The Golden Rule

On this All Saints’ Sunday, and what happens to be the Sunday before our national election,
our text is a portion of the Sermon on the Plain from the gospel of Luke.
Along with the Sermon on the Mount in the gospel of Matthew,
Jesus’ words to the first century Galileans still stands at the very top of all public discourses
ever delivered in human history in terms of its power and poignancy.
Note the context and geography of this passage.
In Luke’s gospel, we find this striking sermon just after Jesus has chosen the 12, and not long before he sends the 12 to proclaim the kingdom of God.
Jesus intentionally gathers these 12 along with a large crowd from all over Palestine “on a level place”.
On this level plain, where all stood on equal footing before him,
he outlines to all who would hear a new way of living in the world,
a radically different way of seeing and acting in relation to one’s neighbors.

Hear the Word of God from Luke 6:17-31.

He came down with them and stood on a level place,
with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem,
and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases;
and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.
And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you
on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,
for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
“Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.
“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
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.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

How we hear this challenging sermon from Jesus depends greatly upon our station in life.
Most of those who first heard these words of Jesus were rural villagers, living close to the earth.
These Galileans were dependent upon fresh fish to be caught daily by Peter and others
from the sea of Galilee.
They were dependent upon the rain to fall so that they would have dates and olives
to pick from the trees of Palestine.
They were dependent upon the health of their goats,
praying that they would give milk and meat enough to strengthen their children.
The crowd that gathered to hear Jesus that day was not rich in terms of world economics.
They were not relatively well-to-do North Americans.
They were not, for the most part, those who were laughing or those who were full.
They had no position or power. They were not allowed to vote or run for office.
They lived under the thumb of the Roman government.
They had known oppression and abuse for generations
and they were looking for a Messiah to save them from their distress.

What Jesus offered them was instructions about living in their current circumstances
by a very different set of rules, the rules of the kingdom of heaven.
Specifically, this passage we have read ends with the “Golden Rule”, hopefully familiar to all of you.
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
This seems to be such a simple ideal and yet, in our daily lives and in the history of the world,
so difficult to attain.

Much of the world lives with the ethic of the Silver Rule.
Socrates of the Greeks, Confucius of the East, and Philo, the great Jew of Alexandria
all spoke of “not doing unto others what you do not want them to do unto you.”
This is the Silver Rule, not the Golden Rule.
The Silver Rule says, “you don’t hurt me and I won’t hurt you.”
But the Golden Rule is very different.
The Golden Rule is proactive – Do unto others, cross that line, go beyond what is required or expected.
Act with graciousness toward another, even when they do not deserve it,
and especially if they are an enemy of some kind.

To live by the Golden Rule requires that one has received grace from God.
Only the one who has been loved, who has been forgiven, who knows and understands grace,
is, by the grace of God, able to extend that grace to those most difficult to love.

Elizabeth Gilbert, in her book “Eat, Pray, Love,” offered a quote from Saint Anthony.
Saint Anthony “said, in his solitude, he sometimes encountered devils who looked like angels,
and other times he found angels who looked like devils.
When asked how he could tell the difference, the saint said that you can only tell which is which
by the way you feel after the creature has left your company.”

Today is All Saints’ Sunday, the day we remember before God those church members
who have died in the past year. As I review that list in the bulletin,
I am reminded of how these wonderful folks made us feel after they had left our presence.
Consider the three “Anne’s” listed in your bulletin – Anne McKinley, Anne Jackson, and Ann Fossett.
Remember how they could make you feel good just by being in their presence?

In the Presbyterian Church, saints are not some elite group of the super spiritual or religious.
Saints are all those who hear the Word of God and seek to live by it.
How appropriate that our friend, Ronnie Roe, saint and sinner all mixed up together like the rest of us,
died on Tuesday, All Saints’ Day. We held a Memorial service here yesterday Ronnie.
Ronnie had many friends, friends of all ages and stations in life.
Ronnie was quick to form a bond with another human being,
whether they wore a tie or a t-shirt, drove a truck or managed a bank.
Ronnie was one of those who made you feel good after you had spent time with him.

Ronnie’s daughter told me the other day about a special project that Ronnie enjoyed
when she was growing up. Ronnie would take the church bus from Harvest Hills Baptist
to a home for disabled children, load all up the kids, all the wheelchairs and walkers,
bring them to Sunday school where he would teach them the stories of Jesus,
and encourage his congregation to include them fully in worship and community.
This is just one of the reasons why so many people loved Ronnie Roe – because Ronnie Roe loved people,
all kinds of people – the poor and disabled, the rich and interesting, the children as well as the elderly.

Luke’s Gospel makes it clear that on the level plain of the kingdom of God,
there will be no hierarchies according to position or place or family or wealth or physical ability.
Everyone will stand equally before the righteous judge.
Luke also makes it clear that spiritual matters, matters of the heart and soul, matters of the church,
will always be intimately connected with matters of economics and inclusion.

We have witnessed lately more evidence than usual of the subtle racism still abundant in our nation.
We are aware of evidence all around us of latent economic hierarchies,
played out in poorly funded public schools on one side of town
and highly secured communities on the other side.
We have had to admit to ourselves that we are a violent culture, both by our words and by our deeds.
We are competitive culture and a stratified culture.
We are quick to label people and put them in boxes.
We are quick to draw lines in the sand between ourselves and the other party.
We are quick to label who is “inside” our group and who is “outside.”
We are quick to make fun of the one who is different or distressed.

Jesus taught us to live by a different set of rules.
In the kingdom of God, all of us stand together on a level plain before God, the righteous judge.
Any hierarchies according to righteousness or economic status or position or power,
or family background or education or physical strength or gender or race or wealth,
are leveled, knocked down, in the light of the Almighty Creator, who is judge and savior of all.
This is good news to rural Galileans and to all who are oppressed.
This news can be somewhat disturbing to those who have positions of power or influence.

Jesus taught his followers, most of whom lived at the bottom of the totem pole,
not to reciprocate, not to retaliate, and he also taught them not to play the victim.
When Jesus said, turn the other cheek, he was advocating non-violent opposition.
In first century Palestine, one’s left hand was held for personal care,
and one’s right hand for interaction with others.
For a “greater” person to strike a “lesser” person, they would do so with the back of the hand.
If I were to strike you with the back of my right hand, and then you were to turn the other cheek,
then I would be forced to strike you with my open hand,
which would signal that I would then be treating you as an equal.
These subtleties in the text are not to be missed.

Jesus taught his followers, many of whom had been victims of terrible mistreatment and oppression,
that they were not to live as victims.
Their lives were not to be shaped or determined by those who abused them.
Rather, they were to take the initiative, not by responding in kind or complaining,
but to act according to a different set of rules, the principles of the kingdom of heaven.
Love and forgiveness, grace and generosity, non-violent opposition,
would ultimately lead to a far different place than reciprocity or revenge,
and one day would even crumble the hierarchical power of the Roman empire.

Jesus teaches us to act with favor towards people whose behavior and lifestyle do not merit such favor.
He teaches us to act toward others with the same graciousness that we have received from him.
He teaches us to be kind to the ungrateful and generous to the selfish,
just as he has been kind and generous to us.
He still teaches us to love our enemies and seek their good, even when they seek to do us harm.

Sadly, many cannot seem to live with such graciousness, but operate with a “scarcity mentality”,
from a position of spiritual weakness and fear.
Those who are weak and afraid hate their enemies and want to do evil to them.
Those who are weak and afraid, if they lend, do so reluctantly,
and then make sure they get everything back with plenty of interest.
Those who operate from fear and weakness quickly judge others –
the way they look, the way they dress, the way they talk, where they are from.
They quickly condemn – mostly because they have been quick to condemn themselves.
Those who are weak and afraid cannot forgive and tend to hold onto grudges and even retaliate,
in order to get back at the other.
Those who are spiritually weak and afraid do not give very much. They hold tight to what they have.
They operate out of that “scarcity mentality”, that “there is not enough to go around,
and I had better get what I can while I can.”
This reactive position, reacting to the whims of others, and not according to God’s will,
belies the “scarcity mentality,” the kind of eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth mentality
that will leave the whole world blind and toothless.

Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr. and other brave souls
understood the power in Jesus’ teaching of operating from a position of spiritual strength.
When one lives in a position of spiritual strength,
then one truly can “love” even an enemy and do good to those who abuse them.
A spiritually strong person can lend to those in need expecting nothing in return.
When one is operating from a position of strength, one can forgive, even when forgiveness is undeserved.
Operating from a position of strength, one is able to give freely,
anticipating that in some way, in God’s own time, some benefit may or may not return.
To live by the Golden Rule and operate in a proactive manner according to God’s will,
is to live according to an “abundance mentality”,
trusting that there will be enough to go around.
There will be enough love, enough grace, enough mercy, even enough economic resources for all.
Living by this “abundance mentality” will not leave the world blind and toothless,
but ultimately will bring down unjust hierarchies and change the world for good.

How then shall we live?
With the grace of abundance or the fear of scarcity?
By the proactive Golden Rule or by the reactive Silver Rule?
I invite you to come to this Table today, all you who know yourselves to be both saint and sinner,
in order to receive and experience God’s abundance.
At this Table, there is an abundance of grace and forgiveness,
an abundance of spiritual strength to be received so that we may learn to live by a different set of rules.
The primary rule in coming kingdom of God is that still, more excellent rule,
the rule of undeserved and unconditional love,
love shared freely and fully on a level plain with all of God’s children.

To God be the glory as we seek to live according to that rule. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Todd Speed
Decatur Presbyterian Church
Decatur, Georgia
November 6, 2016