Matthew 5:43-48 & Luke 6:27-28
On April 7-8, Dr. Clarence Jones spoke at our church 50 years after Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination. We built this week’s GPS around Bible examples King cited in his April 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” White Christian and Jewish clergymen had published a critique of non-violent civil rights protests as too impatient and extreme. Click here to read the full text of King’s powerful response.Daily Scripture
Matthew 5:
43 “You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Love your neighbor[
(Complete Jewish Bible)
Matthew 5:43 Leviticus 19:18
] — and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 Then you will become children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun shine on good and bad people alike, and he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike. 46 What reward do you get if you love only those who love you? Why, even tax-collectors do that! 47 And if you are friendly only to your friends, are you doing anything out of the ordinary? Even the Goyim do that! 48 Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Luke 6:
27 Nevertheless, to you who are listening, what I say is this:
“Love your enemies!
Do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
(Complete Jewish Bible)Reflection Questions:
“You speak of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. At first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist…. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label…. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you’…. Was not Martin Luther an extremist: ‘Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.’ And John Bunyan: ‘I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.’ And Abraham Lincoln: ‘This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.’ And Thomas Jefferson: ‘We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal...’ So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love?”
- Jesus’ words about loving enemies and praying for those who mistreat us are as daring today as when he spoke them. He expanded the point in Matthew 5:45: “[God] makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good.” Could Dr. King have accurately said that God is an extremist for love? “When God makes straight our path, and we walk in peace, man can only do so because it is the Lord God who enables us to do so.”* How has God empowered you to live more lovingly? In what relationships do you find it hardest to live in loving ways toward others? Do you believe Jesus can guide you to live out his kind of love to bless others without being a “doormat,” lacking healthy boundaries and self-care?
King Jesus, I want to love all my neighbors, even the ones who think they’re my enemies. That’s much easier to say than to do. Please shape me into an extremist for love. Amen.
Family Activity:
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Gather your family for a late-night drive out to the country. Find a place where the sky is dark and the stars shine through the darkness. Depending on the weather, place blankets on the ground, lie down and look up at the sky. Take the first moments to simply be still and give thanks for God’s beautiful creation. Invite everyone to try and count the stars. Discuss the difference the stars make in the night sky. Imagine together what the sky would look like without any stars. Read the above quote from Dr. King and Matthew 5:14-16[“You speak of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. At first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist…. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label…. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you’…. Was not Martin Luther an extremist: ‘Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.’ And John Bunyan: ‘I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.’ And Abraham Lincoln: ‘This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.’ And Thomas Jefferson: ‘We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal...’ So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love?”Matthew 5:14 “You are light for the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Likewise, when people light a lamp, they don’t cover it with a bowl but put it on a lampstand, so that it shines for everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.(Complete Jewish Bible)]. Share ideas about ways each of you can be lights in the darkness for God. Ask God to help you.* Augustine, On Grace and Free Will (p. 18).
Read today's Insight by Jackson RoaneJackson Roane is a sophomore at Blue Valley North High School, and is active in rezlife Sunday School, youth group, and serve team.
Life in high school can be hard, and sometimes people mistreat you. You may find it hard to “Love your enemies” as Jesus tells us to do in Luke 6:27. Sometimes you might look at someone and ask if God really wants you to love that person. They could be doing something so harsh and severe, not only to you, but those around you, that it might seem like they don’t deserve love.
Throughout my school years I’ve been made fun of or have been a subject to bullying, as everyone must have been at one point or another. I can say, it isn’t fun. It’s sometimes hard to remember to love your enemies and not just those people you choose to or find easy to love. Honestly, I don’t walk down the halls of my school having Scripture running through my head all day, but sometimes it’ll just come to me because of some random thing throughout the day. I’ll see someone who has done me wrong and remember that Matthew 5:46 says, “If you love only those who love you, what reward do you have?” After remembering this I’ve walked up to someone who’s said a mean thing about me or has pushed me around, and just said something friendly like “Hey, man” or “What’s up?”
Being nice and showing compassion can be as easy as that. It not only makes you feel a little better after you’ve done it, but hopefully shows God to someone else. Maybe they’ve been going through a rough time and just needed someone to talk to but didn’t know how to deal with it.
I am thankful to worship a God who loves me no matter what. I feel inspired and challenged to seek to love others in that same way.
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You might also like
- Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel
- Amos an extremist for justice
- Biblical models of “civil disobedience”
- “A process of self purification”
- “Outside agitator” or missionary?
- Or download this week's printable GPS.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
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