Mercy as the Measure: A Meditation on Luke 6 for the 7th Sunday in Epiphany

But I say unto you which hear,

Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other;

and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.

Give to every man that asketh of thee;

and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

And as ye would that men should do to you,

do ye also to them likewise.

 

For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye?

for sinners also love those that love them.

And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye?

for sinners also do even the same.

And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye?

for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again;

and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest:

for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

 

Be ye therefore merciful,

as your Father also is merciful.

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged:

condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:

forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

 Give, and it shall be given unto you;

good measure, pressed down, and shaken together,

and running over, shall men give into your bosom.

For with the same measure that ye mete withal

 it shall be measured to you again.

 

In the Gospel text from Luke 6, Jesus continued his teaching to His disciples while making a very fine point about the difference between divine and human approaches to injustice.  While it may seem as unnatural to us as it did to Jesus’ disciples when He spoke it, loving one’s enemies, doing good to those who abuse, refraining from striking back when struck, offering a thief more than they stole, and lending without any consideration of return, is exactly how God treats fallen humanity.  God might be expected to love those who love Him, but His extravagance is that He loves even those who hate and reject Him, knowing that there will always be those from whom He will never receive love in return.  And as will be demonstrated by Jesus through His death and resurrection, it is God who will offer mercy and forgiveness rather than judgment and condemnation.  From this revelation of the divine nature, Jesus commands His disciples to do likewise so that they might be children of God, for He knows that with whatever measure of mercy a person offers to others, that same measure of mercy will be extended back to him.

 

To say that this cuts against the grain of modern thinking would be severe understatement.  What person would not be enraged by the thief who breaks into their house, or the carjacker who pistol whips the driver before stealing the car, or the deadbeat who asks for money just to blow it again?  Who is not incensed by being treated rudely or condescendingly, by being lied to or manipulated by people in positions of power or authority?  What person will not fume with frustration when they are slandered, maligned, or misrepresented by those who hate him?  The anger which arises from injustice is not unnatural at all—and theft, abuse, skipping out on debts, and bearing false witness, are all demonstrable evils.  Human beings created in the image of God have something hardwired deep inside them that perceives the injustice of evil, and desires for justice to be satisfied.  When we are punched in the nose, we want to swing back, rebalancing the scales of justice for the wrong we have received… it’s the natural law written in creation and the hearts of all men, as inescapable as our own flesh.

 

And yet, fallen people rarely really want justice.  What they want more is revenge.  They don’t just want to punch the guy who punched them, but to brutalize them disproportionate to the crime.  It is a bloodlust that twists our inborn sense of justice into a pursuit of vengeance, no longer concerned with what is right, but rather with what might inflict pain.  This is the first great risk to fallen people seeking justice for a wrong done against them, because while fallen people may be wired to perceive injustice, they are inclined to take much more than they are due.  And yet, the far greater risk is that in pursuing justice against our neighbors who wrong us, we forget all the wrongs we have done to both God and men for which we so desperately need grace.  When we demand justice from our neighbor, even at our best, we are using the measure of the Law against them—a measure which we could never withstand being applied to us.  This is the great warning Jesus offers His disciples:  if they wish to be measured by God according to His grace and mercy, then they must also show grace and mercy.

 

This is a tough lesson, but it is one we must learn.  Jesus, the Eternal Word of the Father made flesh, comes to give mercy and grace even to the people who lie, cheat, steal, brutalize, defame, and eventually murder Him.  And of course, this is good news to sinners like us, because we all know deep down that none of us can withstand being judged by the perfection of God’s Holy Law.  What Jesus offers to us is exactly what we need, so that we might be transformed from fallen sinners who cling to a Law that is killing us, into a risen people who cling by grace through faith to Jesus.  This new people, born from above by water and Spirit, are a Gospel people whose sins are covered in the Blood of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world to save sinners who could never deserve salvation, and could never save themselves.  These Gospel people, children of the Living God, are people who offer mercy instead of justice, compassion instead of vengeance, all through the power of Christ who indwells and empowers them to live forever in Him.  This Gospel people isn’t working by their own power, as if they could overcome their own fallen nature, but instead work by the power of Jesus because they are grafted into Him like branches into a Vine, bearing the fruit that Jesus works through them.

 

This is both the challenge and the promise of Jesus’ teaching.  When we feel that old sinful nature rising up in us, demanding that the Law be applied to our neighbor and justice be done for a wrong committed against us, Jesus calls us to turn our eyes in faith and repentance once again to Him upon His Cross.  There, in the Cross of Christ we find the Law which should have been applied to us taken by Him instead, so that on Easter Sunday He might arise with healing and forgiveness in His wings.  There, in the Cross of Christ, we find the salvation we could never win by our own merit poured out over us so that we might pour it out over others.  There, in the Cross of Christ we see the power of God unto salvation for all who might repent and believe in Him, so that we would be empowered by Him to share that Gospel with everyone around us.  There, in the Cross of Christ, we become the Gospel people of God, able to do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  Soli Deo Gloria!  Amen.