our bearings.
* * *
Please Sign up for Tina’s Hope Notes.
These are short, weekly notes meant encourage you. I promise they’re short!
You’ll get my free booklet, called Rekindling: Five Faith Practices for the Burnt Out and Overdone.
