* What follows is based on a seminary assignment where we were encouraged to use the indicative (what God has done) to lead to an ethical imperative (what we can do). I wrote a mini-sermon or sermonette It is very personal and a bit longer than the average post (about 1500 words), but I trust that if you take the time to read that thoughts will be moving. Love to hear your thoughts…

There once was a boy who lived in the tension between joy and pain; happiness and hurt; light and darkness. At an early age, his parents who loved him dearly, got a divorce. He would go on to live primarily with his mom and would visit his dad every other weekend. This happened at such an early age that the he did not know anything different. Having a family in tact only existed in his clouded dream-like memories, which he could not even confirm were more than mere dreams.

Around the time that this boy was getting ready to begin school, his mom began a relationship with another man. After all, she could use the financial stability that comes from some relationships, because she struggled to maintain a job and mostly relied on welfare. Soon after, this new man began to show his true colors of anger, alcoholism, and abuse. On a sporadic and yet regular basis, this man would beat the boy’s mom and would even take his rage out on this child. At home with mom and the man, this boy’s life became a constant nightmare that he never could seem to quite wake up from.

Now it is true that along side the pain, the boy also experienced joy. His dad, grandparents, uncles and aunts, and church gave him opportunities to know love. Unfortunately, the boy chose to keep these people in the dark because if such things came to light, he feared that his mom would get into trouble. He was protecting her. After all, she truly did love him and hated seeing her son get hurt, but she could not see a way of escape. Nevertheless, as he grew older he knew that a time would come when he would be strong enough, brave enough, and big enough to fight back. If this man, his greatest enemy, continued to make life hellish; a day of vengeance would come when the boy would be able to defend his mom.

There is a story in the bible that we don’t know much about. It comes from Genesis immediately after Cain has killed Able. You may remember that God has mercy on this murderer and makes known to all people that: “anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over” (Gen 4.15). After this, a character named Lamech enters the story and admits to having committed murder. He claims for himself what God had said about Cain: “If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times” (v 24). Notice that this story is a warning to the enemies of Lamech. Anyone who kills or tries to harm Lamech will receive vengeance 77 times worse. This is a story rooted in the idea of the fear of retaliation.

Now in the first century there was a man who taught about a way of God that was rooted not in vengeance, but forgiveness and love toward enemies. One day he was approached by a disciple named Peter who asked: “Lord, how many times shall I forgive someone who sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Matt 18.21). Listen to Jesus’ rabbinic response: “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (v 22). Can you imagine how revolutionary his words would have sounded if you were a first century Jew for whom the story of Lamech was part of your heritage? You would be saying: so… in the same way that the story of Lamech claimed vengeance toward enemies, Jesus says that this is how often we ought to forgive our enemies! Wow! But we should remember that this is not the first time Jesus [Read more...]