The Worldview of a Merciful Atmosphere
Jesus is calling us to realise that WE ARE ALL BREATHING THE MERCY OF GOD EVERY MOMENT OF EVERYDAY.
This whole world is built on mercy. Read Psalms 136:3-9, 23-26; 145:8-9, 14-17.
As we look to, worship, adore, admire, love, praise, delight in, trust, and obey this gloriously good God we are graciously changed into his glorious likeness by his Spirit over time, to be completed in eternity.
God’s Enemy-Love to Each and All of Us
Replacing Jesus' command to us to love our enemies with the realisation that God has already done this toward us, we simply admire and rejoice in God’s profound goodness. Soaking in this knowledge can't help but change you over time.
GOD/JESUS
| Loves | His enemies |
| Does good to | Those who hate him |
| Blesses | Those who curse him |
| Prays for | Those who abuse him |
| Gives to | Those who take from him |
We have to realise we are the recipients of this divine, gracious enemy-love. We are the hating, cursing, abusive takers that God has loved and done good to and blessed and prayed for and given to without demanding back. We must see all this supremely expressed in the person and work of Jesus, whom Luke is portraying at length for us.
Romans 5:6-11 (a sneak preview of the gospel that comes out of the whole story of Jesus – life, death, resurrection, ascension, Pentecost, parousia). (See also 1 John 4:7-21.)
‘This is the nature of the Great Benefactor: he gives even to those who, by their ingratitude and wickedness, portray themselves as his enemies… just as God is active graciously and creatively to bring redemption—so should his children be merciful.’ (Green, 274-75)
6:37-38
Forgiving and Giving Instead of Judging and Condemning
From this place of mercy we find there is no need for us to pass judgment on others.
‘Just as the merciful God does not predetermine who will or will not be the recipients of his kindness, so Jesus’ followers must refuse to “judge”—that is, to prejudge, to predetermine who might be the recipients of their graciousness. This is nothing but the command to love one’s enemies restated negatively.’ (Green, 275)
Judgment has been removed from us by God’s grace and mercy and we pass it on to others. We reflect his forgiveness and generosity in all our relationships.
(If we don’t, we should heed Jesus’ warnings of woe that we’re in danger! Maybe our salvation’s not so real!)
Judgmental vs. Generous
‘We should be discerning about the presence of sin but not judgmental in dealing with it. To be judgmental is to rejoice in pointing out sin and to refuse to reach out to the sinner to restore him or her to spiritual health. Rather than leaving the sinner to wallow in sin and the pain of moral failure, we should encourage the sinner to find the right path.’ (Bock, 127)
People should find it easy to repent and be restored from sin among the church. We should be the people known as the haven for sinners. Not the place that makes sinners feel totally alien (‘oh the last place I could go is to the church’ as too many have said!).
Indeed, I think part of this not judging and condemning (as we’ll see in the parable of the next section) is being able to say, ‘hey, I’ve often sinned far worse than you have here. I know how you feel. Here’s how God graciously restored me. Can I help you get back on your feet?’
Are we as the church known rather (tragically!) as judgmental, condemning, and unforgiving?
Generosity to Enemies
And this attitude of accepting, reconciliatory love is even for our enemies, the enemies of Christ:
‘It is no accident that Jesus’ words against judgmentalism come right after the call to be merciful as God is. An unwillingness to be judgmental is almost a requirement for those who face persecution. Without it, lines of battle would become hardened and the ability to love the enemy would be destroyed. God is interested not in polemics but in offering the hope of restored relationships to the lost.’ (Bock, 127)
Sympathy for the Sinners – Like Jesus Has!
Again, we are being called to be like God, like Jesus: Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:15-16. We should sympathise with sinners the way our High Priest sympathises with us and helps us with mercy and grace in our times of need.
'11:37-54 shows that being merciful does not mean suspending moral judgment and responsibility. But we are not to hold judgment against the person in such a way that ministry and reconciliation become impossible. Disciples are to bear good news, not hold grudges.’ (Bock, 127)
Jesus above all can use righteously excoriating words like this because his entire life and ministry have been so soaked in and overflowing with lavish mercy and grace toward all those round him.
When our lives are characterised by the same divine mercy, then any severe and realistic words we may have to say about sin will sound authentic and prophetic, not shrill and condemning.
Remember that Jesus is actually warning these people to repent and be reconciled to God. (And he’s especially dealing harshly with all those who are not living in God’s mercy and getting in the way of the repentance of sinners.)
Remember that some religious leaders, like the Sadducee Joseph of Arimethea, did come to follow Christ eventually and were accepted by him. A very notable Pharisee also turned to Christ and was received with lavish forgiveness and never got over the unspeakable grace on his life!
Paul, the ‘chief of sinners’ – 1 Timothy 1:12-17 (1 Cor. 15:9-10)
An Atmosphere of an Abundant Overflow of Divine Generosity
Jesus seems to saying something of an obverse to his saying that if you live by the sword, you will die by the sword. If you give with an open, generous hand, you will be given to with an open, generous hand.
‘It will be given to you’… by who? The picture is of other people doing this for you, but, ultimately, who else could promise and guarantee this generosity in a world of shifting fortunes? Only God.
Again, this generous way of mercy and self-giving love is one that requires us to wholly trust to God’s gracious and full provision for our lives. Jesus is asking us again to trust that we are breathing an atmosphere of divine generosity.
‘v 38b borrows imagery from the marketplace to show the extravagant generosity of God, now compared to a merchant who is neither stingy nor fair to himself but excessively fills the measuring vessel.’ (Green, 275)
‘Jesus illustrates the last point with the everyday example of measuring out grain for purchase. The seller would take a measuring container and pour the grain in it. After getting it about three-quarters full, he would shake it to level out the grain so more could be put in. The goal was to get as much in the measure as possible. In the same way God promises to give grace abundantly to those who are gracious.’ (Bock, 126)
We are again being called to theistic realism here. (Not ‘Moralistic Therapeutic Deism’!)
We Cannot Out-Give the Giver of Life
We can never, ever out-give God.
This is a very deep, profound thought: it is theological and inspires worship and awe.
As always, Jesus is showing us what God is like. God is generous at the core of his Trinitarian being.
The three Persons of the Trinity live to give. Their whole divine life is wrapped up in giving themselves away to one another in self-sacrificial love.
The Creator creates the whole of creation out of this unspeakable generosity.
The Redeemer comes to us and redeems us out of this same eternal overflow of gift-giving bounty. (We’ve seen this generosity in all Jesus’ actions in Luke so far!)
Read Ephesians 2:1-10.
When God calls us to imitate him as his dearly loved children (Eph. 5:1-2) in this way, he is simply asking us to do a little, finite, fallen mimic of his unfathomable divine goodness. He is calling us to take a little comedic stab at being like him in his glorious love.
He assures us our provision in this life will be ample and our reward in the next life will be incomprehensibly vast.
It is only from this trusting perspective that we can give ourselves away in service of God’s kingdom here and now. (Read 2 Cor. 8:9; 9:6-15.)
Are We Who Hear Being Called to Do This, Right Now, in Our Time and Place?
What does this mean for us as a church? How will this look for us?
If we are taking Jesus’ call to discipleship seriously, we have to be asking ourselves these questions and imagining their answers and experimenting concretely in our daily lives.
In Closing
Let’s take a few moments to jot down the names of those who are our enemies in any way (those who hate, curse, abuse, hurt, and take from us—be it personal, family, work, society, culture, ethnicity, nationality, religion, etc.).
Then, let’s pray for them that God will be merciful to them and bless and save them.
Then let’s plan how we might bless them ourselves by doing good to them in some way and giving them something they need.
Works Cited:
Darrell Bock, Luke
Joel Green, The Gospel of Luke
Tom Wright, Luke for Everyone
0 comments:
Post a Comment