Sermon Tone Analysis

*Forgive Me* by ANTONIO TORRENCE \\ \\ Luke 6:27-6:38 \\ \\ "Forgive Me!" by Rev. A. LaMar Torrence, Pastor of the Cross of Life Lutheran Church \\ Luke 6:27-38, John 15:12, 1 John 4:7-21 \\ \\ \\ Once again I find the words of Maya Angelou appropriately for my initial response to today’s divine edict of loving our enemies.

In her poem, “Lord in my heart”, she writes.. \\ Holy halos, Ring me round, \\ Spirit waves, On Spirit sound \\ Meshach and Abednego, Golden chariot, \\ Swinging low I recite them, In my sleep, \\ Jordan’s cold, And briny deep \\ Bible lessons, Sunday school, \\ Bow before, The golden rule \\ Now I wonder If I tried, \\ Could I turn, My cheek aside \\ Marveling with afterthought, \\ Let the blow fall saying naught \\ Of my true Christ-like control \\ And the nature of my soul \\ Would I strike with rage divine \\ Till the culprit fell supine \\ Hit out broad all fury red, \\ Till my foes are fallen dead \\ Teachers of my early youth, \\ Taught forgiveness stressed the truth \\ Here then Is my Christian lack, \\ If I’m struck Then I’ll strike back.... \\ \\ Her words seem to speak the honestly that many of us find deep in our hearts: forgiveness is the hardest Christian discipline to implement in our lives.

Oh we know that the good book says to forgive and you shall be forgiven.

We know the various nonviolent responses to social injustices that we as Godly people are called to invoke.

Yet, inside each and every one of us is the desire to go fist for fist and toe to toe with our enemy.

You cuss me.

I’ll cuss you.

You cut me.

I’ll cut you.

Deep down inside, we often find ourselves dealing with our demons of vengeance and hate.

Come on, now let’s be real.

When was the last time you willing walked away from an argument out of love for your opponent?

When was the last time you prayed that your boss would get even richer and blessed at the expense of the long hours you put in at work?

When was the last time you met hate with love, chaos with charity, conflict with compromise?

\\ The reality of our Christian journey is that we are lacking in the art of forgiveness.

We lack the necessary tools to forgive and love those who get on our last nerve.

Oh, we talk a good game of love but the truth of the matter is that our love is still at its lowest level – carnal.

We have a fleshly love.

Our love is based on our passions, loyalties, and kinship.

We love because we are loved or to get love in return.

We love to get what we want and have our way.

Our love is based on satisfying our desires and ourselves.

\\ But the gospel challenges us to seek a deeper love.

Tell somebody we need a deeper love.

God wants us to seek the highest good from the highest motive.

He wants us to go deeper and move up a little higher.

To ascend to the heavenly heights we must climb his staircase of love.

To reach those pearly gates we must proceed through a divine passage of nonviolence.

In this antithesis on love, the divine love doctor himself exposes the reality of our situation.

When it comes to love we have a love-hate relationship.

And that relationship can fall into three basic categories, three dimensions, or three levels.

\\ First some of us are trapped at a level of hate – that is we hate those who love us.

There are just some people who received love but only know how to return hate for that love that’s given.

They are trapped a on ground level of hate.

There, you may find some of our children who verbalize hate towards parents who discipline them out of love.

There, you may find abusive spouses who hate themselves but beat on those submit to them out of love.

On that level of hate are the racists who hate minorities so much that they would refuse blood transfusions and organ donations on the mere thought that their donors were people of color.

At this first level of hate verses love, you will find folks who regardless of how much love you give them they only know how to give back hate.

Ask your neighbor, “are you in that ‘hate your lover’ category?”

\\ Then there is the category of “people who hate those who hate them.”

I call it “haters vs. haters”.

They give hate for hate.

There are some of us who simply hate those who hate us.

You don’t speak to me.

I won’t speak to you.

You talk about my daddy.

I’ll talk about your mama.

You pull out a knife.

I’ll pull out a gun.

Hate for Hate.

You know.

We call it ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

Yet meeting hate with hate only escalates to segregation, apartheid, and war.

Oh we see it every day: Palestinians against Jews, Kappa’s’ against Sigma’s, neighbor against neighbor.

Relatives who have not spoken in years – saying ‘well she never called me, so I’m not going to call her.” Hate for hate.

Ask your neighbor; is that your category of love?

\\ Finally, there is the popular category – the third dimension – people loving people who love them.

“Lovers to Lovers.”

Oh many of us love those who love us.

As long as you do for me, I’ll do for you.

You meet my needs.

I meet yours.

I’ll love you as long as you show me some love.

Many couples based their relationship on that principle.

We call it mutual respect and understanding.

Many of us find comfort in that notion of only love those who love us in return.

Yet when that person does something that is unloving towards us, we get disappointed and begin to seek to end the relationship.

We will love only those who love us in return.

\\ But the gospel challenges us to ascend to another level in love- a fourth level one that is a more excellent way: that is to love those who hate us.

Jesus said boldly and unapologetically that we as his followers are to love our enemies.

Not just folks who tend to rub you the wrong way but your enemy.

Not just people who tend to disagree with you but your enemy.

You see your enemies are not just folks who make you feel uncomfortable, unloved, used and abused but your enemy is anyone who tries to limit, destroy, and subvert your divine destiny in God.

Listen to the words of Jesus.

When it comes to determining who exactly is our enemy, he breaks it down like this: “do good to those who hate you.

Bless those who curse you.

Pray for those who abuse you.

To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.”

Jesus says that your enemy is not that woman who wants child support.

Your enemy is not that husband who walked out on you.

Your enemy is not that boss or company that lay you off.

But your enemies, saint, are those who hate, those who curse, those who abuse and strike, and those who take what you have.

Your enemy may be a disease seeking to destroy your family.

Your enemy may be an abusive spouse who told you that if you leave they would kill you and your children.

Your enemy may be the crack, heroine, or pills you can’t stop taking.

Your enemy may be debt, illiteracy, teenage pregnancy, or racial prejudice.

Your enemies are those things that seek to destroy and devour your future.

They hate you; hate to see your kind get ahead and move into their neighborhoods; hate to see your kind get a promotion and become their boss; hate to see your kind go to school with their children and marry their daughters.

Your enemies are those who hate and curse your name.

Now, I’m don’t mean cuss you but curse your name.

Everyone who calls you a four-letter word ain’t your enemy but anyone who wishes for misfortune to occur in your life can be.

You know the kind.

You’ve heard their statements.

“They should lock all of them up.

They should gather up all the troublemaking students and just put them in one class or one school.

Or, I hope they all get aids and die.

Why can’t they just go back to their country and stop taking over our neighborhoods?”

Those are the cursers – folks who pray for your demise.

\\ And I don’t know about you but I don’t know who are worse: folks who hope for your demise or folks who try to take you out themselves.

I don’t know who are the most dangerous: people who tell you face to face that they hate you or those who smile in your face and later stab you in your back.