The Golden Rule, “Treat others as you would like them to treat You”, is good common sense. It is a way of living which can be embraced by anyone at any time. It brings many blessings to those who live it. Sadly, it is not universally held as a way of living. On the local, national, and international stage we don’t have to look very far to see the wounds of violence caused by those who think it is better to do unto others before they do it unto you!
Luke 26:27-38 is not common sense. The Golden Rule upholds a ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’ approach. But the Beloved Son of God teaches, ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you and keep on doing this to them no matter what they do to you!’
This teaching will thin the crowd of Jesus’ followers. Loving enemies just gives them the chance to hurt you even more. Doing good to those who hate us is co-dependency at best and masochism at worst. Giving to everyone means we will soon become beggars ourselves, where we will discover that most people don’t help beggars. And worst of all if you find a burglar in your home you invite them to take whatever else they want!!
Has the Beloved Son of God lost His way? Or has he seen with clear eyes the never-ending tyranny of violence and the never-ending truth about God? These cannot co-exist. He chooses the pathway of unconditional loving over the pathway of reprisal. He invites us to follow Him and learn to do the same. For the Beloved Son, it is our relationship with the Father which shapes our considered response to the world and whatever is happening. We are not controlled by circumstance. We are led by Grace.
Enemies, haters, and users want us to be like them. Their power and poison infect us quickly and make it look like we have only one response. But for Jesus this seduction to imitate the violent is met with firm resolve. Instead, he teaches us to stop the crazy endless hurting by stopping it in ourselves.
These are spiritual teachings of the highest order. They are offered to us, not so that we can agree or disagree with them. They are offered as a way of illuminating our own experience. If we use their light and look deeply enough, we will come to see that they are true. And if we practice what they teach they will make us odd.
One day, as Jesus was walking down the road with His disciples, some people started to throw stones at them, and cursed them. Jesus blessed them. And when his disciples asked why he blessed those who cursed him he said, ‘I can only give what I have in my purse.’ Violence can only end with graceful living. In every moment of conflict, we have a choice. Perhaps we also need to give ourselves the gift of time to enrich that choice with the right words and actions. To take time to see what is in our purse. To not mind being odd.
On the other hand, we find ourselves in a blossoming community of Grace. There are some famous people in this community, but my hunch is that most of them are ordinary disciples of the Kingdom, committed in loving service to God’s dream of a safer world.
