Matthew 5:38-48
38“You have heard that it has been said, ‘An eye for an
eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39But I tell you, do not resist
evil. If
they hit you on the right cheek, offer them the
other one. 40If they sue you and take your shirt, give them your coat too. 41If a
soldier makes you carry his gear one mile, carry
it two. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away the one
who wants to borrow.
43“You have heard that it has been said, ‘You will love
your friends and hate your enemies.’ 44But I say to you, love your
enemies. Pray
for those who persecute you. 45Then you will be the true children of your heavenly Father,
because he makes his sun to shine on the evil and on
the good, and he gives rain to both the
righteous and on the unrighteous.
46If you only love those who love you,
what reward have you earned? Don’t tax collectors do the same? 47If you
only give respect to people just like you, how
are you better than anyone else? The Gentiles do that much. 48Then you
will be perfect with your heavenly Father’s perfection.”
In the long history of the world, whenever the church, any church, has gotten control of the government, watch out! Ugly times are coming. Consider the Crusades. Consider The Inquisition.
Why?
Have you ever used a butter knife to unscrew a screw? Why isn't this a good idea? It works, doesn't it?
Because it's bad for the knife and it's bad for the screw. A butter knife was not designed to be used that way.
The right tool for the right job!
In United Methodism, we've seen many fine business managers become pastors of large churches and even bishops. I guess it's a good thing for an Annual Conference to have an excellent CEO, but THAT'S NOT THE BISHOP'S JOB! The bishop is supposed to be chief pastor for the Annual Conference.
The Church was never designed to rule. It was designed to serve.
I believe history shows that the Church does its best work when it is illegal to be a Christian.
Some of us trace the real decline of Christianity to the day the Roman Emperor Constantine made Christianity a legal religion, and ordered all of his soldiers to be baptized. (Is it just me, or does the commanded baptism of thousands of soldiers sound just a tad fishy?)
Part of our service is to remind the world of God's will, and to call to the world's attention how it is out of line. We should be constant gadflies.
When I see our Christian emblems displayed on courthouse squares and in government buildings, it seems to me either that the government has become totally christianized (Does anybody think this is so?) or that the Church has become the tame lapdog of the society. When any religion becomes acceptable to society, this kind of decadence always sets in.
By the 1850's, Methodism had become the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. We became the uptown church. And suddenly our pulpits stopped ringing with the message that we should live plainly and simply so that we could save as much money as possible to give to those in need. After all, a large chunk of our donations now was coming from the rich, who liked wearing finery and jewelry. Suddenly fine, comfortable buildings became a higher priority than feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. As Bishop Will Willimon said, his tongue firmly in his cheek, "Before you begin a big morals campaign, make sure you know where your people's money comes from."
Bishop Willimon has also observed that when we stop turning sinners into Christian disciples, we start sending delegations to Congress.
If we give ourselves fully to God, all we have and all we are belong to God. If anyone slaps my face, it's not my face he's slapped; it's God's. If anyone takes my possessions, it's not me he's robbed; it's God. And my prayer must be, "Oh, God, please have mercy on this one who is so wounded that he could do such a thing." My response must not be anger and revenge. It must be pity.
And that way, ultimately the only one who can hurt me is me! Anyone who tries to hurt me has actually done himself grievous damage. The only damage I can sustain is if I nurse those inevitable (for me) feelings of anger and revenge, until that poison takes root in my soul. When I can finally get myself to where I am asking God for occasions to serve the one who has hurt me, I find the anger burning in the pit of my stomach begins to cool.
And the prayer of forgiveness becomes, not an act of mercy and generosity, but the best thing I can do for myself. It frees me and it heals me.
The prayer to be of service becomes the most self-serving of prayers, because it is the thing that brings me fulfillment and joy. Then I am most like Jesus. Then I am most nearly what God created me to be.
