"Is the Golden Rule Realistic?" - Romans 13:8-14 - September 8. 2002

Last week I made the point that Paul expects the faith community to live by a higher standard. Here in Romans 13, he calls our attention to the "love" ethic. The saying, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," is a quote from the Torah. (see Leviticus 19:18) The love ethic goes back to the very beginning, it is not a new thing. Unfortunately, the faith community in Paul’s day had either not heard it, or forgotten about it.

But, how can Paul expect us to love our neighbors when atrocities occur? In a few days we will commemorate the tragedy of September 11th, 2001. The fact that evil people attacked our country and killed innocent people has driven us to use military force to eliminate the terrorists of the world. It has even driven us to the possibility of invading Iraq, considered to be one of the "axis of evil." (to quote President Bush)

If we take the love ethic seriously, does that mean we should we bring all our soldiers and warships home and send gifts, supplies, food and medicine to all the known terrorist organizations? If you read the first part of Romans 13, you will note that Paul also tells us to "be subject to the governing authorities." He goes on to say, "pay your taxes and give respect to those in authority." He justifies this by saying that they are God’s appointed servants.

In the past this chapter has been used as justification for war against an evil government or evil dictators. That, however would be stretching Paul’s words. Paul realizes that we live in a society and in society there has to be guidelines, rules and people in authority to maintain order. Paul simply tells us to be good citizens. He makes no justification for war against other people.

That being said, does Paul really believe that loving our neighbors is realistic? How could you possibly love terrorists and criminals who kill innocent people? How can you love a person who hurts you or members of your family? Does God really believe it is humanly possible to abide by the Golden Rule?

Paul raised the issue of the love ethic because the people were, as he said, "asleep." "It is time now," Paul says, "to wake from sleep." Drunkenness, licentiousness, debauchery, quarreling and jealousy, are all behaviors of a people who live in darkness. Their attitudes and actions do nothing to build community or create harmony. Instead, they are destructive and counterproductive. That is why Paul says, "Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light."

Let’s be honest, to truly love our neighbors, is impossible. Nevertheless, Paul says we should, "owe no one anything, except to love one another." It may be impossible but he isn’t going to let us off so easily. Therefore, what can we do?

First of all, we have to wake up. We have a tendency to push the love ethic aside when we say things like, "He started it." That gives people justification to continue to quarrel and fight. People who have gotten some bad breaks in life sometimes turn to careless living as a means of compensation. Some turn to addictions, indifferent to the needs of others.

In other words, when Paul is telling us to "love our neighbors, as ourselves" he is giving us a wake-up call. Howard Hendricks was a difficult child. His fifth grade teacher called him "the worst behaved child in the school." "I was insecure, unloved, and pretty angry at life," he said. But, his sixth grade teacher, Miss Noe, changed all that.

On his first day, Miss Noe called Howard's name. "I've heard a lot about you," she said with a smile, "but I don't believe a word of it!" That moment was a turning point for Howard. "She believes in me," he said to himself." Miss Noe gave him small jobs to do and invited him to stay after school to catch up on is reading and math. "I had a hard time letting her down," Howard said later. One night, it had to be 1:30 in the morning, Howard's father knocked on the door. "What are you doing, son? Are you sick?" "No Dad, I'm doing my homework," he replied. Stunned, his father stumbled back to bed.

What difference did sixth grade make? "The fact is someone gave me a chance," Howard said. "Miss Noe believed in me and set higher expectations for my life." Howard Hendricks had a wake up call because his teacher believed in him. Howard awoke from his sleep and made a conscious change. (from Clergy Talk by Madeline and Darrell Jensen)

Paul said we have to leave the darkness and enter into the light. To "put on the armor of light," is to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ." Jesus, of course, referred to the Golden Rule, the one that encourages his disciples to love one another. More importantly he modeled a life of love through compassion and forgiveness. But, Jesus took it a step further. He said to "love your enemies" and "pray for those who persecute you." (Matt:5:44) These words were included in the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus told his listeners they were "the light of the world." (Matt:5:14) Not only does Jesus want us to be awake, he wants our faith to shine brightly. He is asking us to be more committed.

During WWII a young serviceman became a "pen pal" of a woman he had never met. It seems he had checked out a book in the library in which the woman had made several thoughtful comments in a margin. He was impressed with her thoughts and decided to track her down. He found her and wrote her a letter. Unfortunately, the very next day he was shipped out over seas.

She wrote back to him and they corresponded for a year and in the process their relationship grew. It was time for him to return to the states and they decided they would rendezvous at 7PM in Grand Central Station on a particular day. They did not know what each other looked like. She told him she would be wearing a red rose in her lapel. When he arrived at the station, a very beautiful woman, dressed in a pale green dress, brushed beside him and said, "Going my way, sailor?" His heart fluttered. Her voice and alluring personality captivated him. But, there was no red rose.

Suddenly his heart sank when he noticed a plain woman nearby wearing a red rose in her lapel. The woman in the green pale dress walked away. His eyes met the other woman’s eyes and they twinkled a bit but this lady was not nearly as beautiful as the other. As he made eye contact with her he recalled all their letters and thoughts they had shared. He introduced himself and invited her out to dinner. The woman smiled with amusement and said, "I don’t know what this is all about, sir, but that woman in the pale green dress asked me to wear this rose. She said that if you asked me out to dinner I was to refuse and tell you she is waiting across the street at a restaurant."

The sailor had passed the test. He was obviously committed, regardless of how beautiful his pen pal. God doesn’t expect us to do the right, loving thing all the time, but God does expect us to be committed.

The second reason we are called to love others is because in each of our lives there is always room for improvement. This past year we have learned that major corporations are not free of greed and corruption. Corporate America and Congress have had to re-evaluate the laws that govern the accounting practices of corporations. They need to be held accountable and some laws had to be changed. There is definitely room for improvement.

This is no less true of our lives. When no one holds us accountable, or we don’t take any action to evaluate ourselves, we become careless and apathetic. We may have good intentions, but instead of loving our neighbors we hold back or look the other way.

No, I don’t believe that it is realistic to do the loving thing all the time. We are human beings who fall short because we have our own agenda. I believe, however that Paul wants us to make relationships a higher priority than we normally give them. When we are asleep we alienate rather than relate. But, when we are awake, we connect with others and give them our love.

In the September issue of Homiletics there is a story about Leo Tolstoy. Many years ago, when a famine was bringing misery in Russia, the writer Leo Tolstoy passed by a bridge in Moscow where many beggars gathered. They were on the verge of starvation and were asking for alms. Seeing a beggar, Tolstoy searched in his pocket for a coin, but discovered that he had nothing with him, not even a copper coin. Embarrassed, Tolstoy took the beggar's hands in his own and said, "I am sorry, brother. Don't be angry with me. I have nothing with me today." The thin face of the beggar became illuminated, and he said in reply, "But you called me brother - that was a great gift, sir." (by Ronald E. Vallet, Stepping Stones of the Steward)

To love others as ourselves is to live in the light and be willing to share our love. To love others as ourselves means we are more committed and aware that there are places in our lives where we might need to make improvements. To love others as ourselves means that our relationships to each other and to all our neighbors deserve a higher priority. To love others as ourselves is to wake up, leaving the darkness and moving into the day.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio