Isaiah 6:1-8; Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11
Jesus is speaking to his
disciples. For 'his disciples' read 'us'. For 'us' read 'me'. Jesus is speaking
to me, his disciple.
He speaks fifteen sentences.
[The kids here will know how to count a sentence. You count the full stops and
also the question marks and exclamation marks.] Fifteen sentences.
And in these fifteen
sentences, no, actually, in only eight of these sentences Jesus gives seventeen
imperatives – seventeen commands. Let me read them to you.
- love your enemies
- do good to those who hate you
- bless those who curse you
- pray for those who treat you badly
- present the other cheek
- do not refuse your tunic
- give to everyone who asks
- do not ask for your property back
- treat others as you would like them to treat you
- love your enemies
- do good
- lend without any hope of return
- be compassionate
- do not judge
- do not condemn
- grant pardon
- give...
These are not just things
Jesus asks us to do - these are things Jesus asks us to become.
- Become a person who loves his enemies.
- Become a person who is generous.
- Become a person who doesn't judge others.
- Become a person who is forgiving.
You see, that is the big
mistake the Pharisees made. They thought God wanted them just to do certain good
things. Big, big mistake. God wanted them to become good.
To become good is a lot
harder than to do good.
The Pharisees said, 'We fast
and we give tithes and we keep all the laws.'
Jesus said, 'But you are
still rotten inside. Like beautifully painted graves. Magnificent on the
outside but rotten on the inside.'
The battle between good and
evil is not fought with swords but with hearts. A man or a woman who is good in
their hearts is the fiercest weapon against evil.
And why does God want us to
be like him? Well, it's because we shall have a great reward.
Now I don't know about you
but I love rewards. And what is the reward? You
will be sons of the most High. Wow! Imagine being the son or daughter of
God! Nothing would be able to touch us. Even if they put us to death we would
be safe – we would go straight to the Father's Kingdom and live with him for
all eternity in utter, sublime happiness.
So how does loving our
enemies and doing good to them make us like God? Because he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be compassionate – as your
Father is compassionate.
If we can withhold judgment
from others we shall become like God and he will withhold judgment from us. If
we refuse to condemn others we ourselves will not be condemned. If we forgive
those who hurt us God will forgive us. If we give to others God will give to
us.
And what can we expect if we
refuse the wonderful, extraordinary, mind boggling invitation to become like
God?
At
the end of time, when we stand before him, he look closely at us and say,
Depart from me into the everlasting fire. I do not know you. I don't recognise
you. You are not one of my children. Go!
