-- { Matthew 5:43-48 }  ⁴³‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” ⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters,* what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.   -- NRSV

Dear Friend, grace and peace be unto you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ.  Amen.

This sermon series on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is about learning who we are, as children of God and followers of Jesus. In knowing who we are, we are enabled by God's grace to make godly decisions and know what to do to live God's Kingdom now.

No subject is more important than this one - our relationships with one another. God is creating a Forever Family. We will live together for eternity. We need to get used to each other. We need to develop in our love for one another, world -wide. We must learn how to not let anything get in the way of that love - even very bad things. God wants us to start living His Kingdom now.

The Law

The law of God is stated in Leviticus 19:18, "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." Jesus clarifies this law which had been misunderstood by the Jewish people. Israel made too serious mistakes in interpreting this law.

1. The people interpreted "neighbor" to mean only the people of their own community, religion or nation. They cut off everyone else - all non-Jews. You and I can make the same mistake in the Church.

2. The people believed they were to hate their enemies. They didn't understand God's love for everyone even though some would do some very evil things. You and I also have a very hard time with this.

Jesus says to you and me that "neighbor" does not mean one who lives near us, but anyone we come in contact with.

The real meaning: you are to love

The perfection to which we are called is "love." John says, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16) 

We are to follow His example if we wish to live His Kingdom now. The "agape" love Jesus is using here is a working love - it does something - it is practical in acting. Jesus gives us four very practical loving acts we are to follow.

1. We are to love our enemies. You are to love everyone, even your enemies. Every human being is a creation of God and you and I need to remember that. Again, this does not mean you love or like what they did or condone it in any way. Justice may still be required for their actions but we love them just the same. The movie, "Dead Man Walking" is a good example. The old saying applies, "Love the sinner, hate the sin."

- Loving our enemies is against our human nature. You don't like or want to do that. Your natural reaction is to strike back, hate and hurt. We need to know that the root of our human reaction is not of God.

- Loving your enemies is a merciful and compassionate act. It is the ultimate standard of perfection Jesus calls you and me too. 

2. We are to bless those who curse us. To bless means a person must act by speaking. Jesus is saying to speak softly with mercy and compassion, not anger or threats. Use kind words, be courteous, and even behind another person's back, lift up the person's strengths.

3. We are to do good to those who hate us. Doing good goes beyond words. Doing is the true act of loving. Search for ways to do good to the person who has hurt you. Maybe it will come at a time when the person is sick, had an accident or is near death. It is then that you might be able to go and minister the love of God to the person.

4. We are to pray for those who hurt us. Pray for at least these three things:

- For God to forgive the one who hurt you.

- For peace between you and them.

- For the salvation of God for the one who hurt you.

Prayer is your very best weapon against you becoming bitter and hostile toward the one who hurt you. God will bring healing to both of you.

The incentive: you are a child of God

The love Jesus uses here is agape love and needs to be our motivation in our relationships. Agape love is a caring, acting and doing for another without the expectation of a reward.

1. Your loving makes you a child of God. As a follower of Jesus you cannot hate another person no matter how terrible the things they have done. Your love does not condone the wrong done, indeed hates it, but introduces forgiveness for those who committed it.

2. Your loving makes you like God. God loves His enemies. Jesus says so. He doesn't like what they may be doing but again they are still His creation and He loves them. We can't understand this but it is the case. It is what the Cross is all about. Humankind, you and I, still "do not know what we are doing" as Jesus said from the Cross. God is always hopeful for the most wayward sinner.

3. Your loving makes you distinctive from other people. You and I are called to be "in the world but not of it." In other words, we are called to live God's Kingdom now and do more than others, by bringing God's love to reality. We are to love beyond our friends. Everyone loves their friends. Loving your enemies is difficult.

If you love and care for only those who love you, think of how that divides the world. Someone has to reach out to the others, even enemies, to bring about peace. Jesus calls for all people to be reached: the bitter, the cold-hearted, the withdrawn, the angry, the murderer, the attacker, the thief, the enemy, etc.

It is your task and mine to go beyond what the world will naturally do. As we know the true love of God we will. Someone has said that agape love is the power to love those whom we do not like and who may not like us.

The charge: you are to be perfect

Wouldn't you be disappointed with God if He didn't have a perfect standard for you? We know that we are sinners and will never in this life attain the perfection of His love but that doesn't mean that we wouldn't like too.

"Perfect" (teleios) means having attained the end or purpose. A thing is perfect if it fully realizes the purpose for which it was designed. You and I were designed to live the image of God. That is our purpose. You are perfect when you live out God's Kingdom now - demonstrate that you are of God's image - love.

Jesus' point is that as maturing followers of His, we will begin living God's Kingdom now by doing good and showing kindness to every person - both good and bad. Could God expect anything else from His followers? God's final Heavenly Kingdom will be a place where His love reigns supreme in all His children. 

Jesus challenges you and me to be like our God. He wants us to start this loving now. He wants to help us do that. Think about it again. As a follower of Jesus…

- you have your enemies, yet you are to love them.

- you have those who curse you, yet you are to bless them.

- you have those who hate you, yet you are to do good to them.

- you have those who abuse you, yet you are to pray for them.

- you have those who persecute you, yet you are to pray for them.

You and I will never gain perfection in this life, that is why we still need forgiveness. But that does not negate God's standard for His Kingdom. We will live that standard some day. He wants us too seriously desire to live it now and with the help of His Spirit, we might be surprised what He can do. 

Let our prayer be that of the writer to the Hebrews, "(God) strengthen (complete, perfect) and make us what we ought to be, and equip us with everything good that we may carry out Your will; (while You Yourself) work in us and accomplish that which is pleasing in Your sight, through Jesus Christ, the Messiah; to Whom be the glory forever and ever - to the ages of the ages. Amen - so be it." (Hebrews 13:21)

In Jesus Name,