February 18, 2001

I would like to share with you some clippings from church newsletters. It is amazing what a little proof reading will provide. These come from a Rabbi friend of mine.

"Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Memorial Church in Racine. Come tonight and hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa."

"Ladies don't forget the rummage sale, it's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands."

"The sermon this morning is Jesus Walks on Water; the sermon tonight is
Searching for Jesus!"

"Potluck supper Sunday at 5 PM. Prayer and medication to follow"

Just a couple more............

"Low self-esteem support group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use back door."

And finally, one of my favorites.........

"Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM in the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double doors at the side entrance."

Now let's try these on for size:

Love your enemy. Do good to those who curse you.
Pray for those who hate you.
If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other cheek.
If anyone asks you for your coat, give them your shirt too.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Life is life by the choices we make. We have the choice to either love or hate; to do good or evil; to forgive and forget; to live or die. It's our choice. The life God intends for us, for all of humanity, is found not by traveling the road well traveled, but by traveling the road seldom trod by human foot. This life God intends for us is found by choosing a radical relationship with Jesus Christ, and it must be radical in order for us to transcend the hazards of being human.

Believed it or not, we can transcend our human nature and our negative emotions. We don't have to live in a dog-eat-dog world that's a rule of our existence. We can all have a miraculous relationship with Jesus Christ. Living with God's assurance through Christ is to love the unlovable, to give to the ungrateful and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

In our old testament lesson this morning, we hear the story of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph is favored by his father, and the older brothers say, "Dad always loves you the best." The brothers go out and fake Joseph's death, bringing back some bloodied clothes and telling their dad he is dead. In actuality, they have sold him into slavery in Egypt. Time passes. Famine comes to Israel, and these brothers are forced to go to Egypt and ask the king for food. Can you imagine the drama of the moment when they lift up their eyes and see their brother Joseph? Joseph looks upon them with the eyes of forgiveness and says, "You intended what you did to me as something that would create evil, but God and I have been able to bend it into something that is good. You meant it for harm, but God meant it for good."

You see the noblest revenge is to forgive your enemy, and it is perhaps the last lesson that Jesus wants us to learn from him. Joseph's response to his brothers is forgiveness which tells us, not only the fate of his brothers, but the kind of person Joseph was. Joseph is not defined by the sin of his brothers, as we are not defined by the sins and wrong doings of others upon us. Instead, Joseph and we, also, must recognize the hand of God in our life. We must understand that we can rise above our hopelessness from the pits of despair.

The old adage says that when life hands you a lemon, make lemonade. If someone has wronged you so horribly that you think you can't forgive them, do not despair — for that sin does not define who you are. God in his mercy can set you free to forgive them. God's mercy, believe it or not, can restore broken relationships. It is God's mercy that can restore relationships between siblings who have not talked in years. It is God's mercy that can restore those of us who have had bad business associates, leaving a bad taste in our mouths. It is God's mercy that can restore those of us who have had something against our neighbors or our spouses, or girlfriends or boyfriends that have done something so horrible — to love the unlovable; to give to the ungrateful. With God's mercy, we see this restoration between Joseph and his brothers and Joseph emerges from his suffering with a sense of meaning.

How would our lives change if we truly loved our neighbors? How different might the world be if we loved our neighbors as ourselves? Might they see Christ? As Christians, we model ourselves after the one who set the standard in his dealings with us. By treating the world around us as God has treated us, our lives are changed ever more by these blessings.

God gave us mercy and love long before we knew it. God treated us as friends, as family, before we recognized our place at God's table. Christ calls us to raise the bar today, to raise the bar of our daily living from that which proclaims, "do it to others before they do it to you." No! "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

There is a wonderful story about two monks who were walking down the street. These monks had taken a vow to never touch a woman. As they we walking along, there was this lady that needed to cross the street, but there was mud and muck and mire in her way. One of the monks picked her up, carried her across the street and, of course, put her down on the other side. As they continued walking together, one said to the other, "How could you touch a woman? We've taken vows to never touch women!" The other replied, "I put her down over a half hour ago, why are you still carrying her around?"

Love your enemy. Do good to those who curse you. Pray for those who hate you. If anyone strikes your cheek, offer them the other one. If anyone asks for your coat, give them your shirt too. Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. Give and it will be given to you — good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over for the measure you get back. For after all, that is what God has done for us — that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. AMEN

The Rev. Alfonso Murray
amurray@stmargarets.org
18 February 2001