I like to think most of us have at least one person in our lives, perhaps a parent or grandparent, a mentor or friend, who inspires us to be better than we are. In fact, good friends are often made up of people like that, people in which we see something we want to emulate in our own lives. It could be wisdom or compassion, a specific talent, or simply how they carry themselves in everyday situations. Of course, if inspirational people are in short supply in your life, there are the multitudes who have gone before us, heroes from the past whose legacy still manages to inspire. People like this are necessary. They are indispensable for encouraging us to be better than we are, to improve our situation, and to shape our time on this earth in a more meaningful way.

I have had a handful of mentors throughout my life and quite a few friends who function this way for me. Most, I am sure, had no idea they operated that way. Paul Doles was a member of this congregation for many years. I am sure some of you still remember him fondly, and some of you were lucky enough to count him as a friend. While I remember him from my childhood, mainly because my older brother was friends with his son, it was when I returned home to be his pastor that my appreciation for him blossomed. Paul’s wife, Nancy, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. As her world grew more and more unfamiliar, his care and compassion rose to the occasion. We all know the vows, “For better, for worse, in sickness in health, till death do us part.” But with Paul, I saw it play out in real time. By his calm actions, he demonstrated this incredible love. It was inspiring because my love was small and feeble in comparison. Those who inspire us have a way of revealing our own weaknesses. They expose us in a powerful way which makes us want to be better.

This brings us to Jesus’ words in Luke 6; words that perhaps we would rather not have had Him say. This is our Lord, the very Son of God, the savior of sinners. You were baptized into His name. As Christians, you bear His name and are followers of Him, and in this text, He sets the expectations for such a following really high. To those who hear these words of Christ, those who are on the path of His blessing and life-giving gifts, He says, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs and do not demand back what was stolen.”

This is your Lord speaking. If there was anyone who ought to inspire you to a better life, it is certainly Him. So, think it through: Who are your enemies? Perhaps you think of the world “out there,” those in opposition to the faith you hold dear, those who persecuted and killed the martyrs of the Church. But today, I want you to think more personally. Who are your enemies in your life right now? Maybe it is that person close to you who betrayed you, who was able to turn your generosity into resentment and a source of pain. Who are those who hate you, those who seem to never pass up an opportunity to heap on the abuse? Can you picture them? Can you see their faces? Can you think of the people who always take and never give, who would empty you out if they could? They are the ones you go to great lengths to avoid.

Some of you are lucky enough to have difficulty thinking of someone like this. Yet, others will immediately have a clear picture in mind. So, what does Jesus say? Love them. He says, “Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.” He calls for you to be a people of mercy, a people whose initial reaction to being wronged is not to retaliate, not to even the scales, but to love.

Now, maybe you do not, but when I hear these words of our Lord, I have a bit of a mixed reaction to them. Yes, they are inspiring, and yes, they provide me with a goal and a longing to improve. They also show me where my faults are. It is easy to love those who love you and to do good to those who do good to you, although even this seems to be a bit much. But when I read these words, the one thing which comes to the fore is how this sort of love and mercy is simply impossible. I mean, can you do that? Can you love your enemies? Can you do good to those who hate you? In the abstract, it is easy, or at least easier, but when you are face-to-face with your adversary, can you do it? Do you even try? How long before you give up?

Yet, the love of Christ is just this. He does not love only those who love Him. Over and again throughout His work, He responds with compassion and kindness. He offers himself totally to those who hate Him and even prays for them amid the height of their rejection and betrayal. It is Luke who records those famous words for us. As they march Jesus to the Place of the Skull, pound the nails into His flesh, and lift Him up between the criminals being crucified next to Him, He prays, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Forgiven as they mock Him. Forgiven as they cheer on His death. Forgiven as they crucify their King.

This love, this impossible love, is a love which pours out for you. It is a love for sinners like you. What Jesus describes in this text, this radical way of living, is the life He lived. And the result is your assurance and your confidence that you are counted among the children of God. Your opposition and rebellion, your failure to love as you have been loved, does not limit His work. What is impossible for you, He makes possible. He forgives you all of your sins, cleanses you, and declares you to be holy by faith alone. Your love does not begin within yourself but is fueled and supplied by His love. Because of His mercy, you can now respond with mercy.

So, we try again, and rightly so. Your life is not empty of meaning and purpose. You are called to love like your Lord. He was poured out on Calvary for your inclusion in His mercy, and so He pours you out into the lives of one another, provided by Him with a “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.” A measure of mercy, of impossible love for your brothers and sisters here, for your friends and family, for your enemies near and far. All glory be to God.