Luke 6:27-38 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Seventh Sunday After Epiphany Sunday, February 23, 2025 “Jesus’ Golden Rule for Christians”
It’s so simple, and yet so profound. If there can be one rule that would summarize what we need to know about living with others, one rule to explain ethics that can apply to nearly any situation in which we find ourselves, perhaps every situation. It’s not a rule that was invented by philosophers. It’s not something that human reason has determined. It’s the rule Jesus shares in his sermon, a rule that many have heard without even knowing where it came from. It’s the Golden Rule. “Do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12 NIV). Or, as Luke records it in chapter 6, “Treat others just as you would want them to treat you.” It’s so simple. You can put yourself in someone else’s shoes, consider how you would want to be treated in that situation, and that’s how you treat someone else. It’s so profound because other than the behaviors that are really just between us and God, the Golden Rule deals with any questions we have about what we should do. Simple and profound, but we just don’t follow it. We don’t follow it at least in part because its not what comes naturally to us. If you were here last week, you heard how Jesus introduced this Sermon on the Plain. He spoke to his disciples about the blessings of following God, even if in the moment things don’t seem so blessed. And he talked about the curse over those who don’t have faith but are enjoying the things of the world right now. And that’s often how Jesus speaks. He takes our expectations and he takes our understanding, and he overturns it completely. So his sermon continues by upending our expectations and telling us to do what does not come naturally. He says, “Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you.” And naturally, we want to change that. Wouldn’t we want to hate those who hate us, hate our enemies? That seems to make sense. That’s not what Jesus teaches, though. He goes on. “Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you.” Jesus is calling his people to disregard what others deserve. He is asking us to treat them better than they treat us. Take the evil that they do and respond with blessing. Everything gets turned upside-down. He even tells us to turn the other cheek. That’s another phrase that has made its way into casual conversation. But how many do you suppose know that it comes from Jesus? Turn the other cheek literally means that when someone strikes you in the cheek you should allow them to strike the other side, too, when you would naturally protect yourself. If they take your coat, give them more of your clothing instead of demanding it back. Be ready to give and not to take. What amazing results would come of it if people treated us this way! We know it. We recognize it, but we fall so far short of living the way Jesus directs. We want to be treated better than what we deserve, but we are so hesitant to treat others how we would want to be treated. The Golden Rule is simple and profound and condemning. This is a lifelong struggle. Not long ago, I heard someone comment that teenagers are really just big toddlers. I don’t want to pick on toddlers or teenagers, but it seems that even as adults we have some toddler in us. When we are mean to someone, we say, “He started it!” When we pick on someone, we say, “She deserved it!” As a parent, I work hard to teach my kids how to deescalate a situation instead of making it worse. It doesn’t matter what someone has done to you. You still treat that person nicely. We try to train up with the Golden Rule in mind, and then we end up breaking it just like everyone else. Speaking of everyone else, Jesus tells us it is not enough to do what others do. He talks about how even sinners love people who love them. Even unbelievers do good to those who are good to them. If someone is going to borrow from you and definitely pay you back, you don’t risk anything when you lend to them. Jesus is calling us to something higher and more noble and, yes, riskier when he tells us to treat others not the way they treat us but the way we would want to be treated.