Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church
23rd of February 2025

Luke 6:27-38

This is going to be a short Reflection, because today we have the joy of baptizing Cassandra and Margaret, and in the very act of baptism the gospel, the good news of God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice, is proclaimed. But today’s reading from the Gospel according to Luke, the second part of the Sermon on the Plain, is astounding, and I do want to say a little about it.

Most of the world’s religions and a great many of its philosophies have a version of the ‘Golden Rule’, do as you would be done by. ‘We must treat others as we wish others to treat us’ is part of The Declaration of a Global Ethic from the Parliament of the World’s Religions which has been signed by leaders from faiths including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Neo-Pagan, Sikhism, Taoism, and Unitarian Universalist. A world in which people of every faith and of none treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves would undoubtedly be an improvement on the world as it is. But that is not what Jesus asks of us. Instead, Jesus tells his followers to treat others as they have not treated us: ‘If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.’

Why does Jesus tell us to behave in this profoundly counter-cultural way? Jesus gives his disciples two reasons for treating others as they do not treat us. The second looks like the Golden Rule: ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you.’ But Jesus’ version of the rule is not based on how human beings treat one another. The other party in this exchange is God. In this context, not judging or condemning, forgiving and giving, are like the alarming petition we make each time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. We should not ask for God’s mercy if we are not merciful.

The other, much more important, reason Jesus gives us for loving our enemies, doing good to those who hate us, blessing those who curse us, and praying for those who abuse us, is that in doing so we are imitating God. Jesus tells us, ‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.’ If we follow Jesus’ teaching, we will be imitating the God who is our Father and so we will truly be God’s children.

What would a life lived according to the Sermon on the Plain look like? It would look like Jesus’ life. Jesus not only preached this sermon, he lived it: walking the way of the cross; refusing to resist those who betrayed, tortured, and killed him; embracing death itself to show us all how much God loves us. It is Jesus who loves his enemies. It is Jesus who on the cross prayed, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’ In Jesus’ life and death, we see how much God loves us all, and Jesus calls us to imitate that love.

Today when we baptize Cassandra and Margaret, we are baptizing them into ‘the faith of Jesus Christ, so that whatever is his may be called’ theirs. Claimed by God, they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit so that they can live as witnesses to Christ and share his ministry in the world. We are calling them to live lives that look like Jesus’ life, just as every single one of us who was baptized before them was called to live lives that look like Jesus’ life. As they grow, Cassandra and Margaret will learn that they are the beloved children of God and that every other human being is also the beloved child of God. They will be called, as we have been called, to treat every human being, including ourselves, with the mercy, compassion, and love revealed in Jesus’ words and his life, because we are all God’s beloved children.

We do not, of course, expect that Cassandra and Margaret will live perfect lives, any more than we do ourselves. (I am assuming that no one here is going to claim that they are perfect.) Baptism does many things, but it does not turn human beings into angels. It does, though, call us to walk Jesus’ way, doing our absolute best to love as God loves. All the baptized are called to be of good courage, hold fast that which is good, render to no one evil for evil, strengthen the faint-hearted, support the weak, help the afflicted, and honour all people. As we seek to do that to the very best of our ability, we know that God will be with us, helping, inspiring, and encouraging us throughout the journey that is our life. Amen.