Revisiting the Golden Rule
Sermon preached by Subdeacon JD Swartz on Sunday, September 29, 2024 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Christ is in our midst!
For the sake of those who, like myself, have a short retention span, I would like to begin by re-reading this morning’s Gospel, Luke 6:31-36:
“The Lord said, ‘As you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.’"
Everyone loves the ‘Golden Rule:’ “As you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.” It’s nice, it’s pithy, it’s quotable, and often it’s taken wrong. Frequently it’s read, “Do you want people to be nice to you? Try being nice to them.” It becomes self-serving rather than giving of the self, and it’s used to curb bad attitudes or immature behaviors, and in treating it this way we miss an opportunity to wrestle with truth. To give some context to today’s Gospel reading, I first want to look at other portions of Luke Chapter 6.
We all know The Beatitudes, yes? Well, they are found in Luke 6, but they aren’t the version that we so often hear; those are taken from the Gospel of Matthew. Luke doesn’t include the qualifiers that Matthew does - “Blessed are the poor in spirit…,” or “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness…” No, Luke is blunt in his recounting of Christ’s words, “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God,” and “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.” And in Luke’s account – unlike Matthew’s – Christ follows The Beatitudes with The Woes, “But woe to you who are rich…,” “Woe to you who are full…,” “Woe to you who laugh now…,” and “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
Harsh. Harsh words to hear, and these hard words are followed up with an even harder command – love your enemies. And this is no theoretical exercise, Christ says, “do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.” And with that, Christ loses a lot of us; with those words Christ has always lost a lot of folks because those words are a rejection of pride, comfort, self-assurance, security, rights, and even dignity – all those things which help us form our construction of ‘self.’
Following those words we are back to today’s reading which begins with “As you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.” You see, Christ’s words are not a call to be the impetus for polite society – they are a call to empty oneself of oneself; and to be clear, Christ is not teaching self-loathing. The Church reminds us that self-hatred is, in fact, a form of self-love as the focus remains the self; Christ calls us to give up self-focus, to break down who we think we are so that we may be remade in the image of God. To see oneself as the image of God allows us to reread “the golden rule,” in a glaringly different light – “As you wish that men would do to Christ, do so to them.”
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.”
If I love my wife, who here would be surprised? If I am seen spending time with those whose company I enjoy, is that a wonder? If I am a Christian and I am here at the parish, is it noteworthy? No! These are basic things. We are here to pray, to partake of the Body and Blood, to collectively orient ourselves toward God, to learn the nature of love, to become hope and charity, and ultimately to transform into Christ. These lessons begin here in the house of God but if they remain in these four walls, we have simply draped our self-love in a mimicry of Glory.
“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High”
There is no reciprocity to be sought in our relationships with others. Why do we love? Because people need to be loved. And our reward for this? Transformation – our ontological fulfillment – the Most High God will be able to recognize us as sons and daughters. May we leave here and be merciful, even as our Father is merciful. Amen.