Matthew 5:38-48

New International Version

Eye for Eye

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 

³⁹ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 

⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 

⁴¹ If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 

⁴² Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Love for Enemies

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 

⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 

⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 

⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 

⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 

⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen

Dear congregation,

Baptism – wonderful! A new beginning! So much hope is associated with the birth of a child. We can hardly feel more beautiful and perfect than with such a small child in our arms.

It touches us. It triggers something. There is such a primal, unconditional love.

Whoever holds the child wants to protect it. 

May nothing ever happen to the child that hurts it.

That's what we want - and yet we know. No human being can provide such protection. We live in the world. As sheltered as possible and yet Alaska and our confirmands and young parishioners will also be confronted with evil in the world.

There are conflicts! No question about it.

And unfortunately: we do not live in an ideal world. We live in a world with great contradictions.

We cannot escape these contradictions.

Our task as parents is to encourage our children and strengthen their confidence that it is possible to live a good life despite the evil.

And our faith can play an important role in this.

Our faith is based on the experience that Jesus overcame evil. Unfortunately, it is not an easy path. Those who follow Jesus on this path will always fail in the world, according to human judgement.

Because we will not be able to banish evil from our lives with the greatest and deepest faith.

No, it is and remains in the world and it remains a challenge to constantly ask for strength not to be overwhelmed by it. It remains a constant plea to be blessed with love and patience and with a firm will to counter evil with good. If evil is indeed sometimes overcome, then that is a good reason for great praise and glory.

How a Christian can counter evil with good is illustrated by Matthew in his Gospel.

He tells stories about Jesus. He writes parables about the kingdom of God and he composes the Sermon on the Mount: a long speech that encourages peaceful behaviour in different situations.

Today this short text with specific requests.

What is striking when you look at these appeals is how quickly the contradiction arises and how much space the contradiction is given. ‘That's unrealistic!’ ‘That's naive!’ ‘That's not possible!’...

I understand that - but I think this is a way of talking about what is at stake. For me, the essential aim of these appeals is not to respond to violence with violence; to reduce poverty and to eliminate the hatred that arises from the idea of enmity.

It remains an invitation and a challenge for every Christian and every church to ask: what can I do about it! 

Yes, and it remains unrealistic and dangerous. Jesus' attitude cost him his life. But not to do so means being overwhelmed by evil. To give in to violence. To accept poverty.

As much as we suspect that we will not save the world, it remains our task to preach Jesus Christ as a peacemaker - as the Saviour of the world.

We have just celebrated this in our baptism! Our faith as a path to salvation from evil. 

On this path, we need companions - like Jesus. Even among his companions there were conflicts - just like in a congregation - and yet: despite all this, the promise that Jesus will accompany us on this journey until the end of the world still applies. 

Let us ask ourselves imaginatively: how can we make peace: whether by turning a cheek, handing over a coat, accompanying people and, above all, removing the word ‘enemy’ from our dictionaries.

Let's start afresh today! Let us take our baptism seriously.

As baptised children of God, we should be perfect like our Father in heaven: perfectly rooted in love!

May the peace of God, which is higher than our understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen