Last Sunday we began to read Luke’s Sermon on the Plain. Luke has used Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount but changed and shortened it significantly. Today and next Sunday we will read the rest of the Sermon.
This week, Jesus’ radical teaching focusses on lavish generosity in human relationships. The opening words, ‘Love your enemies,’ set the tone of the rest of the text.
Again, at first glance the words of Jesus seem absurd and almost impossible to follow. Should we really offer the other cheek to someone who strikes us?
Are we really meant to give the rest of our clothes to someone who steals our coat? Are we really meant not to fight to get our property back from the one who steals from us? Is this what Jesus really is asking us to do?
The point of this kind of prophetic speech by Jesus is to stimulate his audience (and us) to reflect on the whole pattern of behaviour in human relationships.
Jesus is not really suggesting rules to be followed literally in certain circumstances. Rather, we are being invited to reflect on how we can respond to unreasonable demands and personal injuries with nothing but generosity and abandoning all claims to retribution and restitution.
What Jesus is suggesting are responses to insults and injuries which break cycles of violent retaliation and provide pathways to peace and reconciliation.
By doing this, Jesus says, we can allow the utter generosity of God to shine through us. Doing good only to those who do good to us is not enough to convey the generosity and welcome of God. Only acting with overwhelming generosity and compassion allows the mercy, generosity and compassion with which God meets each of us to be clearly seen in concrete actions.

The Golden Rule: Treat others as you would like them to treat you.
When we act according to the generosity, mercy and compassion of God, refraining from judgement and condemnation and granting pardon, we meet God’s overwhelming abundance of generosity to ourselves.