"In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor."
Following a night spent in prayer, Jesus and his newly minted apostles set out on the road to begin their new ministry mission. They head to the coastlands near Tyre and Sidon. And Jesus was healing the people of their diseases and filling them with spiritual food. And Jesus gives them some proverbial and inspirational advice about life in Christ. And frankly some of that advice is almost impossible to take.
"Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!"
He's telling us that it's a blessing to be trolled, and cast out, doxxed you might say, when contrary people come at you with grief about your faith choices and your walk with Jesus. And he thinks we should jump for joy at this. I can hear him now, "trust me, it's a good thing!"
"Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets."
Well maybe not, but surely, we're following him and trying our level best to know the Father's will and understand his mysterious ways. We've come this far because we believe Jesus is the Son of Man who has the words of truth. We believe he is filled with the Holy Spirit, and we believe he is the Messiah. If that makes you a prophet or apostle, then whatever. Speaking for myself, I can say emphatically that I am not trying to be anything other than a follower of Jesus Christ. You can call me that and I won't resist the tag. In fact, I'll say it of myself.
So, it does sting quite a bit when others come along and disparage my name, my opinions, my faith convictions, and my assurance in Him. When they say things like, "we'll pray for your eternal soul", I recoil, and I admit I have lost my self-control from time to time. But I'm maturing even at my old age. Maybe not like fine wine but more like sour milk. I just need to be churned and skimmed some more. Maybe there's some cream in there somewhere. Maybe Christ can make cheese curds from it.
At any rate, Jesus tells those of us who struggle in this area of self-control...
"But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you."
In the Kairos prison ministry that I'm a part of we do this thing that we call "prayer and share". It's a weekly gathering of the residents (inmates) who have graduated our Kairos program and who are now taking part in what we call the ongoing ministry. So, it's a couple of hours once a week, in which we get together, and we share a word from God, maybe a public testimony of faith to encourage the community of believers, and then we settle into small groups of about six men per group to have a tight knit conversation about our walk in Christ. I suppose it's a little like group therapy. We open up the gathering with prayer and then we all respectfully listen to each other as we try to answer questions about our walk. I mention this because there's one question in particular that is always a challenge for these men on the inside.
Most of the questions are difficult but not impossible in some way or another. Like can you share something that you've studied or heard that inspired you in the last week that you think might help your brothers here? That's not terribly difficult. Most of these men have nothing but time on their hands, and many of them spend quite a bit of that time studying in God's word and other things related to that subject. So, it's not difficult except for those there who aren't well read, aren't well studied, maybe aren't even very well educated. And that's the point of this verbal exposition, it's to help the brothers to understand things. I suppose if it's true that we are prophets in a way when we fellowship together in this way. We are sharing a word from God and we are encouraging one another with that word.
To me this is church. This is the way it's supposed to be not a bunch of warring sects of hateful debate back-and-forth. When I'm in those prayer and share groups, or on one of our larger weekends, we have people of all kinds, from all backgrounds and faith traditions. Some with no faith at all. Some who are Muslim or pagans, which can be interesting. Some who are just gang members looking to get away from the gang for an hour or two. But we come together as a community of believers, or something similar to one another. And so, we discuss these things to maybe arrive at the truth that God wants us to arrive at. Together. In something akin to unity. This is what we call church. This is what Jesus did as he was giving this sermon about the be-attitudes and don't-attitudes. There's no liturgy except that we must be willing to listen to one another. There's not even a sacrament. There are just people coming together in the name of Jesus Christ. Fellowshipping together. Studying together. Praying together. This is the worship that God seeks in Spirit and truth.
But then there's the question that is always extremely difficult for these men. It goes something like this, is there a time you can share when you were able to show the love of Jesus Christ to someone else in this past week. You've never heard such a silence after that question is read. You can see how uncomfortable everyone is. No one ever wants to ask this question. And it's funny because I guess that's why I'm always the only one who is willingly asking it. I'm willing to broach the subject knowing it's difficult to answer.
Out here in "the free world", we wouldn't find it very difficult. We'd probably share some decent thing we saw or did and move on. But with these guys on the inside, it's an impossible question to answer. You just don't show the love of Christ on the inside outside the confines of these religious programs. You might be taking your life in your own hands if you did.
I asked this question one time, and I got a surprisingly perfect answer, in my opinion. That day the group I sat with had two very young men joining us. They had just graduated the most recent weekend, and I knew them because we shared a family table. I was their table leader, and I sponsored a friend of theirs from the same pod. I got to know them fairly well. They were maybe in their early twenties and were in for life sentences. They were gang members and not really Christian very much, very often not. But they came and they participated. And that's all we ask of them. The pod they were on is an especially dangerous place. The worst of the worst were there. And violence was rampant there.
So, I asked my question, and no one was answering. But I noticed one young man was thinking about something. Finally he opens up and says, "Mr. Mike you're crazy". He meant it in a good way. "Out there you don't show weakness, and showing Christ's love is weakness to them". So then he sets up an example for me about a "celly" (your cell mate) who is crazy and always messing around in your things. How are you going to turn the other cheek with a crazy man like that? And to make matters worse, if he chooses to give the guy some slack, others will see that as weakness and THEY'LL beat him down for that, maybe kill him for not killing his celly.
So, then the young man looks at me and says,
"I can answer your question Mr. Mike, I can show you Christ's love by NOT killing you."
The rest of the group were giving him a hard time about this statement, but I stopped them and said, "let's follow this to its logical conclusion."
"In order to show me the love of Christ, you must give your own life."
Then I looked around at the group, yes, I did that for effect. And I said,
"that's the greatest answer."
One of them had their Bible with them so I asked him to turn to John 15:3. And he did and I asked him to read it.
This is Jesus' speaking about the GREATEST love:
"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
I went on to say, I don't think they should run right out there and give their life recklessly asking to be a martyr for Christ's sake. But I want them to see that being a follower of Christ does come with a cost. And might come at a great cost. Especially inside there. Do your best to find peace with the crazy celly. Do your best to keep the peace with the gang and help them to understand about the sacrifices you're committing yourself to in Christ's name. If you don't fear the task, if you're not ashamed to take on that responsibility in Christ's name, I believe the Father will honor that and give you peace. You may have to face a trial by fire, but I believe he'll bring you through it. I've seen others who have managed it in there. It can be done when it's done in Christ's name for his glory.
So we can't just lean into not doing negative things. Like not acting ungodly. We must be doing positive things. Good works that the Spirit has led you into. He may have put that crazy celly in your path for just this reason. If we only do good to those who do good to us, what have we really done?
"And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them."
Give to them what you would have them give to you. The golden rule.
"If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them."
"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."
This is being Christ-like. If you sow sparingly, you're going to reap sparingly. That's a spiritual principle that every Christian needs to take to heart. You get what you give. You're forgiven what you forgive. You're going to receive the love you gave.
"Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you."
It's a spiritual law. It's our mission and it's the answer to that Kairos question about sharing the love of Christ. This whole sermon is about being Christ-like. People are forever searching for works, and spiritual twerks. They want doctrine and traditions. They seek after patterns and programs. Well...here it is. Christ-likeness in a nutshell. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Mostly we're fighting among each other about points of style. About form and function. About your truth verses my truth. About this church verses that church. Tribal factions fighting over the scraps of pagan superstitions and priestly orders. When we should be about being Christ-like, not like others who came before us, but like HIM.
Here's what Jesus had to say about that:
He also told them a parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye."
There is so much bad in the best of us and so much good in the worst of us, it's impossible for any of us to assume that we're truly right or wrong about any of it. That young man, that gang member, serving a life sentence for God only knows what evils he did, that young man, at least now he gets Christ. He understands Christ's spirit of the greatest love a disciple can give. Will he do it? God only knows. And that's the point. It's between him and God. Its for him to do. No one can do it for him.
We're not here to clean up others acts, we come to share the good news. Does endlessly arguing and debating with others and saying things like, "I'll pray for your eternal soul", saying it like a curse. Like Jonah cursed the Ninevites. That's not sincerely and genuinely from the love of Christ, but it is from the depths of the heart. And all manner of evil comes from the heart.
"The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."
Jesus finished this thought with this parable about building his church on this rock-solid truth he's been sharing about being Christ-like.
"Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."
That rock, that foundation, on which Jesus is building his church, is that truth about being Christ-like. This foundation is being a servant for Christ who comes as a servant for us. Jesus is talking about obeying his word. And he says, "Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?"
Instead, we pick and choose what obedience we're on board with. We see his word as a kind of menu. Like we're ordering dinner. We're treating his word as if it's something akin to our emotions and experiences. We're building up foundations upon our own fickled selves. We tag these things with, "glory glory hallelujah", we say votively, "Lord Lord" but it's shallow and vain.
And the storm tests it. The prison pod comes to beat us down because we've been making a lot of noise and it's time to sacrifice for our Lord. And we had better hope that we dug our foundation deep and built it upon the solid rock of sincere genuine faith. Because shallow baseless faith ain't gonna cut it when the beat down comes.
Jesus wants us to change from our human condition. We might say to him that we can't. But he says, "do it any way". "Trust me and do it". Stop trying to do it your way with your own strength by your own means. Just obey him and trust him.
1 When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.
Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
2 Not a burden we bear,
not a sorrow we share,
but our toil he doth richly repay;
not a grief or a loss,
not a frown or a cross,
but is blest if we trust and obey.
[Refrain]
3 But we never can prove
the delights of his love
until all on the altar we lay;
for the favor he shows,
for the joy he bestows,
are for them who will trust and obey.
[Refrain]
4 Then in fellowship sweet
we will sit at his feet,
or we'll walk by his side in the way;
what he says we will do,
where he sends we will go;
never fear, only trust and obey.
[Refrain]
United Methodist Hymnal, 1989