Luke 6:27-38; Jesus' New Order

"‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 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? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 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. 35 But 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 is kind to the ungrateful and the 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, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’"

Introduction

[A paragraph linking together the four readings for today is found here.]

Just as the decisive early passage in Luke 4, where Jesus appeared in his home synagogue, led up to the central thought of "release" of the captives in 4:18 (see my three-fold definition of that release in this essay), so the central thought of this most important passage is embedded in the middle of the text. It is contained in vv. 31, 35:

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return."

In order to understand the revolutionary implications of these two verses, we need to do three things: (1) describe the old order which Jesus wants to subvert; (2) define the essential values of the new world he is creating; and (3) mention the reward that awaits those who engage in life in this new world. I will consider each point in turn.

I. The Old Order

Jesus' release that he will bring to the captives (4:18) is release in the context of what scholars call the system of "patronal ethics" of the world of his day. "Patronal ethics" has to do with patrons and servants, with those who set the rules for engagement and those who carry out those rules. The old world also has to do with the precise observance of Jewish religious rituals. Thus, in Luke 5 and 6, Luke portrays Jesus as engaged in several activities that undermine the Jewish religious observance. He heals on the sabbath, he forgives sin, he celebrates rather than fasts. The new world that Jesus will create is like the new wine that must burst out of the confines of an old wineskin of religious observance.

But we are mistaken if we think that Jesus is only about trumping or changing religious observance. His new way redefines the economic world of patronal ethics of his day. The principal commitment of that ethical system is that one's behaviors are scripted by prior liabilities (Green, Gospel of Luke, 273). Or, to put it differently, one is bound by obligations, by balanced reciprocity, to repay one's legal and social obligations. You give expecting to be repaid; you invite to your table those who not only are able but will invite you in return. You do a favor for someone only if s/he can repay you in turn. This ethics of reciprocity greased the economic wheels of the Late Antique world. Some might say it isn't too different from the system of obligations in our own world.

The verses from 32-34 perfectly capture this system of mutual obligation which Jesus would attack. People do good to those who can reciprocate. People lend to those who will repay them. And, Jesus uses a wonderful word that has both economic and theological overtones to describe the result. What "credit" is it, he asks, if you do these things? The word "credit" is "charis," a word that can equally be translated as "credit" in the economic sense or "grace" (i.e., God's extension of "credit") in the theological. That is, the "world" has its form of charis, but he will show the more excellent way of divine charis.

II. Jesus' New World

But in what does Jesus' new world consist? What will be the essence of the values of the world to which he invites disciples to enter? The first thing to note is that the new world has permeable boundaries. That is, it isn't easy to perceive who are the insiders and who the outsiders. One is to love the neighbor, to do good to those who hate, to bless those who reproach. Who, then, is really a member of the new community? Those who bless, which can be just about anyone. Second, this new community will be characterized by giving without expectation of return. This is really the central point of Jesus' new ethic. You do good things for people regardless of whether they can pay you back. You do for them what you would like them to do for you, but you don't first check their credit rating or their club memberships. Why are the disciples to act like this? Because by so doing they become imitators of God. Jesus' new vision is thus rooted deeply in theology--in the character of God. God sheds grace on the world, gives gifts richly and freely to the creatures regardless of the fact of whether we can repay God. God is merciful not because God hopes that by shedding mercy we might return that mercy to God, but simply because it is God's nature to overflow in acts of loving kindness. Jesus speaks of three activities where this "kingdom ethic" or "new world" is most manifest: (1) loving the enemies; (2) doing good; and (3) lending without expectation of repayment. I suppose I have repeated myself in this point several times, but so does Jesus. The values he espouses are so revolutionary that you just can't hear them once and expect to "get them" completely.

III. The Heavenly Reward

One of the remarkable things about Jesus' teaching in this passage, however, is how he accommodates himself to human weakness. We might be able to accept his critique of the existing order. Fewer of us may try to take him up on his exhortation to love the enemy. But almost none of us, if left to our own devices would have the courage to lend with no hope of return. We are too tied to the current and familiar system of economic relationships to do something as radical as Jesus suggests.

Jesus knows this, and therefore tells us that our acts of mercy toward others will be repaid, but not necessarily by the recipients of our acts. Instead it will be God who will repay us. "Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked" (v. 35). If God's kindness reaches even to those people, the reward for the disciple will be great indeed. And, lest we miss it, Jesus reiterates the reward in the last few verses of the passage. "A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap" (v. 38).

Jesus' new ethic is almost too much for us to understand, but there it is, in simple, direct and clear terms. That is the Gospel for today. Can you teach it? Can you believe it?

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