Title: The blessings of God, temporal or eternal!
Text: Matt 5:38-48
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
There’s a story told of Rev. Tom Erickson: The public Library has a system called "Dial-A-Tale." Anytime a young child wants to hear a fairy tale, he can call the number and a voice comes on reading a short fairy tale to the listening young ear. However, the number is only one digit different from Rev. Tom Erickson. Because the small fingers often make a mistake, Tom gets frequent calls from a child listening for a fairy tale. After several unsuccessful attempts to explain a wrong number to the small child, Tom felt he had only one alternative. He obtained a copy of Three Little Pigs, and set it by the phone. Now, whenever a child calls, he simply reads them the tale - a beautiful illustration of yielding personal rights - he didn't, as you might have thought, change his telephone number to avoid the "invasion of his privacy."
Jesus seems to be always turning the tables on his disciples. After giving his Sermon on the Mount at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel in Chapter 5 and then telling them by illustration that they are to be salt and light in the world. Jesus continues to build on his theme that; unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:20)
The condemnation continued with “You have heard it said,” followed by his thoughts on anger, lust, divorce and giving oaths … concluding with:
37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. (Matt. 5:37)
Now, he brings to the ears of his followers this joyful gem:
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
I’m sure that this is not what the disciples wanted to hear as most were still looking for a king that was going to take back the kingdom and rule over those who had been persecuting them.
40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
God’s Law says, Thou shall not steal but Jesus says, Let them and not only that give what they didn’t take and don’t refuse the one who either begs or borrows from you.
You know, my wallet is really worn and empty … anyone here have a really nice full one I could have?
The blessings of God … temporal or eternal!
It is hard to not be consumed with the needs of this life. Things that might come in handy we tend to keep and set aside for when the need arises. We look easily at those things we might need should calamity fall upon us.
Ill.
I’m not sure what need my dad was expecting as I clean out his house and garage with my brother? But it had to include building things. See, we have done about as much as we could, giving things to family, friends and acquaintances and dropping those useful things that we … had no use for.
So it came down to the garage and an attached storage shed. A few things were gathered for my brother Tom who lives out of State and then the call was made by my brother Ron to 1-855-US-trash. When it was all said and done Ron wrote an email to all the siblings saying, “They hauled away a large truck load of mostly wood, but also all the paint, pesticides, fluorescent tubes, and general junk in a garage - including all the hazardous stuff – except paint thinner, propane, gas and dad's canned peaches.
Now, I have no place to talk because I have loaded my garage full of junk I could use … someday … from my dad’s … including wood, tools, a table saw, afghans, stuff the kids wanted and things I thought were long gone to history, only to find that that they've spent the last 40 years in the rafters of that old garage in Allen Park.
The blessings of God, temporal or eternal!
Jesus now comes to the meat of his message. He tells His disciples:
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.
While needed somewhat, the stuff of life and especially of that garage in Allen Park will not bring the joys of eternal life. We say so often that we are to love our neighbor but here Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you … not an easy task. It’s not even easy to give the things we love to those we love let alone to those who hate us.
Ill.
I had an interesting talk with a lady at Lakeland Place two Sunday’s ago. Following the service I told the people that I would be up front if anyone wanted to come and have me pray with them. Gerry came up and told me of a lady at the residence who as she put it “Hates me.” She said she didn’t know why and had never even talked with her but when the lady would see her she would call her stupid, dumb and other names. Well, you can imagine it can hurt feelings. Gerry said to me and it hits right at the heart of what Jesus was preaching: “I pray for her all the time.” Now friends, that is true love for your enemies and praying for those who persecute you; for as Jesus says:
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?
For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Vs 45b)
God’s desire is to love those that hate Him and as sinners we are all condemned. We fall short and can never no matter how much we love are enemies can we merit God’s love … because His love for us is unconditional and that it come as a gift and through faith.
45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven … 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Perfect … not me and not you as we stand condemned in trespass and sin; but standing covered in baptismal grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit buried with Christ unto death and raised to newness of life … yes we are made perfect and acceptable by Him who loved us … by Him and in Him.
“And the perfection of the Christians consists in striving after those ideals which God has set before them in His holy will. Thus they are daily and continually renewed in knowledge, and in holiness and righteousness, after the image of Him that made and redeemed them, until the day of their final perfection will dawn in heaven.”
P.E. Kretzmann NT Vol. 1 Pg 31.
The blessings of God, temporal or eternal!
In life we at times have our lives invaded by those whose wrong number calls our attention to the brokenness of this sin filled world. May Christ’s love, in the lives and actions of His children fill this world, so that the temporal gifts of this life give way to the eternal blessings of his Kingdom.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
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