What Aboutism
(Luke 6: 27-38)
One of the challenges of practicing criminal law, whether as a prosecutor or a defense attorney, was responding to a client’s plea of: What about this or what about that? With my criminal defendant clients, who were usually in jail, they would come up with all kinds of excuses for their behavior plaintively bemoaning their plight and how they were being punished more severely than someone else who had gotten a lighter punishment or maybe weren’t held accountable at all. And, as a prosecutor, I had many victims with unrealistic expectations of what the system could do to the person who had victimized them as they pointed out that the maximum punishment for the crime committed against them was so many years in prison and why wasn’t I pushing for the maximum. The trick was not to get pulled into their drama and engage in a discussion about what happened in another case not related to theirs. I would calmly listen and when they were finally done with their rant, I would firmly tell them that I was there to represent them and no one else and what happened in another case didn’t matter. We needed to focus on their particular set of circumstances and not on what happened to someone else as a way of justifying or defending their actions. If they persisted in their “what aboutism” I would say: “Fine, let’s take it to trial.” “Let’s see what a judge and jury will think about your case, your defense of everyone else does it.” That would usually bring them back to earth as they realized I wasn’t going to engage them in this unproductive exercise. It was about them and not what someone else did. It was really about accepting responsibility for what had happened and then doing the right thing.
And it’s the phenomena of “What Aboutism” that Jesus is talking about in our scripture reading for this morning. Jesus is taking this opportunity to explain to his listeners what God expects from his children. He’s explaining to them that because they are children of God they are expected to act and behave in a way that runs counter to what society expects and accepts as normal behavior. Essentially, we are being held to a higher standard which is why he starts out by saying: But I say to you who are willing to hear, which indicates to me that some of his listeners may not want to hear what is coming, those who might not want to change their ways, those who might rather rationalize their behavior to make it okay, to make it okay under the circumstances. He says: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. I got to tell you when I read that I immediately had several flashbacks to those times in my life when I felt I had been done wrong. And I’m sorry Jesus but that’s a pretty tall order asking me to show love and kindness to those who consider themselves my enemy and to those who hate me for who I am or what I may have done. Blessing those who talk trash about me and those who have gone out of their way to make my life difficult requires me to be a bigger man than I think I am capable of being. What about them? What about what they did? I’m not feeling their love and I don’t see where they’re doing me any good, and I’m certainly not feeling their prayers. But Jesus continues by telling his listeners, you and me, that if someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other one as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t withhold your shirt either. Give to everyone who asks and don’t demand your things back from those who take them. Good gosh, Jesus! You’re asking me to be a door mat! These takers will line up around the block to take advantage of me! But Jesus understands this and knowing what we are thinking he says: Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you. Well, that takes all of the wind out of the What Aboutism sail. This had to have been hard for the Jews to hear because at the time the occupying Romans were oppressing them in every conceivable way, making their lives miserable. The fact that Jesus was telling his fellow Jews to love their enemies turned many away from Christ as if he was asking them to do the impossible.
Knowing that there were many good people in the crowd who were having serious reservations regarding these next to impossible requests Jesus explains why they should be different. He asks: If you love those who love you, why should you be commended? He answers his own question by stating: Even sinners love those who love them. And he follows that up with: If you do good to those who do good to you, why should you be commended? Even sinners do that. Saying that you love those who love you and that you are nice to people who are nice to you is nothing special. Even the worst of the worst can do that. Dare to be different. He then says: If you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, why should you be commended? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be paid back in full. He’s saying lending to someone without expectation of being paid back is a real indicator of generosity.
Jesus says that if we do this, if we love our enemies, if we do good, and if we lend expecting nothing in return, then we will have a great reward. He says: You will be acting the way children of the Most High act, for he is kind to ungrateful and wicked people. Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. Man, this is a tall order, especially for us in our humanness. I mean it’s only human to strike back, to get even when someone does you wrong or, even worse, hurts someone you love. The natural reaction is to jump in your car and go all scorched earth on them. That’s what our enemies expect, but Christ wants us to do the unexpected, to act Christlike. And, as if this wasn’t enough, Jesus admonishes his listeners stating: Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good portion—packed down, firmly shaken, and overflowing—will fall into your lap. The portion you give will determine the portion you receive in return. Come on now! You’re taking all the fun out of it. Some of us have honed our judgmentalism and condemnation skills down to a razor’s edge. I’d rather just consider that person as dead to me than to actually forgive them. But Jesus says that if we do this, if we give that love and respect it will be returned to us in a full measure. We will get in return what we have given. Be the bigger person. Don’t give anyone an excuse or a reason to question your Christianity.
Whew! I don’t know about you but what Jesus is asking us to do is really raising the bar when so many others are content to just walk under the bar. What Jesus is asking of us here is to consider our actions to be the true test of our faith. Our good actions are the outward reflection of our inward faith. We’re not telling people that we are Followers of the Way of Jesus Christ, we’re showing them who we are by our actions and reactions. The love envisaged here is not a sentimental abstraction but a real flesh-and-blood giving of material support. It’s more than just saying that you love everyone or that you don’t hate anyone. That’s easy to say. Even non-Christians can say that. We’re being asked to put our love, or lack of palpable hate, into practice. We’re being asked to practice this love as we would like others to practice it upon us. This love is never conditioned upon the other person’s behavior; it is motivated and empowered by its giver and not its receiver. It’s up to us to make the first move. It’s what people expect Christians to do.
Saying that we must love our enemies may be a little confusing to some as it is not the same love we have for our family or friends. Jesus wasn’t talking about having affection for enemies; he was talking about an act of the will. You can’t “fall into” this kind of love like when you saw your grandchild for the first time. It takes a conscious effort that can be more than just a little challenging. In reality, in the everyday world, loving our enemies means acting in their best interests and not doing anything to make their lives any more miserable than they already are. We can express our love by praying for them and thinking of ways to help them. I know. Extending the hand of peace and friendship can be risky because you might get bitten again. But Jesus just wants us to extend to our enemies the same respect and rights as we desire for ourselves. The one who seeks to love will always remain exposed and at risk.
And, at the root of it all, we must remember that we have received unconditional forgiveness from God for our own sins and transgressions. He forgave us because he loved us, warts and all. Jesus wants us to exhibit a forgiving spirit that demonstrates that we have received God’s forgiveness and appreciate it. If we are critical rather than compassionate, we will also receive criticism. If we treat others generously, graciously, and compassionately these qualities will come back to us in full measure. In short, what Jesus is telling his disciples, then and now, is that those who profess him as Lord must also live in keeping with God’s commands to love one another, to walk justly, to be merciful, and to forgive as you are forgiven, and not to worry about what the other person is doing or has done no matter how egregious. That’s on them.
Let us pray.
Gracious and loving Father, we have built up walls to protect ourselves from our enemies, but these walls also shut us off from receiving your love. Break down those walls. Help us to see that the way to your heart is through the reconciliation of our own hearts with our enemies. Bless them and us, that we may come to grow in love for each other and for you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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What Aboutism
Our good actions are the outward reflection of our inward faith.