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“The Golden Rule Love”
February 23, 2025 Cobleskill United Methodist Church
Pastor Anna Blinn Cole
Luke 6:27-38
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany
Luke 6:27-38
27 ‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 ‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37 ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’
It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve preached. I had this sudden moment of awareness yesterday. A moment of clarity where it dawned on me what a sacred privilege it is to speak before you each week.
One of the reasons we open this book (the Bible) on Sunday mornings is because we believe that inside we will find our footing. We believe we will find wisdom for how to live. Wisdom that helps to steady us when other parts of our life are shaking.
And one of the reasons why so many stories in this book are devoted to the man named Jesus, God’s son, is because he was an extraordinary teacher. If we come directly to him with our question: “how do we live in a world that is shaking” he often has an answer for us.
The problem is, it’s usually really hard advice.
This week is no different. In our Gospel of Luke reading, Jesus is in the midst of giving a long teaching about how to live. But the challenging thing is instead of taking his teaching like a list of instructions that mesh well with the world as we know it, Jesus’ teachings take the world as we know it and flip it on its head.
This week the teaching is specifically about how to live in a world where there are people who disagree with you. Good timing, God.
What we’d like to find is that God gives us a list of ways to punish our enemies. Ways to fire our enemies and make it look “righteous.” Ways to strategically get back at our enemies so they know how much smarter we are. Ways to undermine our enemies so they look like fools. Come on God, give us ammunition to use against our enemies. Don’t you want us to be victorious, after all?
The short answer is yes, God wants us to succeed in life, but at what cost? Is treating our enemies badly okay if it helps us get ahead?
What do you think?
Why? Because we were all taught the Golden Rule. Which goes like this: Do unto others as you would …. Have them do unto you.
In fact, it comes right out of our scripture lesson today, verse 31. It was a very common maxim across the ancient world and it’s been used in all the years since by every parent that walked the face of the earth, including this one. We try to instill good habits in our children, in our scouts, in our campers, in our churches with this shorthand: Treat others as you would want to be treated. Be nice! Be fair! Imagine how you would feel if someone did [whatever bad thing you're doing] to you.
The Golden Rule a helpful way to put our own actions into context, especially as kids just learning the difference between right and wrong. It’s easy to teach because it just makes sense. I will treat you good so that you’ll treat me good in return. It’s fair. It makes sense. It’s practical advice.
The problem for us, though, is that this easy-to-understand, fair way of living life that we’ve now labeled The Golden Rule isn’t Jesus’ point.
Doing good things just so you’ll get good things in return… that’s easy, Jesus says. So easy, even lousy human beings can do that. No, Jesus says. We shouldn’t be good people because we expect people around us to be good in return. We should be good, decent people because it’s the right thing to do, not because we get anything in return.
And this turns the world as we know it upside down. Because we live in a relentlessly return-oriented society. We’re always asking “what will I get in exchange for what I give?” What’s the best return on the investment. I’ll help you, if you’ll help me. If we are kind and show respect, it’s because that’s what we expect in return, whether we say it out loud or not.
But Jesus tells us that this isn’t actually goodness at all. This kind of transactional kindness cheapens the very idea of goodness. When we help someone expecting something in return, that’s not kindness. That’s selfishness.
Jesus gives us the Golden Rule but Jesus also complicates the Golden Rule. How we really make the world a better place is by loving each other not with a cheap transactional love, but with love that is like an investment. Love with no strings attached or expectation in return.
In fact, Jesus reminds us, this is the very definition of mercy. Love whether it’s deserved or not.
Mercy has gotten a lot of attention lately. Mostly because it’s in short supply.
A preacher recently got chastised because she boldly asked the government to be merciful. How dare she! What was she thinking? Why should the government show mercy? Why should the government take care of people when it’s not profitable? What would be in it for us?
Nothing. Because mercy, is not good business. Mercy upsets the apple cart. Mercy turns logical expectations on their head. It says we’re not in this for our own gain. We’re in this because it’s the right thing to do, not the profitable thing to do. We’re in this because of God’s love. And God’s love says treat others as you would want to be treated and then treat them that way even you get nothing in return. Be merciful, Jesus says. Not because it’s good business, but because it's the right thing to do.
For governments. For communities. For scout troops. For churches. For camps. For individuals. For everyone.
The only way the world gets better is when we replace hate with love. Not a cheap tit for tat love, I’ll love you if you love me. A love that requires nothing in return. A love that’s genuine and unconditional.
I’ll be honest and say this is hard stuff. The stakes feel really high, especially right now. If we love our enemies does that mean we give in? Is our love a doormat for their hate?
So let me say this: Don’t confuse loving our enemies with acquiescence. True love doesn’t tolerate hate, it works to end hate. It works to end hate for the sake of those that are victims of that hate, but also for the sake of those who do the hating. True love speaks the truth in love. It demonstrates mercy by calling the powerful to have mercy. It says: I care about you and all of this so much that I’m asking you to also care. True love holds the enemy accountable for their actions by demonstrating right in front of them what self-less love can look like. It models what it takes to change the world. It flips the script from being one always centered around yourself to one that suddenly considers other people and how they may be feeling not because it benefits you but because it benefits other people, too.
Every Sunday I try to find a visual for the week’s message to put on the front cover of the bulletin. Loving your enemies is a large concept to visualize.
To break it down, I thought about the “enemies” we have on a smaller scale. Like the teams we play against in sports. I wondered, what would it look like to love the other team? Would it mean letting them win the game? No. But it could mean speaking up when they have a good play. It could mean encouraging them to play their best. It could mean saying “good game” after it’s over and actually meaning it.
So I looked for some sort of visual that would express a desire to genuinely care for the other team. And you know what? I couldn’t find anything. I actually had to ask the computer to create the image you see on the front of your bulletin because nothing like that actually exists in real life.
This told me what I already knew: we live in a world that is wired into having opposing teams. Me vs. You. The good and the bad. From sports to politics to religion. We have been taught that having an enemy will make us stronger.
Don’t buy into it, though. It’s not difference that divides us, it’s hate for each other’s difference. If it’s truly Christian that we want to be, we’ll take the wisdom from Jesus in this book seriously.
Let your love stand in the face of hate. Let it flip the script. Let it change the world. It’s the only thing that will.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Anna
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