Our confirmation class this year is going really well. We have a group of six, bright youth who are going through this process. This is their chance to hear and discuss what it means to be a member in the church and serve the way that Christ has called us to serve. Today, we will be talking about our Presbytery meeting, which we attended yesterday. We will talk about why Presbyterians do the things that we do. They will also be sharing their experiences of attending another worship service at a church different than John Knox which was one of their assignments.

As they move closer toward Easter, they will be making the decision to join the church. This decision is not one to be taken lightly which I think they all realize. The decision of becoming a member of the church is making the commitment to serve as one of Christ’s disciples which is not always so easy.

Today, Jesus has gathered with his disciples. He is giving them instructions for the journey of ministry which lies ahead of them. It has not been that long ago in which they answered the call from Jesus, when he said follow me. So, Jesus has taken them up a mountain to have some instructional time. This is actually part of the Sermon on the Mount. He wants to layout the ground rules for what he expects of them as his disciples.

Jesus doesn’t sugar coat this in any way. This is what Jesus says to them and this is the translation taken from the Message which is a more contemporary version of the story.

‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

 “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

Not exactly a walk in the park is it! I wonder if any of them were regretting putting down their fishermen’s nets and saying that they would follow this person. No wonder Jesus took them up to a mountain he probably wanted to keep an eye on them so no one could slip away. Is he crazy? This totally goes against all we know in society. If someone knocks me down, I would definitely want to hit them right back! If someone wants to sue me and take my coat, I would be furious! Then Jesus says, “Love my enemy!” Are you kidding me Jesus? How can I do this?

This may be one of the hardest passages to follow when it comes to following Christ. What does it look like to turn the other cheek when someone strikes you down? Perhaps some of you saw the movie “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”. It is a true story about an African American, who serves in the White House as a butler during 8 presidencies. To me, the hero in the movie is the butler’s son. He is the one that steps out of the box. He grows up in the midst of the civil rights movement and he becomes a freedom rider. There are some very moving scenes where he is on a bus that is stopped by the Klu Klux Klan. They are forced to get off the bus and they fear for their life. Then there is a scene where a group of them enter a restaurant that was for “whites only”. They are spit upon, soup is dumped on them and they are beaten. But they don’t fight back! The only way that they retaliate is by being present. That is what makes the difference and this is what Jesus is telling his disciples.

When Jesus pushes the boundaries, it is difficult to know how to balance this and not become the doormat. If someone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Boundaries are something that I have been working on for the last year and a half. Many of you may remember the woman named Gloria that I used to help. What first started out as a couple of trips a week to take her to the gym so that she could get some exercise and time to socialize turned into much more. As her driver for doctor’s appointments, grocery shopping and errands became ill; I was expected by her to pick-up this as well.

It became difficult for me to help her. It was affecting my job and my family. It took me a long time but I finally came to the realization that I had to totally let go as it was not healthy for her or me. She needed to take responsibility for her situation and seek the social services that could help her. I needed to be a better disciple. It was difficult to let go because I loved her as a friend. But, I believe the key here in this passage is love and sometimes it has to be tough love. When I ended it, we parted without harsh words. We were able to hug each other, to affirm that we had good memories of our time together and to part with wishing each other a good life. This I believe was a “growing in my faith” time.

This serving God with balance and maturity is not easy. The root of this passage is imitating God’s love. Isn’t that what being children of God is all about? How do we experience God’s love and giving? What does that feel like? For a new Christian, that maybe difficult to experience since God is not physically there and they can’t see it.

Over the last month, many Presbyterians have been stunned by the news of David McDonald’s accident and death. Yesterday at the Presbytery meeting, we celebrated his life. I have been blown away of how Carol, his wife, has been so open in sharing and grateful to all who have supported her through this tragedy. She has shared that being able to share this journey both openly and on Facebook has been very helpful. No one would blame her for being bitter and angry. To have a loving caring husband one minute and then a week later, he is gone. I THINK I WOULD BE FURIOUS, but not Carol! This is what mature faith looks like in someone. Carol knows God loves her and she knows God loves David. She has been able to experience God’s love and giving by receiving the love and support from so many people throughout our denomination.

Jesus tells his disciples today to love all people. It is easy to love the ones that love us. But the challenge is to love our enemies. How do we find it in ourselves to love the ones that cause us pain and would be so much easier to hate?

Last week, I had a conversation with a dear woman who had been sexually molested as a child by her mother’s boyfriend. This went on for years. When she finally went to her mother and told her what was going on, her mother sided with the boyfriend. This is horrible and I would think she would want nothing to do with her mother. But as an adult, she has been working with a counselor to work through forgiving and ultimately loving her mother. I am amazed that she is still striving to have a loving relationship with her mother and for her adult children as well.

How do you recognize God’s love? How do you share that love with others especially when it comes to our enemies? As Beth Moore from the Loving Well conference says, “God pours God’s perfect love into our imperfect heart.” It is our God of unconditional love who calls us to love but also give us the ability to do it. That is our identity as children of God.

Then we come to the last verse of this passage, “Be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect”. How can we be perfect?

Thank goodness for the term “practicing our faith” because we practice until we get perfect the faith we are called to live. We take it one step at a time and keep at it. Just like a musician sits down to play a new piece of music, they can’t play it perfect right away. But they keep practicing at it. They keep working at getting the notes and the timing right. Then, they are ready to play and share it with others. The great harmony and melody is experienced by those present.

May the practicing of our faith take us to new heights as we strive to be perfect disciples of Jesus Christ! Thanks be to God for our Savior who pushes us to love in all ways. Ame