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Today is the third Sunday of a sermon series I’m sharing on the Sermon on the Mount that

we’re calling “The Original Self-Help Book.” In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus shared a vision for

the world—it’s a vision for the Kingdom of God. I believe this vision is realized in heaven and that

God wants the church to live into this heavenly vision here on earth.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus talked about the idea of self. His vision for self is far

different than what you and I hear from the wider world about self. We won’t find this

understanding of self in a self-help book that we could purchase at Barnes & Noble or

Amazon.com. This vision of self won’t help us win friends or influence people.

Instead this vision of self will help create the Kingdom of God in the world.

Each week we’re sharing a self-help book in the bulletin. I would encourage you to get out

this week’s version of the self-help book. In this self-help book you’ll find daily Bible and

devotional readings that relate to the sermon. I haven’t received many comments from people lately

about this devotion. If you use this devotion, would you send me an E-mail this week and let me

know if the devotion is helping you. You’ll also find a place for self-help ideas. I believe you

might hear an idea in this sermon that you’ll want to write down. Later in the sermon I’m going to

share some specific ways to pray for people who push our buttons. I’ll encourage you to write that

down. On the next page you’ll find prayer request. Here is next week’s chapter. On the back are

the chapters for the entire series. You can watch previous installments of this series by going to our

web site. I also post the video of the sermon on my Facebook page during the week.

Next week I’m going to look at hypocrisy and how to resist it. This is an excellent day to

invite a friend to worship as many people outside the church don’t get connected because of the

belief that the church is full of hypocrites.

Today’s sermon title is “Are you kidding me? Loving Our enemies.”
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The ten verses that Heather read from the Sermon on the Mount have had an extraordinary

impact on our world. Let me a couple ways this has happened. First in a comparatively small way

let me share how these verses made an impact on me. I grew up at Westminster Presbyterian

Church in Worthington, Minnesota. I’ve shared before stories of that church being very unfriendly

to children. I went to worship every Sunday—mostly against my will; I stayed for the entire

worship service—definitely against my will. I never really comprehended the sermon because it

was over my head, but every so often I would understand the Scripture readings. In listening to the

Bible readings I became interested in Jesus. I remember hearing stories like this part of the Sermon

on the Mount that we hear today or stories like the Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan. In

listening to those stories I came to understand that Jesus was very different type of person. I really

didn’t have much of a developed faith as a child. But hearing Jesus say things like “if anyone

strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; or “love your enemies and pray for those who

persecute you—that made me think. Jesus was very different, and I found that fascinating. Even

my childhood mind could grasp that there was something special about Jesus.

To all parents and grandparents, if we want our kids or grandkids to grow in faith consider

reading them Bible stories of Jesus during the week and then talking about the story.

That’s a small example of how these verses made an impact. A bigger example. These ten

verses from the Sermon on the Mount influenced Mahatma Gandhi as he developed his philosophy

of non-violent resistance. His teaching of responding in love to an aggressor came from the ten

verses we heard today. People see the movie Gandhi? I still remember scenes from the movie

Gandhi where native residents of India would walk up to British soldiers and be clubbed by the

soldiers. The people who were injured didn’t respond in retaliation; instead they responded in love.

They were trying to reach the heart of the aggressor. This part of the Sermon on the Mount formed

the foundation of their philosophy.

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Martin Luther King Jr. often said that the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount

helped inspire the social action of the civil rights movement. King Jr. confronted the evil system of

segregation. But instead of responding to evil with violence, he taught his followers to resist in

love. By acting in love they aimed to touch the heart of the oppressor. When black protestors were

beaten they didn’t retaliate. They were living out these teachings of Jesus in the Sermon. Martin

Luther King Jr. and his followers touched the conscience of America. It’s amazing that our country

was able to overthrow the system of segregation without another civil war. We as a country voided

Civil War dedicated their lives to living out the Sermon on the Mount.

What were these teachings that so inspired people.

SLIDE 2
You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do
not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if
anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go
one mile, go also the second mile. (Matthew 5:38-41)

Last week I taught you about the antithesis form. Jesus shared six teachings in this antithesis

format. Today we heard the fifth and sixth teaching.

You might ask, what is the antithesis format?

SLIDE 3
1) You have hear that it was said—Jesus would refer to an ancient law
2) But I say to you—Jesus applied the teaching and made it harder. Sometimes he applied the
teaching to our heart
3) Sometimes Jesus gave examples of how to live out his teaching.

Let’s use this antithesis format to look at what Jesus said. The ancient law was ‘An eye for an eye
and a tooth for a tooth.’

The actual law can be found in Exodus 21:22-24, Leviticus 24:18-21, and Deuteronomy 19:21.

These ancient laws were known as the talion formula or the principle of reciprocity. The Latin term

is lex talionis. The idea was if someone committed a crime the punishment for the perpetrator

would equal the pain caused to the victim. If someone committed murder the punishment for the
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murderer was death. Over time the formula was changed so that the victim could demand the value

of their loss. If a perpetrator gouged out someone’s eye the perpetrator would have to pay the value

of the eye. Lex talionis.

SLIDE 4

Jesus said something vastly different. Instead of seeking reciprocity he said do not resist an

evildoer. This might be one of the most radical teachings that Jesus shared in his entire ministry.

Jesus was saying, “no more an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth.” He was saying don’t resist at all.

He gave five examples to his 1st century followers of how to live this out.

If someone strikes you on the right cheek—turn the other cheek

If someone wants to sue you—give the person not only your outer coat, but your inner cloak. Give
the person your clothes
If someone forces you to go one mile—walk two. Often the Romans would force people to walk
one mile. This practice was hated by the people.
Give to everyone who begs from you and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

This was quite a radical change. Much different from the past.

The question for us is how does this teaching have application for our lives? You and me

living in the north Metro in 2011.

I think this teaching does apply. We have to understand the principle that Jesus was

communicating. I think he was teaching his followers the idea of de-escalation. If someone starts a

cycle of violence, then don’t continue it. Instead step outside the pattern of violence.

Let me share a few illustrations. Whenever I officiate at a marriage I require couples to get

together with me for four sessions of pre-marital counseling. One of the topics I always talk about

is conflict management. Fights among couples are inevitable. What couples want to avoid is the

type of knock-down, drag out fights where each party wakes up in the morning and feels like

they’ve been hit by a two-by-four. Relationships can only stand so many of these type of fights
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before someone is going to want check out or leave. If your partner screams at you, don’t scream

back. If a partner makes a snide comment, don’t make a snide comment back. De-escalate.

If couples can learn how to de-escalate these types of terrible fights can be avoided.

I don’t counsel couples to avoid conflict. I do tell them to find the right time to work

through conflict. The best time to work through conflict is not when one party is screaming at

another. The best time to work through conflicts is when both parties are calm, rested, and willing

to listen.

There’s something strategic about what Jesus was teaching. Martin Luther King and Ghandi

understood the strategy of Jesus. By responding with love it’s as if we’re holding up a mirror to the

perpetrator so the person can see what they are doing. In responding in love and kindness we’re

aiming to reach the person’s heart so the perpetrator can see the error of their ways. Martin Luther

King also said non-violent resistance exposed the evil of segregation. When we step out of the

cycle of violence and respond in love we are exposing the violence of our perpetrator.

Let me be clear. I’m not saying that wives should stay in an abusive relationship and be

beaten by their husbands; or that children should tolerate being beaten by their parents. What I am

saying is don’t escalate the violence.

There are all sorts of other ways we can apply this teaching. If someone sends us a nasty E-

mail at work, our natural response is to send a nasty E-mail back; if someone gossips about us, what

is our natural response—gossip back. If we’re driving down the road and someone cuts us off, what

is our natural reaction—drive ahead and cut them off or tail-gate the person.

This is what our culture teaches us. Our culture is much more interested in escalation. The

media has made an industry of sharing people’s moral outrage. Pay attention to all the stories of the

moral outrage of someone being hurt. Most of the time their pain is legitimate. If someone’s been

hurt it’s as if the whole world needs to know about it.

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Think about how the Internet has made it easy to express our outrage. A simple example.

This past Thursday night there was a big, high school basketball game in Rochester. It was

Plainview versus Rochester Lourdes. I was interested in the game because I served the Presbyterian

church in Plainview. Plainview has been waiting for this basketball season for years. They were

rated #1 in the state in class 2A for the entire year. The only game they lost was to Osseo—a class

4A team. Plainview was expecting to win the state championship.

Lourdes pulled a shocker and won the game—in overtime. Yesterday I sat down to read

about the game on the web site of the Rochester Post-Bulletin. I was surprised to see 72 comments

about the article. What happened is a fan from Lourdes made a comment about something that the

Plainview team did; then a Plainview fan had to make a snide remark about a Lourdes fan.

Plainview fans complaining about the refs and the behavior of the Lourdes fans and the Lourdes

coach. Lourdes fans defending themselves and complaining about the behavior of the Plainview

fans. One comment would lead to an escalating comment by the other side. This is a sad part of the

Internet. We can hide behind anonymity and escalate disagreements.

I have no problems with people expressing their opinions. In fact one mantra we live by at

Chain of Lakes is to speak the truth in love. This mantra is part of our explanation of healthy

disagreement. What we miss often is the love part. We speak the truth—and it might even be the

truth. But we miss speaking it in love.

Jesus said there is a better way—de-escalation. My Grandma had another way to express

what Jesus was teaching. If someone hurts you, kill them with kindness.

I want to challenge all of us to live by the principle of de-escalation during Lent.. If

someone sends you a nasty E-mail—don’t hit reply. If your spouse yells at you—don’t yell back.

If someone is aggressive with us—don’t be aggressive back.

Jesus went on.

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You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

Again Jesus was using the antithesis formula. The idea of loving your neighbor comes from

Leviticus 19. It’s the second part of the Great Commandment of loving your neighbor as you love

yourself.

Jesus took this teaching a step farther. He said “love your enemies and pray for those who

persecute you.

I don’t know how many of us have experienced persecution. I haven’t. Let me paraphrase

this verse in a way that many of us could understand. How about praying for people who push our

buttons? The second challenge I have for us is to pray this week for someone who pushes our

buttons. I’m going to share a two-step way to do this. First, let me ask—can we each think of a

person who pushes our buttons? Can we all agree to pray for this person each day this week.

The key to praying for someone who pushes our buttons is to see the person’s humanity.

When we lose sight of the fact that the other person is a child of God, we can easily resort to

violence, or hatred or the methods that Jesus argued against in the Sermon on the Mount.

How do we see their humanity?

First step is to imagine the person has a young child. Think of how the person looked when

he or she was three years old. Imagine that this three year old is coming over to us and sitting on

our knee. Imagine this three year old doing something that makes us laugh. Imagine going for a

walk with this three year old—playing a game with the person. Imagine.

Second step is to look at the person as God looks at the person. God loves this person very

much. Jesus said himself that God sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous; God sends the

sun to rise on the evil and on the good. Even if we see this person as unrighteous God still sends

rain to refresh the person; even if we see the person as evil God still sends the sun to shine on the

person. God created the earth for this person to enjoy. Jesus died on the cross to release this person
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of the sins the person has committed. God wants to be in a deep and powerful relationship with this

person. Spend some time imagining the person as God imagined the person.

Third step is imagine the person becoming who God wants that person to be. Imagine that

person laughing—with a full expression on their face of joy and happiness. Imagine that person

doing an activity that the person loves. Imagine a complete radiance coming out of the person.

Imagine this person as complete as God’s child…

I want to challenge all of us to pray this week in this way for someone who pushes our

buttons. Can we all do this?

I need to say one more thing about this passage before I close up. It’s about the last verse.

Jesus said,

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

The Greek word for perfect is teleios. Another way to translate it is whole or complete. The

problem with the word perfect is it’s impossible for us as humans to be perfect.

The quest for perfection is dangerous. Because perfection is impossible it can lead us to

having a hard time in accepting our own imperfections; it can lead us to have a high degree of

expectations for others that are inconsistent with Jesus’ charge to love others. The desire for

perfection can lead us to be very hard on each other.

I share with the staff at Chain of Lakes all the time that I am not a perfectionist. I know that

mistakes are going to happen; I know that we are going to mess up; I know that I will make

mistakes and mess up. I don’t like it when I mess up or make mistakes. I don’t use the reality of

mistakes as an excuse for making mistakes. We make mistakes. We’re not perfect. What’s

important is for us to bear with one another.

What Jesus meant here is wholeness and completeness. We never reach this wholeness and

completeness, but we’re always taking steps towards this wholeness and completeness.
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Many of you have shared with me that you want us at Chain of Lakes to be a different type

of church. I find this to be exciting. We will be a different place if every person can commit their

lives to these ten verses in the Sermon on the Mount

Friends, let’s be a place at Chain of Lakes where people grow to be the people God desires

for them to be. Let’s be a place where we become less angry and less irritable. Let’s be a place

where the fruits of the Spirit are evident. People will grow in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Let’s be a place where we accept each other; a

place where we bear each other’s burdens; a place where we aren’t quick to criticize instead we’re

quick to love; a place where we speak the truth, but we always speak it in love.