by The Rev. Dr. Max Lynn
SCRIPTURE READINGS Genesis 45:3-11, 15, Luke 6:27-38
Transcribed from the sermon preached on FEBRUARY 23, 2025
Genesis 45:3-11, 15
Joseph forgives his brother
3Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.
4Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors.
8So it was not you who sent me here but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me; do not delay. 10You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11I will provide for you there, since there are five more years of famine to come, so that you and your household and all that you have will not come to poverty.' "
15And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them, and after that his brothers talked with him.
Luke 6:27-38
Love your enemies
27"But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; 28bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you. 29If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30Give to everyone who ask of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back again. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive payment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back."
Joseph grew up spoiled, the favorite of his father Jacob and Rachel. He was Rachel’s first born and Joseph’s tenth son. He was smart, well built and handsome and conceited. His father game him a technicolor dream coat. All this got on his brothers’ nerves. They got upset and sold him into slavery and told their parents he was dead. He became the steward of Potiphar, an official of Pharoah. Potiphar’s wife wanted to sleep with him, but after he refused over and over, she accused him of rape, and he was thrown into prison. After two years in prison, Joseph interpreted Pharoah’s dream and became governor of Egypt. Joseph rationed Egypt’s produce to prepare for famine. Joseph had taxed all the people one fifth of their grain and stored it up. Then when the people ran out of their own grain, Joseph sold what Egypt had taken in tax back to them. When famine hit, Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt to ask for food, but didn’t recognize Joseph. Joseph recognized them. He treated them badly at first, throwing them in prison, and sent them back to get their little brother Benjamin and bring him back. When Joseph saw Benjamin, he broke down and had to leave the room to cry. His heart was softened, he forgave his brothers for selling him into slavery. They wept together and Joseph invited the family to immigrate to Egypt during the time of the famine.
Our passage in Luke follows the woes we heard last week. Woe to those who are rich. Woe to those who are full, woe to those you are popular.
We might think Jesus is condemning them, damning them, justifying vengeance. But he quickly follows with, but I say to you, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”
It is difficult to love our enemies, to love those who speak badly about you, or spreads false rumors about you.
Many think Jesus was an impractical idealist. We couldn’t possibly live this. Indeed, many Christians in this nation today completely disregard Jesus’ words. They seem hell bent on hating, spreading false information about people different from themselves, firing them, blocking them out, kicking them out, cutting off food and medicine hording the storage of wealth, and people starve. They will like those who like them, lend to those who can do them a favor later.
But Jesus also says, Judge not, that you not be judged. So, whenever we find ourselves in conflict, when we are tempted to not like someone, we ought to take a look at ourselves. Both within our own family or all the way out to foreign policy. Now they may not do likewise. They may say they never do anything wrong and refuse to apologize to anyone ever. But Jesus is not talking to them, he is talking to those who would listen … to you and me.
We don’t have to like them, but Jesus says love them. There is another reason we should love our enemies: because of what hate does to our heart. Hate turns us off of our mission, it makes us focus on things that waste our time. It takes us away from our primary connection to God. Hate changes our sense of time, narrows our focus from God’s cosmic time. It sets us up to be watch dogs for the slightest hint of what we don’t like about them, to prove our point. We get consumed, our animosity, our judging consumes us.
The other danger of hatred and animosity is that is makes us like them. Hating makes us like the haters we hate. Judging the judgers makes us the judgers. Love stops the cycle of hatred and violence. An eye or an eye leaves the whole world blind. Someone has to have common sense and strength to stop the cycle of hatred and violence and start a new cycle of love and peace.
Love as our primary mode of operation keeps hope alive. For we are all a mix of good and bad, of talents and weaknesses, knowledge and ignorance of compassion and selfishness. Sometimes the circumstances in life push the lack of trust and self-centeredness to the forefront. Wounded people become wounded. The abused become abusers, the hated become haters. When we become haters and talk bad about others, judging them and ostracizing them, it is a sign we have lost hope in the power of God’s love. What is a life without hope?
Many think, do to others as they do to you. But that puts the power over your life and action in their hands. If they act like an idiot, then you act like an idiot. If they sin against you, then you sin against them. The problem is that sin isn’t just against them. It is a break in our relationship with God. So, Jesus says, do unto others as you would have them do to you.
Pray for those who mistreat you. Prayer keeps our minds and hearts God centered, prayer expands our vision and hope beyond the immediate tribulation and pain. Prayer is hope that God’s love is larger than all the hatred, their misdeeds, their persecution. God may yet transform them; they may yet be saved. They may yet sing with us, I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.
So now think of a person or group or two or three who you have been tempted to hate, to spread rumors about, to get power over and seek revenge. Think of someone who is mean to you, someone who has done you wrong, someone who lies, or cheats or abuses. Or maybe they are just annoying. Maybe it is a brother or sister, mother or father, someone who bullied you, a coworker, a politician, a branch of the church, a certain group of people. Take a moment to pray for them God fill my heart with love. May love give me wisdom and strength. We thank you for your mercy to us, and we ask that you would give us strength to be merciful to others. Overcome our temptation to become bitter and cynical. Help us to look at our own faults, our own sins, the ways in which we contribute to a difficult relationship. Help us to admit when we have gone too far, or not far enough. Help us to see the truth in our enemies’ arguments. Help us to see your spirit in them.
We think of our fellow Christians who distort your name, who idolize a person who only likes those who like him, who lies and spreads rumors and chaos, who abuses women, the poor, the less fortunate, people of other colors and ethnicities and anyone who won’t do what he wants, who only loves those who will make him rich – Lord, we pray for Christians who love an anti-Christ. Lord, we pray for them, help us to love them. We pray for Donald Trump, we pray that somehow some way he may hate less and love more, that he may be less concerned with money and power and more with the common good. We pray he might learn the difference between truth and lies. May he succeed in good and fail in bad. Give courage and backbone to those afraid of him, to those responsible for maintaining checks and balances in this precious democracy. We sense his fear dear Lord, his lack of self-esteem, his desperation for flattery. May he somehow be touched by your love so that he may know what love is. Forgive us dear Lord, for not knowing how to pray for our enemies. Keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus, on love, even and especially when chaos and fear are rampant. May we trust and know and take joy and celebrate the love that we do know, and the sense that your love is the most powerful force and most precious power in the whole world, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, now and forever. Amen.