Welcome
Our focus this week is a topic, Bono, The Beatles, The Bee Gees and every other band you can mention have sung about. Yes, you guessed it, Love. Not a valentine type love but a counter-cultural kind of love, a God Love.

Call to Worship (based on Psalm 36:5-7)
Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, 
Your faithfulness to the skies. 
Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, 
Your justice like the great deep. 
You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. 
How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! 
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 
We celebrate your incredible love today. 

HYMN 160 Praise my soul, the King of heaven

Prayer:

God of all creation,
You have given us so much and we are truly blessed.
We thank You for Your constant guidance throughout our lives,
for Your wisdom in all things
for the way Your word encourages, inspires, feeds us and sustains us.
We praise and thank you for your wisdom is beyond comparison.

You, Lord, speak to us through Your church and the fellowship of others.
You Lord, speak to us in the seasons, through circumstances and the cycle of life.
You speak to us through the stories of old and new testaments of your grace and mercy.
You still speak to us today by your guiding and inspiring Spirit.

For all the ways You have guided us, supported us
and for all the ways You continue to lead in our lives,
we give You our thanks and praise.
When we are foolish, You hear us and respond in love.
We acknowledge and give thanks for all that enables our spiritual growth.
You Lord are our rock and refuge in times of trouble,
and for that we give thanks and praise.
When the storms of life come,
we are assured we can lean on and trust in You.

Gracious God,
We come celebrating the awesomeness of Your love
And the wonder of Your grace.
Even though we fail You time and time again,
You never walk away and You never fail us.
Undeserving though we are, You show us endless mercy.
You do not turn away in the moments our faith is feeble
in the moments when we doubt, or when we are hesitant disciples,
reluctant to share Your word and witness with others
for fear of what that might mean for us.

God of never-ending patience,
even in the times we fail You,
You understand our weaknesses and help us to put our faults behind us.
You dust us off when we have fallen and help us to start again.
We offer so little, yet You give us so much,
our love is so weak, yet You respond richly,
Your grace defies expression
too wonderful for us to fully comprehend,
and though we fail You, You never fail us.
Lord, continue to grant us, unworthy as we are, Your grace.
We ask this to your glory and honour alone.
Amen

Scriptures:

Genesis 45:3-11,15
³ Joseph 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. ⁴ Then 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. ⁵ And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest. ⁷ God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. ⁸ So 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. ⁹ Hurry 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. ¹⁰ You 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. ¹¹ I 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.”
¹⁵ And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.

Luke 6:27-38
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you. ³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be 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. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Amen.

HYMN 187 There’s a wideness in God’s mercy

Reflection:

Have you ever heard the words: “He hit me first” or “He hit me harder”? I am sure if you have heard those words, you’re either a parent or grandparent or you are or have been a teacher of some kind. You know the scenario, you trying to write a sermon and all of a sudden you hear voices raised and a slap or three, tears and so you go to investigate. Trying to remain calm and Christ-like as always. If you have had two boys in the house you can relate. What is one of the first statements when you investigate, “He hit me first” and you generally not going to get that response after a bar fight because we know it’s not any kind of defence for violent behaviour. It seems however to be our innate default rule to retaliate. It is even more advanced than that. When you enquire why then did, I hear at least three hits/slaps/kicks the response will be “He hit me harder”, in other words no matter how many times I have been told violence is not a way to resolve things, there is this law of reciprocity/retaliation deep within us. I need you to feel just as much pain as I felt. You have to suffer just as much as I have or did.

Some are thinking particularly the ladies I have never slapped, kicked or hit anyone, ever. Maybe even some of the guys are thinking I haven’t hit anyone for a long, long time. This is not relevant to me. The Luke text this week most probably includes, some of the most difficult teachings of Jesus because they go not only against our human inclination, they go against society at large. Revenge is a primary theme in most forms of entertaining media, even in the tabloids. We have to agree we live in a world where we are taught; you have to defend yourself and fight for what you want. In Luke 6:27, Luke records Jesus as telling the crowd who are listening, it always starts with listening, “Love Your enemies”. This seems so counterintuitive, could Jesus possibly mean that you should “Love your enemies”? We could argue Luke got it wrong. These aren’t really the words of Jesus, but he does seem to repeat it again in Luke 6:35, “But Love your enemies”. We could just ignore this part of the text, remove the page from our bibles, but if you have read the gospels lately, you would see that Jesus lived this out. As I said last week, he crossed many boundaries of prejudice and hate that had been established for generations. The Greek word “enemies” can literally be translated “hated”. Maybe that is how we argue our way around this one; we convince ourselves we don’t hate anyone so we don’t really have any enemies to love.

Luke 6:27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” The imperative to love our enemies is followed by three other imperatives which some commentators explain by saying Jesus was giving practical examples of how this could be lived out. You love those you hate by doing good for them, blessing them or praying for them. This is not passive. In other words, not hitting back or not cursing back. No this is positive action towards the one who has harmed us verbally, financially, physically or emotionally. I am sure if you have been hurt badly by someone emotionally or physical, you’re thinking, yes, I will pray for them, that God kill them or make their life a living hell. If you have had a thought like that don’t feel too bad remember some of Jesus’ disciples, James and John, asked if they should call down fire from heaven to consume those who had not received them (Luke 9). As you listen to this, you could be thinking I cannot believe God expects me to be kind and do good to those who have hurt me, how can that be fair? You may even feel that I should not be raising this topic because I don’t know what you have been through. After a few other real practical examples of someone slapping and someone taking a coat, and how we are to respond counterintuitively by turning the other cheek and giving our shirt as well, we have the Golden Rule “Do to others as you would have them do to you” Luke 6:31. We agree with this in principle right, I hope we agree. Most of us have been taught it in some form from birth in words, but then we have seen our father, mother, aunties and cousins, even our grandparents respond in a retaliatory way when they were mistreated, cursed or abused. It is natural to fight or flight when we feel anxious or threatened. We go into survival mode, the rational, creative, problem-solving part of our brain is overrun by the auto-pilot survival and emotional parts. No wonder we struggle to live Jesus’s words even though we know that strained relationships drain us and that a world with no enemies would be heaven.

Life experience has taught us that the civilised do not fight fire with fire because then we only get a bigger fire. Maturity means, we count to ten, we bite our tongues but all this has done to many is create internal conflict and repressed negative feelings from our hurt that leads to further hate. We have defaulted to the reciprocity rule, we love those who love us, we loan to those who will repay us and we try not to fight fire with fire. Jesus’s teachings are next level, Jesus calls us not to respond negatively, not to be neutral even but to respond actively in a positive way. Jesus challenges the reciprocity rule in verses 32 to 34 with a repeated question “What credit is that to you?” If you love those who love you, do good to those who do good to you and lend expecting to get back. I am paraphrasing now but basically Jesus says everybody does that and then the punch line Luke6:35,36 ^“ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” The implication is that we are to be like our heavenly Father. God has not treated us as we deserve. He lavished his love on us that we could become children of God. God continues to be kind to those that reject him and his ways. In our faith community we call that grace, getting what we don’t deserve, it is not fair, it’s counterintuitive and costly but oh, so liberating. When we reflect on how God’s love was expressed in him giving for us and forgiving us, we can only respond in love.

On one occasion while talking through a very difficult situation with a lady in the congregation that had been repeatedly abused verbally by her husband especially when he came home drunk, she asked me what she must do. This text this morning, if about anything, is about doing. Luke ends the sermon on the plain with Jesus telling the parable about the man who built on sand and the man who built on the rock and the different outcomes when the storm comes and we know them well. The man however who built on the rock is the one who did what Jesus had taught; the other had the same information but did not have the application. So, I say to the lady, hug him. She responds I do; I say hug him when he comes home drunk and is verbally abusive, hug him and tell him that you love him. She responds like I would respond, you would respond, I can’t. So, I say, look out the window, do you see that metal pole holding up the gazebo, she says yes? I say, can you hug that? She responds: yes. Then you can hug your husband, I respond, it is an act of will.

What about you? You most probably have heard this scripture many times Luke 6:27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” How have you responded? As you have read this, is there someone that has come to mind who you need to love. Yes, you haven’t retaliated, you have been quite civilised but you know you have not actively Loved. To clarify this does not mean that what they have done is justified or denied rather it is dealt with in a Godly way. A really good place to start is prayer, pray for that person, that God would bless them. Even if it feels false or inauthentic, pray as an act of will for that person and ask God for guidance in what you can do for them and then pray for the power to do it.

It is amazing that as God in flesh goes to the cross in Christ, He is stripped of his cloak, He is cursed, spat on and beaten and yet though he could have called legions of angels to his rescue he turned the other cheek and gave his all, his life so that we may be forgiven and live a new life. I end with Ephesians 5:1-2 “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Amen

HYMN 189 Be Still for the presence of the Lord

Prayers:

Loving God,
You have called us to be a living community.
A people bound together as the body of Christ,
and a family united in love.
Yet Lord, in our broken world so many are suffering, so many are hurting.
Hear our prayers Lord

For those whose lives are ruled by hate and vengeance, rather than love and justice.
For those whose homes are not places of love or safety, but places of fear and violence.
For those who have no home to speak of and have become invisible on our streets.
For those who are stigmatised because of status, ill-health, ethnicity, or religion.
Lord, You asked us to love our neighbours, all of them, not just the ones we choose.
Enable us and equip us to carry out Your command to Love.
Enable us Lord by the power of your love in us to take the active steps we need to take to love our enemies so that we may be an example to all of your mercy and grace.
Hear our prayers Lord

For all those in our congregations and communities who are ill at home or in hospital – bring Your healing hands, Your comfort and peace.
For all who are anxiously awaiting treatment, results, or appointments
due to the impact of COVID-19 and our overwhelmed health service.
For anxious relatives and carers who are exhausted and there is no rest, and no end in sight
while the much-needed care packages are few and far between.
Lord equip us, Your servants and disciples, to assist them in their time of need.
Enable us to be beacons of light in another dark day.
Hear our prayers Lord

Lord, You tasked us to do good to those who hate,
which can seem difficult and, in this world, so unfair.
It’s hard to love those who belittle, who shun, who exclude and who emotionally abuse.
When we feel we should get our own back, You ask us to turn the other cheek.
Inspire us to be willing advocates for truth and reconciliation.
Inspire us to love justice and to practically live out mercy.
Hate does not lay a healthy soil that enables love to grow and flourish,
but walking in faith and following Your example and teaching changes everything.
You call us all to make a positive difference and to heal Your broken world of its hurt and its divisions by a countercultural response to hurt and hate.
For we can all make a positive difference in Jesus’ name and for His sake.
We unite in prayer as we pray as our saviour Jesus, taught, saying

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

HYMN 561 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Benediction:

Go now and share God's love with all you meet.
Go now and share the joy of Jesus.
Go now and share the inspiring breeze of the Spirit.
Go in peace assured of God's love.
Amen

Sung Amen:

Acknowledgements:
Bible Quotations taken from: New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

English translations of The Lord’s Prayer, © 1998, English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC), and used by permission. www.englishtexts.org
Prayers and final blessing adapted from Church of Scotland Weekly Worship for 20^th February 2022.

Embedded content from YouTube does not infringe copyright:
https://www.youtube.com/static?template=terms