February 20, 2008 - "Love Stinks!"

Title: “Love Stinks”
Text: Luke 6:27-36
Day: Special Midweek Lenten Service
Date: February 20, 2008

Back in 1980, a song by the J. Geils Band inched its way up to the number 18 spot on the Billboard Top 20 song list. The song’s title was “Love Stinks.” This intentionally humorous song details the frustrating side of love and relationships:

You love her / But she loves him / And he loves somebody else / You just can’t win / And so it goes until the day you die / This thing they call love is gonna make you cry

But the song’s real message comes across in its rousing chorus: LOVE STINKS!

Now, I know that our texts today don’t have much to do with the same romantic love that this song describes, but we are still left with the same irksome feeling that this song voices. After hearing Jesus’ words about loving our enemies, we too want to cry out: “Hey…LOVE STINKS!”

The Gospel reading we heard today is set at the tail end of the famous Sermon on the Plain. Gathered before Jesus are the 12 disciples (whom he had just called), a large crowd of other disciples (who were not part of the inner-circle of 12), and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. In other words, this was no small gathering. This was not set in a private room for only a few to hear. This was in a very public place; maybe we could think of this as the equivalent of Jesus standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with a sprawling crowd circling the Reflection Pool.

And it was in this situation that Jesus began to speak. The people stood around him, their eyes squinting the better to see him, their ears tingling with his message of blessings and woes. And then Jesus startles them with these words: “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 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…Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

In this brief, yet powerful message, Jesus issues a challenge to all those who were listening. It is the challenge of the high road. He is telling all those who would be his disciples that loving ones enemies shows the real power of love. Love is not reserved for the select few; it is to be shown even to those that we would call ‘enemies.’

And to this, I imagine the crowd responding, “Wow…LOVE STINKS!”

What Jesus describes here goes completely against normal human response. We live in a retaliatory world. “If you do this to me, I will do it back to you.” We can see numerous examples of this every day. It can happen in the simple fight between two siblings: one will hit the other, and the other will hit back. But it also occurs on a much larger scale between nations: one nation strikes another and the other strikes back. Loving our enemies doesn’t come easily.

Modern day psychologists tell us that this retaliatory response stems from our so-called ‘reptilian brains.’ When we are confronted by high stress or high anxiety situations, our way of thinking changes. Instead of being rational creatures, we slip into this more animal-like mode. We rear ourselves up for the “fight or flight” response: in a split second we will either decide to fight whatever assails us or to flee from it. Basically, this ‘reptilian brain’ only reacts to outside influences and circumstances. In this kind of situation, our actions precede any thoughts or beliefs that we might have. We act first, and think about it later.

But Jesus’ words invite us to live and LOVE in a new and different way. Jesus invites us to see that love is choice – albeit, sometimes a difficult one, but it is a choice nonetheless. When we are confronted by our enemies, when we are knocked down by them, when we are scorned by them, when we are mocked and hated and ridiculed by them, we have the choice to strike back at them or to love them. Jesus invites us and encourages us in this text to choose the latter. “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES,” he says.

When your enemy finds your weak point and squeezes it, choose love.

When your enemy takes what is yours, choose love.

When your enemy slanders you, choose love.

This is when LOVE STINKS; when we realize that in order to be a disciple of Jesus, we must choose to love even our enemies.

But Jesus goes before us in this endeavor. He paves the way by showing us what loving our enemies might look like. As the religious leaders of the day tried to entrap him so that they could punish him or imprison him, Jesus showed love to them by engaging them in thoughtful debates and discussions. As much and often as possible, Jesus treated these authorities with respect. When Jesus was confronted by the Samaritan woman, he could have brushed her off since she was not a member of the house of Israel. But he shows her love and brings her healing. And, of course, at the end of Jesus’ earthly journey, he submits to the Roman authorities showing that love is more powerful than any military might.

So, this Lent, I hope that you will take a few moments to reflect on this puzzling and challenging way of life. Who are your enemies? Who are those people that are hardest for you to love? What would it mean for you to show love to them, even if they don’t warrant it? Once you have discovered this, I hope you might act on it. Your actions would make this world a very different place.

Amen.