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Leviticus 19: 1-2, 9-18 & Matthew 5: 38-48

  The basic teachings of Jesus Christ include ³hard teachings´ on how to
be human in a sometimes inhumane world.
 
 

Today wefocus our attention on readings from Leviticus (Holiness Code)& Matthew that state
some of the ³does & don¶ts of relating´ to friends/family, enemies & strangers. As followers of
Christ, Leviticus allows us to see some of where Jesus was coming from, while calling us to a
higher ³spirit of the law´ as given by Jesus in Matthew.

   




   


In Holy Scripture, we are taught to love ³those who love us´ ± with this being primarily defined
as ³family & friends´. These are people that we know & hopefully know us. In theory, our
family & friends should be the easiest of all people to love.
However, in some cases ± especially for some people in this room ± loving family & friends
often prove overwhelmingly difficult. Ideally, we are to ³practice´ being human, being a
member of the human race within our families of origin; however, when those families are
dysfunctional, judgmental or rejecting of us, our human development is often stunted. This
stunting can haunt us our entire lives & negatively impact all or our dealings with people.
Spiritually speaking, we‘
 called to love our families & friends ± those who love us in
return. AND we are also called to take responsibility for all of our dealings with not only
family & friends, but also those we meet along life¶s journey.

   
 
I deliberately group ³neighbors & enemies´ together because Jesus grouped these 2 groups
together in his story about The Good Samaritan (6

). We know that one of
Jesus¶ greatest (& hardest) commandments is to ³love your neighbor as yourself´. Some of
us want to parse this hard teaching by splitting hairs regarding ³who our neighbor is´. We
want to hedge our bets by choosing ³neighbors like us´ while disregarding people who are not
like us. So«to make sure we get the fullest meaning on this teaching ± I¶ve deliberately
paired ³neighbors & enemies´ together so we¶re all clear that followers of Christ must wrestle
with ³how to treat neighbors & enemies.
Both the books of Leviticus & Matthew offer key teachings regarding neighbor & enemies:
D Non ± violence & non-retaliation (Matt. 5:38-40)
D Generosity (Matt. 5:42)
D Love & pray for your neighbors & enemies (Matt. 5:44) ± to make them children of God
D Do more than others ± more than tax collectors & Gentiles (Matt. 5:46-47)
D Don¶t defraud (deceive, cheat, trick or con) your neighbor (Lev. 19:13)
D Do not profit by the blood of your neighbor (Lev. 19:16) ± Literal killing but more likely
± for us ± character assassinations or petty behaviors not befitting of God¶s people
D Love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18)

  


And what about our attitudes & behaviors toward those called ³stranger´ or in some cases
³alien´? The historical setting for the book of Leviticus offers a seminal (formative) teaching
 Ô

regarding the Jewish response to strangers, aliens & non-Jews.

 
 I wish, if conservative Christians were going to get all up in the book of
Leviticus in the 21st century ± as they jump from Leviticus 18:22 to Leviticus 20:13 ± that they
would at least make a cursory reading of today¶s passage in Leviticus 19 to see how the God
they say they serve wants them to treat strangers, aliens & the poor. And just so we¶re clear,
here are just a few highlights of these verses ± for us to apply:
D Don¶t eat all the food (Lev. 19:9-10) ± Global consumption, giving some of what we
have to the poor
D Don¶t steal, don¶t make stuff up, don¶t lie, don¶t embarrass me (Lev. 19:11-13)
D Don¶t deceive others; treat those with disabilities with dignity. (Lev. 19:14)
D Be fair, just & honorable to all ± rich, poor, black, brown, red, white, etc. (v. 15-16)

 


 
Specifically, the concept of ³hard teachings´ regarding our behavior toward the stranger came
while I was reading from Barbara Brown Taylor¶s book,

!"#$% "&'($!)

'(*$#+&,
(-#%"&. In the chapter entitled, Ê
   
  , Taylor
discusses what she calls the practice of hospitality or ³philoxenia´ (love of stranger).
Most of us are more familiar with the phrase ³xenophobia´ ± fear of stranger ± which comes
naturally to us, especially when national leaders promote such a masterful plot of ³others,
who will take our jobs, kidnap our children & take over our great nation.´ Irrational fear keeps
us all in our corners ±without any meaningful dialogue or real hope for a brighter future.
According to Taylor, the Hebrew Bible commands us to ³love your neighbor as yourself´ in
one verse (Lev. 19:18); however, that same Bible calls us to ³love the stranger´ in 36 different
places. Why should we love the stranger?
1. Because
()!(.'/"&'/"$# *'$/ among us.
2. At some time ± if we¶ve ever left home ± 0'1"((1&#.'2'' #/"$# *'$ who knows
what it feels like to ³be the outsider, the one who doesn¶t belong, etc.´
34 (/+%"#!%", was a cardinal virtue in the early church & it needs to make reappearance
in truly Christian churches throughout this country (& the world). The church is NOT a
place, but a people ± "&#"'5+!(,6% *)(5+$% 7%+!'/(.'$0($!)!,+$%)'
+'$/( #!%"%'/4
4. ++(/%"%( #!)' "%",: Conversely, nothing unites a church group like a common
enemy. Think about it. Whenever religious people feel overwhelmed by a world with
little use for their ancient truths, they find new meaning (& purpose) by identifying a
great evil to oppose. Taylor calls this ³oppositional identity´ ± a group becomes known
for who (or what) they oppose. (Taylor, 98)
5. (52#"%.'%'",: Then if we¶re not spiritually mature & introspective, we allow our
humanity to make God in our image ± to add authority to our own self-interests. Then
we convince ourselves (& others) that God wants what we want & off we go ± armed
with our combative piety ± feeling free to harm people ³in Jesus¶ name´ AND to feel
totally justified & holy ± as we destroy others. (Taylor, 99)
Taylor quotes a Bosnian theologian, Miroslav Volf who states, Ê"5#, ("2'"((587&"(
7!#%5"&#""&'-8"8$'(-(8$0($!)0%!!)'+' )( &(00')'#!0%"&%)' "%",
)%--'$' 7'.´ (Taylor, 99)



In closing, there is quite a bit of diversity here at Our Hope MCC. It is our greatest strength
as well as a potential challenge. Everyone has at least ONE opinion about everything. AND
at the end of the day, we MUST make decisions for the good of the entire group as well as for
our future generations of young people, children & those yet to even be born.
 "&'7(5% *5( "&/10'0%!!2'*% "()%/78///(5'(-"&'0#,/0'9$'*(% *"(5(.'
% "(#!!(0
()"&'(++($"8 %","(8/'8/#/#7(!!'7"%.'7(558 %",4
 !% ' For future conversations, I want to ask you ± the current members, regular
attendees & even guests ± the final questions that may involve some harder work in the
coming months?
D What are you 0%!!% *"( (or continue doing) to insure a better future for those
currently at OHMCC & those who are coming?
D What aspects of your personal spiritual growth are you 0%!!% *-($
()"(

in order to mature us for greater use in God¶s kingdom & here at OHMCC?
D What are you willing to
: in order for God to increase our membership here at
OHMCC?