Read the Lectionary Texts

 

Daniel Boone, the legendary wilderness trailblazer, was once asked if he had ever been lost. After a moment of thought, he replied, “Lost? No, I never was lost. But I was bewildered once for three days.”

That sentiment resonates with our experience of following Jesus. We know we are not lost—Jesus has found us. Yet, at times, we may feel bewildered about how to live out our faith as Christians.

Adding to our bewilderment is a particularly challenging part of the Gospels: Jesus’ core teachings in the Sermon on the Mount or, as Luke presents it, the Sermon on the Plain. These teachings often leave us flabbergasted because they are so radically different from our natural inclinations. They seem almost unreasonable, running counter to conventional wisdom on how Christians ought to live.

For example, some assume that Christian living means avoiding sin—steering clear of movies, card games, dancing, or alcohol. In my mother’s religious background, such things were strictly forbidden. She insisted that the wine Jesus drank was non-alcoholic. In some traditions, even hymn lyrics have been altered to remove references to wine, replacing them with the more neutral “cup.”

For many, Christianity is defined by what one avoids.

Others believe Christianity is about cultivating deep spirituality, a personal connection with God through the Holy Spirit. This view emphasizes direct divine guidance, leading believers to make decisions based on an internal sense of God’s voice.

Some define Christian living by action—working hard, providing for family, showing compassion, feeding the hungry, and serving the poor. Many see faith as engaging in Christian deeds.

Each of these perspectives holds some truth. We are called to leave behind destructive behaviors, grow in relationship with God, and do good works. However, none of these ideas are revolutionary. They exist in nearly every world religion. None are so radical that they would get someone killed for teaching them—yet Jesus was.

Why do we focus on these reasonable aspects of faith? Perhaps because they shield us from the more unsettling, paradoxical teachings of Jesus.

Take last week’s Scripture reading—Luke’s Beatitudes. Jesus blesses the poor, the hungry, the sorrowful, and the outcast, while declaring woe upon the rich, the satisfied, the happy, and the well-connected. This turns our world upside down! It contradicts everything we know about success and fulfillment. How do we make sense of it?

Jesus’ teachings reveal that the Kingdom of God operates on a completely different set of principles than the world we know. In God’s Kingdom, the last become first, the mighty are humbled, the meek are exalted, and wisdom is found in what seems foolish. If we lived there with our current mindset, we might desperately want to move out!

Yet, as bewildering as last week’s message was, this week’s is even more so. Jesus commands:

• Love your enemies.
• Do good to those who hate you.
• Bless those who curse you.
• Pray for those who mistreat you.
• Offer the other cheek to those who strike you.
• Give freely, expecting nothing in return.

Reading these words, I instinctively look for loopholes. Surely, Jesus doesn’t mean this literally! But then he goes further:

• If you love only those who love you, what credit is that?
• If you do good only to those who do good to you, how is that remarkable?
• If you lend expecting repayment, even sinners do that!

These teachings seem utterly impractical—even dangerous. No one can live this way! And yet, this is precisely how God relates to us.

God loves us even when we are his enemies, when we resist him and turn away. While we were sinners, Christ gave his life for us. God’s love pursues us relentlessly.

God blesses us even when we curse him, when we turn our backs on him in anger or despair. The sun still rises, the seasons continue, and new opportunities emerge.

God turns the other cheek. How often have we insulted others, spread gossip, or acted with prejudice? Yet, God does not strike back. He offers grace upon grace, waiting for us to return.

God is the ultimate lender. Everything we have—our families, homes, and resources—comes from him. We arrived in this world with nothing and will leave with nothing, yet God generously shares his creation with us without demanding repayment.

This passage is not just about our actions—it is about God’s character. This is how God operates, and it is the model for how we are to live. As Matthew’s Gospel puts it, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Luke expresses it as, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” In other words, we are to treat others as God has treated us.

In Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, Jean Valjean is given shelter by a kind priest. In return, he steals the church’s silver. When the police capture him and return him to the priest, instead of condemning Valjean, the priest claims he gave him the silver as a gift. Then he tells Valjean, “Tonight, I have bought your soul for God.” This act of grace transforms Valjean’s life.

Fred Craddock once said, “The final act of God’s grace is to make us gracious, too.” As we live out this grace, we participate in God’s work of transforming the world into his Kingdom.

Jesus’ teachings may seem bewildering, but they reveal the very heart of God.

And that grace – lived out by God and his children together – is what will, over time, transform this broken world of ours into the beautiful Kingdom of God – the Kingdom where love, mercy, and grace reign supreme.

This week, go and live in grace!