Yesterday, the lectionary was kind enough to provide us with the challenging text of Jesus commanding us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you. You can see the sermon here:
I began praying over this text at least a month ago. I can't think of a more terrifying scripture from which to preach at this time. My social media accounts are saturated with the current political issues of the day, often from news sources that mock the character and credibility of our president, that speculate about possible policies, that turn careless phrases into prejudicial slurs. By no means is this a statement about politics: I'm not sure when the last time I had a conversation about politics and social/cultural issues in our country that did not take a turn into a personal attack from one side to the other. In fact, I confess that sometimes I find myself hearing the political opinion of a person in a way that alters my personal opinion of that person.
"If that person supports that political candidate, they obviously hate women...or they don't care about my moral values...or they are oblivious to racism in our culture...or, wait, why do I even associate with them at all?"
As I began to pray over this text, I found myself inundated with opportunities to pray for my "enemies." Simply, I began to pray for those who annoyed me on any given day. On Facebook and Twitter, it wasn't hard to find people for whom I was suddenly compelled to pray. But God began to sneak this into a lot of areas of my life. I began to pray for the show-off woman next to me at yoga.
I began to pray for the people we Pittsburghers call "jag-offs" who fail to use the turn signals in their car.
I began to pray for completely unhelpful grocery store clerks.
And the more I began to pray for these simple things, the more opportunities to pray for more challenging situations presented themselves.
Friends wanted to talk some trash about what some other friends were wearing or who was responsible for so and so's relationship failure. I prayed for friends, both who wanted to talk smack and those whose lives were out of whack.
***
I watched a documentary about white supremacists who commit hate crimes in our country, and I was overwhelmed with outrage: how on earth do people justify that kind of baseless hatred in their lives? How can they live from day to day so miserable? So I prayed for them, and I prayed for those who are hurt by their hurtful thoughts and actions.
***
The list continues, but some of these stories are too personal to post. The more I began to gain an awareness of those who filled me with anger or frustration, the more I began to lift them over to God, the more I realized how many people this included. The more I realized that the very things that anger me about others are the same things that anger me about myself. The more I began to love, and care and consider my own self.
********
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19.18
I began my sermon with the story of Michael Donald, a young black man in Mobile, AL who was murdered by members of the Klan in 1981. His mama, Beulah Mae Donald, won a civil suit against the Klan that effectively bankrupted and liquidated the official Klan at that time. I have read countless articles this week and watched a documentary that accounts for her great faithfulness and strength. I am so incredibly inspired by Miss Beulah Mae. Most of us, thankfully, will not have to live through the horrible nightmare that Miss Beulah Mae lived through, but she gives us an example to strive for.
When someone does or says something particularly hurtful, when my enemy slaps my cheek or sues me, the love I am commanded to hold in my heart does not exempt that person from consequences. Loving my enemies doesn't mean that they get away with abuse and violence, but it does mean that their hurtful actions and thoughts have less power over me.
Far from being an expert at loving enemies, the preparation for this sermon has been a spiritual journey for me, and I hope that you'll join me in this challenging walk alongside Jesus.
For the full story of Michael Donald and Beulah Mae:
No comments:
Post a Comment