Genesis 45:3-15, Psalm 37:1-11 and Luke 6:27-38

To vary the Rodney Dangerfield joke about “I went to a fight last night and a hockey game broke out,” let’s say you went to a Peace and Forgiveness Rally and a war broke out is sadly not far from truth. The war to end all wars, World War I, and all the efforts for world peace in the Twenties led to World War II in the Forties. The victory over totalitarian forces in 1945 led to the Cold War and The Atomic Age anxiety and dread.

So, when we read of the forgiveness of Joseph toward his brothers and then the teachings of Jesus about turning the other cheek, we struggle to believe forgiveness, non-resistance, and the Golden Rule actually are possible in a world of brutal power and force. Perhaps it MIGHT work on the individual level but rarely on a societal level. “People will just run over you” is a recurring thought in a world embedded in Sin. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely! But, Joseph and Jesus set the example and lived out such remarkable lives that we find it hard not to believe such a way is possible. A different power is at work in Joseph, Jesus, and the God of the Psalmist.

Such a tension will probably never leave us, those who walk by faith and not just what we see time and time again in a rough world. And in every life such loving actions CAN happen in spite of our doubts and despair. The church bears witness to the possibility. We strive, and we strive not alone but together to follow the Lord the one who went to the Cross instead of calling down ten thousand angels to His rescue, to smite His persecutors.

It’s a message and hope we will explore in worship this coming Sunday in a century that still finds wars and rumors of war, people hurting people, and struggles at every turn. But living and walking in faith does “lean toward” the hoped for Peaceable Kingdom!

Be blessed in hearing the Word this Sunday!

Pastor Barry