The Sun Rises Over Good and Evil (Matthew 5:38-48)

Summer Worship Series, Sunday August 2, 2020

Under the Sun Series, Week 8, The Sun Rises Over Good and Evil

Readings for Week 8:

First Lesson, Exodus 23:1-9.  When God made laws for the nation of Israel, he took special note of those who might otherwise be looked down on.  He instructed his people to show them a special measure of love.

Psalm of the Day, Psalm 72.  The Rule of the Righteous King.  Psalm 72 describes the glorious right of the messianic King, the Son of David.

Second Lesson, Romans 12:9-21.  The Apostle Paul reminds the Christians in Rome to love others and to repay the evil done to them with good done to others.

Gospel and Sermon, Matthew 5:38-48.  In this section from his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus corrects the mistaken notion of many that they are to love their friends and hate their enemies.

Sermon, Matthew 5:38-48.  The Sun Rises Over Good and Evil.

Jesus reminds us that it is God who causes the sun to rise day after day and to shine on the earth.  The sun rises for everyone; people all over the world benefit from its light and heat and energy. 

God does not divide up this world into those who are his enemies and should be left in darkness or drought and on the other than those who are his friends who enjoy the sunlight and the needed rain. 

We can make it our attitude that we weight our words and our actions not according to how we feel or what we think, but against God’s standards.  We can look at our enemies and pray for them and love them.

God makes the sun rise on the evil and the good and he invites his children to imitate that sort of love.

May every sunrise remind us to live humbly out of love for others, and to love even our enemies in the name of him who loves and forgives us.

Amen

Pastor Nathan Kassulke