A sermon by the Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda, written for and delivered at All Saints' Episcopal Church, Tybee Island, GA, on Sunday, February 23, 2025, the 7th Sunday after Epiphany (Year C).
Primary Bible Reading
Luke 6:27-38
27 “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; 28 bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat 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 asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back 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 expect to receive payment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.[e] Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself 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.”
Might Does Not Equal Right
By the Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda, Program Manager for New Starts, ELCA
I recently heard an interview on NPR with the Rev. Dr. Russell Moore, the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Christianity Today. He used to be a key leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, but he was ousted from the denomination a few years ago because of his criticism of the church’s handling of sexual abuse scandals and its embrace of right-wing politics and white nationalist and Christian nationalist ideologies. Dr. Moore was on the radio show to promote a book he published in 2023 about the “crisis” he sees in American Christianity today. When asked why he thinks that Christianity is in crisis, he said:
“It was the result of having multiple pastors tell me essentially the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount parenthetically in their preaching - turn the other cheek - to have someone come up after and to say, where did you get those liberal talking points? And what was alarming to me is that in most of these scenarios, when the pastor would say, I'm literally quoting Jesus Christ, the response would not be, I apologize. The response would be, yes, but that doesn't work anymore. That's weak. And when we get to the point where the teachings of Jesus himself are seen as subversive to us, then we're in a crisis.”
That quotation floored me. I simply cannot wrap my head around the perspective of those churchgoers arguing with their pastors. Jesus says to love your enemies. I hear that. I’m not disagreeing with you that he means that literally. I just don’t think it matters and it doesn’t work. I’m not going to do that and let anyone else think I’m a wimp. Loving your enemies and turning the other cheek are not liberal talking points. Neither are they conservative talking points. And they are not weak. They are core Christian moral teachings. We don’t get to opt out of the call to love because we want to appear more macho. We don’t get to say that our enemies are uniquely evil and so they are the exception. Whether we like it or not, God loves everyone.
But Dr. Moore’s example begs the question: Who told these Christians that being strong is more important than following Jesus? Who taught them that physical, social, political, or worldly strength are the most important thing? Why do we so easily believe it? What happened to, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man” (Luke 6:22)?
There are many voices competing for our attention. With the internet at our fingertips all the time, we can hear from anyone anywhere anytime, and that’s not always a good thing. It is easy to listen only to people who agree with you or tell you what you want to hear. It’s easy to fall into internet “rabbit holes” and hear more and more extreme versions of an ideology. I suspect that the people Dr. Moore refers to believe in a “Might Equals Right” ideology, which Jesus directly challenges.
“Might Equals Right” says that if I am bigger, stronger, tougher, and/or wealthier than you, then I make the rules, I rig the game, and I write the history, and no one can hold me accountable. “Might Equals Right” is the umbrella term I use, but there are many variations and many names: bullying, intimidation, toxic masculinity, machismo, warmongering, and imperialism, just to name a few. These all rely on this core belief that power over others matters the most. They hit at the human impulse to compete for resources and survival. They hit at the fear that if I don’t fight, I’ll lose what I have. They get at the lizard part of our brains that perceive a threat and then enter “fight, flight, or freeze” mode, then choose to fight every time.
Unfortunately, Might Equals Right is found everywhere in every group, club, organization, and even religion. Many folks in the church are more concerned with winning than living with integrity. Might Equals Right transcends political parties, nationality, race, and gender – you name it. Anywhere we go we can find people trying to build their own little kingdom.
But here’s the thing: Might does not equal right. And we aren’t called to build our own kingdoms. We’re not called to belong to Israel, Rome, or even the United States of America. Jesus calls to belong to the Kingdom and Reign of God (cf. Philippians 3:20). The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6 are crucial for understanding what Jesus means when he preaches that the Kingdom of God is coming and is here (e.g., Luke 10:9; 17:21). In God’s Reign, we practice withholding judgment because we know that we aren’t perfect. We practice showing mercy because God is merciful to us. We practice loving our enemies because God is kind to us when we are ungrateful. We practice these works of reconciliation because they bring us closer to living as God’s great human family.
In my day job, I sometimes get asked to visit churches to train them on intercultural competence and inclusion. We usually work on some structured skills for meetings where we pause and listen to one another. We practice being curious before judging. We practice taking turns speaking so that no one dominates the conversation. And someone pointed out to me this week that those are some of the things we need in order to truly love our enemies. They are the kinds of activities that can transform an enemy into a friend.
When we listen to someone’s story, we can grow in compassion. When we suspend judgment long enough to honor and respect another person’s humanity, we have a chance of being merciful. When we listen and learn to apologize, we can practice being forgiven and be reminded to forgive. Loving your enemies, doing good to people who hate you, and being merciful are some of the hardest parts of the Christian life. But they are also the most fulfilling. Marriages, friendships, churches, and other groups can build deeper, more lasting bonds by working through reconciliation. They can come out on the other side stronger for the experience of learning to love one another while acknowledging one another’s flaws. That doesn’t make us weak or wimpy. That makes us stronger together.
I’ll close with 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. St. Paul recounts a moment in prayer when Jesus told him, “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’” Then Paul continues, “So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” Amen.
Bibliography
Moore, Russell, in Scott Detrow, “Russell Moore on ‘an altar call’ for Evangelical America,” NPR, published 5 August 2023, accessed 15 February 2025, https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1192374014.
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