“A Different Operating System"   2014

Romans 12:17-21                Matthew 5:38-48

 Romans 12:17-21

Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

Matthew 5:38-48

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so 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. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 

I’ve used Windows-based computers ever since they were introduced,

            and have learned how to do almost anything I want on one.     

    But last week I was trying to find and move some files on an Apple,

            and I couldn’t figure out how to get the computer to do it.

 

Later I asked a very knowledgeable  Apple computer techy about it,

            and she said that you can’t do it like that on an Apple…

                        … it has a different operating system,

                               and its method of handling files doesn’t work that way,

      - as she explained, “it has a whole different operating system.”

 

The kingdom of heaven,

            the reign of God that Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount

                        or as the Apostle Paul instructs in the book of Romans

                                    is a whole different operating system  than the world.

 

            God’s kingdom has a whole different set of goals and values,

                        and ways of working through life’s issues and concerns…

 

… and that difference    is especially clear and pronouncedà

            in dealing with conflict, disagreements and getting revenge.

 

I found out something very new to me on the Internet this week,

            when in about a second, my computer identified more than

                        203 million websites  focused on getting revenge.

Did you know companies are selling retribution & payback services?

      Charging fees  “to take decisive action against a person or group

               in response to a grievance, real or perceived…”

 

I was shocked by all that I saw …  by the harsh methods and cruelty

    offered against ex-girlfriends, spouses, bosses, neighbors…

                           … nasty letters, anonymous email and text messages,

                                    horrible and humiliating stuff sent by mail,

    and other websites for sharing stories and ideas for retribution.

**                Revenge is apparently a growing new business opportunity.

 

I suppose we all have a natural revenge/retribution-inclination,

            a need or desire to strike back at those who harm or hurt us

               as a rebalancing against those who wrong us or offend us.

 

It’s an ancient principle called,

            'lex talionus', or 'the law of the tooth'

                        "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, life for a life."

            In the ancient world,  its purpose was to restrict revenge

                        by limiting retaliation to actual damages and losses…

                        …no more than an eye for an eye,  only a tooth for a tooth.

 

            But in this Matthew 5 passage of the Sermon on the Mount,

                        Jesus commands his disciples to a higher principle,

                                    to a different operating system of:

                'turning the other cheek', 'going the extra mile' and ‘do not resist’.

 

This is how Jesus would have us respond

            to those who wrong us, who harm us or take advantage of us,

                       calling us to show love   even toward those who do us evil;

 

            àand probably nothing goes more against our human nature,

                    than to give up our right to revenge and bitter resentment.

 

But what is Jesus calling us to do instead?         vs. 39-41

            if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also

                        if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well;       

                                    and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.

 

    These verses are not new rules or commandments,

            but are examples from the context of the culture of Palestine.

           

For instance, in that honor/shame based society,

            slapping the right cheek was an insult of status and power.

 

It was something a master might do to a slave, servant or underling

    to assert their superiority and authority over them;

                             and presenting the other cheek with dignity, put à

                                    the shame of violence and abuse back on the master.

 

Also, peasants didn’t sue, only a person of wealth could sue,

            and only someone very poor offered their cloak as collateral.

                            So handing over all of his clothes   put the shame

                                on the wealthy man   to explain his debtor’s nakedness.

 

Roman soldiers didn’t demand rich people carry their pack a mile,

            but it was a way of shaming the poor and degrading them,

                and by law, they could require no more than a mile of service.

For the poor,                    

               it cost hours of wages, his pay for labor  to feed his family,

                        which was a significant hardship to a working peasant.

 

   So, imagine the scene of a solder demanding his pack  back

            as the peasant began walking that second mile …

                        … which put shame back on the soldier                                         

                                    for the injustice of being forced to go even one mile.

 

These are non-violent responses  to abusive power and injustice.

            Jesus wasn't laying down specific rules for every situation;

                        but rather,

                                    establishing guiding principles for kingdom-living.

            vs. 39              "Do not resist an evil doer" (on their own terms)

The Greek word for “resist”, means, 'to make a stand forcefully';

                        it is to be inflexible, to make a big deal of something,                                            inferring an aggressive confrontational move…

            Jesus was saying, “don’t resist the evil  with more violence.”

 

This does not mean we should ignore a wrong or harm done to us,

            nor does it deny that it hurts when someone has injured us,

                            but means that we don’t deal with evil on its own terms…

                                    … so we don’t become the abuser  and evil we oppose.

 

By God’s grace, we are called to live uniquely Christian lives,

     that bear witness to the truth, grace and promises of God;

                           by letting Christ’ light shine in and through us,

                                    as those who are   constrained by God’s gracious love.

 

When we receive Jesus Christ into our lives,

            when God's love and grace defines and changes our lives.

             It’s a whole new operating system, different than this world.

 

Because we have freely received God's grace and blessings,

            and know that we are loved and sustained by our God;

                                    we possess an awareness of God's abiding presence,

                                                that permeates and pervades all areas of life…

                        … as foretaste and preparation for God’s eternal kingdom.

 

Knowing that God, is entirely trustworthy, steadfast and faithful,

        we are fully secure in the certainly of God's love and promises,

                           and so as those of faith   we can and will forgo and submit

                                    our right to hate, retaliate or to strike back,

                                                in the interest of faith and obedience to God.

    As a Christian we know   there is more,

        we know there is much more than just this short mortal lifetime.

 

As followers of Christ,  we are called

     to let God love, by allowing God to love others,   through us;

                                    and so,   we become faithful vessels of God's grace

                                   when we refuse to react with anger and bitterness.

 

Jesus explains, we are called to a more difficult way; vs. 44, 46-47

            But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

 

     It is never an appropriate or Christ-like response

            to attack with bitterness and hate,  or to seek revenge.

We are commanded to love our enemies, a different operating system.

                       

Similarly, in Romans 12 Paul writes, vs. 17

            Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.  If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

 

We are not to strike back in kind, evil for evil.

            But literally, 'provide what is   the moral good   in the sight of all'

                    Live in a manner that contributes to the well-being of all.

 

   As Christians, we know and trust that God has our future,

            that God’s good and grace will overcome the evil of this world…

                            …  as Paul instructs us,    vs. 21

                                                Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

We no longer have to conform to the operating systems of this world;

            but rather,             more and more, as day by day walking with God

                    we are being transformed toward kingdom living with Jesus.

 

     Our new reality is centered and anchored by God's loving mercy

            and that defines who we are, what we should do, and our future.      

It isn’t trying harder to be nicer, it’s connecting closer to Jesus

 

I think that the world still watches Christians and the Church

            hoping to see evidence that maybe the Gospel is true,

                                    hoping that maybe the love and grace of God

                                                actually can transform people into family,

                                                            into a caring community of faith and grace…

 

                        … that we actually do respond and live by God's love

                                    that we do actually reflect a grace-orientation

                                        as a people through whom God  does love the world.

 

In that way, God's love, mercy, blessings and grace

            all confront and challenge all of our choices and decisions,

                 especially the way we live out our faith  in relationships.

 

This is a very basic and simple theology,

            no matter what anyone has done to you, or said to you,  -

                 you are uniquely, individually & specifically loved by God.

God, who knows you entirely, all there is to know about you,

          God who knows every deed, word, and thought you've ever had,

             and is absolutely committed and irrevocably in love with you…

                                                           

… and we can be

        so secure in our faith and certainly of God's love and promises,

                                    that we will forgo our right to hatred & retaliation.

 

What Jesus asks of us, is that when we are wronged and mistreated,

            that we restrain our human inclination to get even,

                        and instead reflect the unconditional love of God;

                                        thereby not feeding into an endless cycle of anger

                                                and not escalate into a spiral of hostility.

 

As followers of Christ,

            we are called to allow   God to love other people through us,

                        to forgo to exert our right to revenge and retaliation --

 

            --- so that by our faithful obedience,

                            God expresses his unconditional love for them

                               as we become living vessels of God's loving grace.

 

And by refusing to react with anger, bitterness or in revenge,

            we allow   God to open up the possibility for reconciliation

                        through our faithful obedience of mercy and forbearance.

 

            Several years ago, a woman wrote about a remarkable lesson her family experienced. During one of their family Bible readings as new Christians, they ran across the verse, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him" (Romans 12:20).

 

            Their sons, 7 and 10 at the time, were especially puzzled. “Why should you feed your enemy?” they wondered. My husband and I wondered too, but the only answer we could think of to give the boys was, "We’re supposed to because God says so."

 

            Day after day John came home from school complaining about a classmate who sat behind him in 5th grade. "Bob keeps jabbing me when the teacher isn’t looking. One of these days, when we’re out on the playground, I’m going to jab him back.

 

            I was ready to go down to the school and jab Bob myself. Obviously the boy was a brat. Besides, why wasn’t his teacher doing a better job with her kids? I’d better give her an oral jab, too, at the same time!"

 

            I was still fuming over this injustice to John when his 7 year old brother spoke up: "Maybe he should feed his enemy." The 3 of us were startled.

 

            None of us was sure about this "enemy" business. It didn’t seem that an enemy would be in the 5th grade. An enemy was someone who was way off... well, somewhere.

 

            We all looked at my husband. Since he was the head of the family, it seemed only right that he should come up with the solution. But the only answer he could offer was the same one he had gave before: "I guess we should because God said so."

 

            "Well," I asked John, "do you know what Bob likes to eat? If you’re going to feed him, you may as well get something he likes." "Jelly beans," he almost shouted, "Bob just loves jelly beans." So the family prayed about John’s enemy and about the jelly beans.

 

            Then, they went out and bought a bag of jelly beans for him to take to school the next day, and decided that the next time Bob jabbed him, John was simply to turn around and deposit the bag on his "enemy’s" desk. We would see whether or not this enemy feeding worked.

 

            The next afternoon, the boys rushed home from the school bus and John called ahead, "It worked, Mom! It worked." I wanted the details: "What did Bob do? What did he say?"

 

            "He was so surprised he didn’t say anything - he just took the jelly beans. But he didn’t jab me the rest of the day!"  In time, John and Bob became the best of friends - all because of a little bag of jelly beans. It seems "enemies" are always hungry. Maybe that’s why God said to feed them.

 

As Christians, our purpose for living

            is to receive God's love, and to share it with others,

                        even with the ones who harm us and hurt us,

                                    for even evildoers are loved by our Father in Heaven.

 

This is the hard stuff of the gospel.

 

            It goes against every fiber of our being that seeks to get even,

                        and our need to show that we are in the right,

            and there is nothing more difficult or demanding

                   than for us to let God love our enemies, through us.

 

Yet we are called to turn the other cheek,  to go the extra mile,

            and to carry the baggage for undeserving evildoers,

                        for that is how we demonstrate the power of God’s grace,

                             a wonderfully different operating system…

    …that asks:

              “how can I handle disagreements, disputes and conflict

                   in a different, more faithful and Christ-like way?”