Over the last few weeks, we have been exploring the 23rd Psalm together, so I want to begin with a summary of where we’ve been so far. We began with v1, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want,” and we acknowledged God as our shepherd – our caretaker – and we considered the abundance of God’s grace and mercy and the providence of God that flows through this entire Psalm.
With v2, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters” we discussed the idea of the sabbath keeping from the perspective of Jesus in Matthew 12, which is based less on following a rule and more on compassion for yourself and for all whom God loves. Jesus demonstrated this in Matthew 12 by healing on the Sabbath and reminding us that the Sabbath was created for our limitations, not for God’s.
I turned the wheel over to John and Kris Newman the last two Sundays, as they are great friends of the church who actively proclaim the gospel through care for under-resourced children in our community. John talked about the idea of restorative justice in relation to v3, “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake,” which John connected with the prophet Micah’s call to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.
Kris got the easy one when she followed that up with v4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Ok, maybe not so easy. Seriously, though, I’m thankful for the way she recognized the fact that sometimes the “right path” is through places of darkness, and we are never alone, and the perfect love of God casts out all fears and keeps us moving!
Today we read in v5 that God “prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. God anoints us with oil; and our cups overflow.” Along with that we have heard the words of Jesus that are perhaps the most difficult of all, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”
Ok, let’s talk a little about enemies. That’s kind of a weird concept, in my opinion, for us in this modern era. Really. We don’t really have a need to be at odds with anyone. There is enough food to go around. There are abundant resources to meet our needs and we live under the rule of law that should keep us from having to fight to get our needs met.
That’s not what those who are in power would have you think, of course. Step one in the playbook of divide and conquer is to divide. Some of you may remember the old Bugs Bunny cartoons where Bugs was at war with Yosemite Sam. They would each have a fort. One had a flag that said “We” and the other had a flag that said “They”.
They would charge at each other, run into the other side’s fort and switch the flags over and over, always ending up with “They” on one and “We” on the other. It’s funny how we still seem to do that when we take sides on issues instead of seeking first to understand.
Sometimes it is hard to do that, especially when someone else has already declared themselves your enemy; especially when the threat of violence is attached; or when others have been moved to violence over the same conflict in the past; or when it gets repeated in new ways so that the threat of violence is always present. It’s only natural to defend yourself and those you love.
Why, then, would Jesus tell us to love our enemies and pray for them? Why would he make it conditional for us to do this so that we may be children of God?
That first question reminds me of Al Pfeuffer, a beloved saint of the church who lived to be 102. This passage came up at prayer group one day and he confessed that this was the hardest thing for him to consider, and he just could not understand why Jesus would say that. He also told me a story about a preacher asking his congregation for a show of hands for anyone who did not have an enemy. An older member threw his hand up. The Pastor said, “Wow, Joe! What a man of faith you are. Please come tell us how your faith has helped you manage this.” Joe made his way to the front, leaned into the microphone, and said, “I just happen to outlive them all.”
Hopefully, Al has his answer now, and hopefully, we can find another way than just outliving our enemies. I think it has something to do with those buzz words you hear from me from time to time – compassion and curiosity. Jesus said to love and pray for your enemies. It’s hard to do that without compassion and curiosity.
Again, it’s hard to do that while staring down a barrel, but the idea here is to find a way to connect before it comes to that. I’m not saying that we should respond to every predator with an invitation to coffee, but maybe there is a way other than viewing every opposing force or point of view as a hostile combatant. There may be some times when it is helpful to look at the larger picture and have conversations about the impact of trauma, poverty, and other stressors that create enmity. Likewise, it is always important to have good boundaries and expectations for yourself and for others.
None of that changes the fact that Jesus calls us toward compassion and curiosity again and again and again. “How many times must I forgive,” asks Peter in Matthew 18:21, and Jesus answers, “Not seven, but seventy times seven.” How can we do that without compassion? How else can we stop the patterns that turn us from friendship to fighting without curiosity about the motives behind the offense?
I think the first example I can recall for this was Mrs. Bridges, my fourth-grade teacher. I was being disruptive in class and she pulled me out into the hall. I’ll never forget it. She responded to my behavior with curiosity. She said, “I don’t understand what’s going on with you. I look at you and I see someone well cared for. What’s going on?” I said something about being picked on, and she said, “You just remember that vengeance is up to God. The Bible says that if you respond to anger with kindness it is like pouring hot coals on their heads.”
Looking back, I’m not sure what impressed me the most. Certainly, it was her faith. I did not know it at the time, but she was quoting Romans 12:20, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink, for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads” which is Paul’s take on Proverbs 25:21-22. It’s hard to remember back that far, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t want hot coals poured on my classmates, so I guess we can mark that up for compassion.
I think what it really made me wonder is if these people were my enemies. You see, before we look for the banquet table spread before our enemies we have to consider what it means to have an enemy in the first place and why we have them. Have I drawn lines in the sand over an ideology or does this person truly wish me or someone I love harm? Even if they do, is it possible to love without risk? Is not the very act of loving someone a risk in and of itself?
Darel Davis is a man who answers this question unequivocally with the word, “Yes.” If you have not heard of him, you can look him up and see his TED Talk about why he, as a black man, attends KKK Rallies and has a collection of over 200 KKK Robes. It started with a question. It started with a deep curiosity about the source of the hatred that culminates in white supremacy. In order to satisfy that curiosity, he has traveled the country spending time getting to know people, building trust, and eventually getting them to renounce their involvement in the KKK and give him their robe as a sign of commitment toward reconciliation.
It sounds pretty incredible, and it is! The transformative love of God is like that. It’s incredible, and it changes the table from a barrier and a bulwark into a space of healing and transformation. That’s right. I said the table. This one in the sanctuary is the most obvious one and it is the most clear and precious example of God’s reconciling love that we have in the church, but here’s the thing.
I’ve always thought of the table in the Psalm as the safe place right out in front of my enemies, whoever they may be. What if it’s not? What if the table is set so that we might engage our enemies in a different way? What if the table is set for them just as it is for us? What if the table is the space where there is more in common than there are differences?
Those among us who have studied history will know that there is one time in which this happened in the most uncommon of spaces, an actual field of battle. On December 24, 1914, the world was at war in hopes to end all wars (funny how that is the refrain of every generation, isn’t it). As the story goes, the Brits took a break from shooting and sang a Christmas Carol, and the refrain came from the Germans on the other side. This led to the sharing of supplies and cigarettes and even a brief game of soccer on the field that just hours before meant death to step upon.
Of course, they returned to their war soon enough, and in some ways, we are still fighting it. Truly we fight for the victory that – in the words of the Prophet, Bono – Jesus has already won! Isn’t it good and wonderful that we might not do that here? Isn’t it good and wonderful that today we have a table prepared before our friends, and more than that we are siblings in Christ, children of God not just because of the love we may show an enemy but because of the love that has been shown for us through Jesus Christ!
Beloved I gotta tell you, it is exciting to know that our congregations are once again asking the question, “How can we proclaim the gospel better together than we can alone?” We don’t know where God will take us next, but we know where we’ve been. We have a rich history of shared events from summers long past, but we’ve also both been engaged in the work of Camp Agape. We have collaborated on Vacation Bible School, which my own children attended, and we’ve sung together and worshiped together during Holy Week.
It is good and right that we might be together today, and it is good and right that the congregation of Grace will extend God’s grace to the congregation of First Presbyterian Church when we worship with them in their sanctuary on August 13. Above and beyond all this, but also in and through it, is the providential love of God and the opportunity to love even those who might make us feel unloved and broken through their own brokenness – even if the one who makes you feel unloved is the one you see in the mirror each day.
Let us seek to understand. Let us be determined to be compassionate. Let us receive the anointing of God and the abundance of God’s love and mercy that fills us up and spills out all around, because we cannot contain it and never could. In truth it’s not really about our ability to love. It’s about God's love that flows through us, which is abundantly clear when we love those who do not love us first. It’s just that simple. It’s just that hard, and it’s all for the glory of God. Amen!
With v2, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters” we discussed the idea of the sabbath keeping from the perspective of Jesus in Matthew 12, which is based less on following a rule and more on compassion for yourself and for all whom God loves. Jesus demonstrated this in Matthew 12 by healing on the Sabbath and reminding us that the Sabbath was created for our limitations, not for God’s.
I turned the wheel over to John and Kris Newman the last two Sundays, as they are great friends of the church who actively proclaim the gospel through care for under-resourced children in our community. John talked about the idea of restorative justice in relation to v3, “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake,” which John connected with the prophet Micah’s call to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.
Kris got the easy one when she followed that up with v4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Ok, maybe not so easy. Seriously, though, I’m thankful for the way she recognized the fact that sometimes the “right path” is through places of darkness, and we are never alone, and the perfect love of God casts out all fears and keeps us moving!
Today we read in v5 that God “prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. God anoints us with oil; and our cups overflow.” Along with that we have heard the words of Jesus that are perhaps the most difficult of all, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”
Ok, let’s talk a little about enemies. That’s kind of a weird concept, in my opinion, for us in this modern era. Really. We don’t really have a need to be at odds with anyone. There is enough food to go around. There are abundant resources to meet our needs and we live under the rule of law that should keep us from having to fight to get our needs met.
That’s not what those who are in power would have you think, of course. Step one in the playbook of divide and conquer is to divide. Some of you may remember the old Bugs Bunny cartoons where Bugs was at war with Yosemite Sam. They would each have a fort. One had a flag that said “We” and the other had a flag that said “They”.
They would charge at each other, run into the other side’s fort and switch the flags over and over, always ending up with “They” on one and “We” on the other. It’s funny how we still seem to do that when we take sides on issues instead of seeking first to understand.
Sometimes it is hard to do that, especially when someone else has already declared themselves your enemy; especially when the threat of violence is attached; or when others have been moved to violence over the same conflict in the past; or when it gets repeated in new ways so that the threat of violence is always present. It’s only natural to defend yourself and those you love.
Why, then, would Jesus tell us to love our enemies and pray for them? Why would he make it conditional for us to do this so that we may be children of God?
That first question reminds me of Al Pfeuffer, a beloved saint of the church who lived to be 102. This passage came up at prayer group one day and he confessed that this was the hardest thing for him to consider, and he just could not understand why Jesus would say that. He also told me a story about a preacher asking his congregation for a show of hands for anyone who did not have an enemy. An older member threw his hand up. The Pastor said, “Wow, Joe! What a man of faith you are. Please come tell us how your faith has helped you manage this.” Joe made his way to the front, leaned into the microphone, and said, “I just happen to outlive them all.”
Hopefully, Al has his answer now, and hopefully, we can find another way than just outliving our enemies. I think it has something to do with those buzz words you hear from me from time to time – compassion and curiosity. Jesus said to love and pray for your enemies. It’s hard to do that without compassion and curiosity.
Again, it’s hard to do that while staring down a barrel, but the idea here is to find a way to connect before it comes to that. I’m not saying that we should respond to every predator with an invitation to coffee, but maybe there is a way other than viewing every opposing force or point of view as a hostile combatant. There may be some times when it is helpful to look at the larger picture and have conversations about the impact of trauma, poverty, and other stressors that create enmity. Likewise, it is always important to have good boundaries and expectations for yourself and for others.
None of that changes the fact that Jesus calls us toward compassion and curiosity again and again and again. “How many times must I forgive,” asks Peter in Matthew 18:21, and Jesus answers, “Not seven, but seventy times seven.” How can we do that without compassion? How else can we stop the patterns that turn us from friendship to fighting without curiosity about the motives behind the offense?
I think the first example I can recall for this was Mrs. Bridges, my fourth-grade teacher. I was being disruptive in class and she pulled me out into the hall. I’ll never forget it. She responded to my behavior with curiosity. She said, “I don’t understand what’s going on with you. I look at you and I see someone well cared for. What’s going on?” I said something about being picked on, and she said, “You just remember that vengeance is up to God. The Bible says that if you respond to anger with kindness it is like pouring hot coals on their heads.”
Looking back, I’m not sure what impressed me the most. Certainly, it was her faith. I did not know it at the time, but she was quoting Romans 12:20, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink, for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads” which is Paul’s take on Proverbs 25:21-22. It’s hard to remember back that far, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t want hot coals poured on my classmates, so I guess we can mark that up for compassion.
I think what it really made me wonder is if these people were my enemies. You see, before we look for the banquet table spread before our enemies we have to consider what it means to have an enemy in the first place and why we have them. Have I drawn lines in the sand over an ideology or does this person truly wish me or someone I love harm? Even if they do, is it possible to love without risk? Is not the very act of loving someone a risk in and of itself?
Darel Davis is a man who answers this question unequivocally with the word, “Yes.” If you have not heard of him, you can look him up and see his TED Talk about why he, as a black man, attends KKK Rallies and has a collection of over 200 KKK Robes. It started with a question. It started with a deep curiosity about the source of the hatred that culminates in white supremacy. In order to satisfy that curiosity, he has traveled the country spending time getting to know people, building trust, and eventually getting them to renounce their involvement in the KKK and give him their robe as a sign of commitment toward reconciliation.
It sounds pretty incredible, and it is! The transformative love of God is like that. It’s incredible, and it changes the table from a barrier and a bulwark into a space of healing and transformation. That’s right. I said the table. This one in the sanctuary is the most obvious one and it is the most clear and precious example of God’s reconciling love that we have in the church, but here’s the thing.
I’ve always thought of the table in the Psalm as the safe place right out in front of my enemies, whoever they may be. What if it’s not? What if the table is set so that we might engage our enemies in a different way? What if the table is set for them just as it is for us? What if the table is the space where there is more in common than there are differences?
Those among us who have studied history will know that there is one time in which this happened in the most uncommon of spaces, an actual field of battle. On December 24, 1914, the world was at war in hopes to end all wars (funny how that is the refrain of every generation, isn’t it). As the story goes, the Brits took a break from shooting and sang a Christmas Carol, and the refrain came from the Germans on the other side. This led to the sharing of supplies and cigarettes and even a brief game of soccer on the field that just hours before meant death to step upon.
Of course, they returned to their war soon enough, and in some ways, we are still fighting it. Truly we fight for the victory that – in the words of the Prophet, Bono – Jesus has already won! Isn’t it good and wonderful that we might not do that here? Isn’t it good and wonderful that today we have a table prepared before our friends, and more than that we are siblings in Christ, children of God not just because of the love we may show an enemy but because of the love that has been shown for us through Jesus Christ!
Beloved I gotta tell you, it is exciting to know that our congregations are once again asking the question, “How can we proclaim the gospel better together than we can alone?” We don’t know where God will take us next, but we know where we’ve been. We have a rich history of shared events from summers long past, but we’ve also both been engaged in the work of Camp Agape. We have collaborated on Vacation Bible School, which my own children attended, and we’ve sung together and worshiped together during Holy Week.
It is good and right that we might be together today, and it is good and right that the congregation of Grace will extend God’s grace to the congregation of First Presbyterian Church when we worship with them in their sanctuary on August 13. Above and beyond all this, but also in and through it, is the providential love of God and the opportunity to love even those who might make us feel unloved and broken through their own brokenness – even if the one who makes you feel unloved is the one you see in the mirror each day.
Let us seek to understand. Let us be determined to be compassionate. Let us receive the anointing of God and the abundance of God’s love and mercy that fills us up and spills out all around, because we cannot contain it and never could. In truth it’s not really about our ability to love. It’s about God's love that flows through us, which is abundantly clear when we love those who do not love us first. It’s just that simple. It’s just that hard, and it’s all for the glory of God. Amen!
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