The Golden Rule
October 8, 2006
Matthew 7:12
The Golden Rule. The Golden Rule is a staple for many faith traditions. It can be found in almost every sacred text. Do to others as you would have them do to you. This is the Law and the Prophets Jesus adds. For Christians, this is the entire gamut boiled down into one phrase. If you can do this…if you can live within this premise doing to others and you would have them do to you, this living, this righteousness can be achieved. It is a Sacred Covenant. A covenant, a holy promise between God and the people. A covenant between the people of faith and those they encounter. The people of faith shall be known by this standard.
This doesn't mean what America thinks it means. It doesn't mean that if we like going to wild parties, we throw wild parties for our neighbors. It doesn't mean if we don't want to get reported for doing illegal things we don't report illegal things. It doesn't mean if we need or desire power we weild it for our weaker neighbors. All of this flies in the face of the Righteousness of God. All of this flies in the face of this entire sermon on the mount that we've been discussing.
Do to others as you want done to you.
Both the Palestinians and the Jews have this teaching. What if a revolution began tomorrow to take this teaching to heart. What if instead of using it to wage neighborhood after neighborhood bombing for bombing. What if instead of using it to torture and dehumanize one another. Each side went back to the basics of its faith, releasing the critical judgment and fear and sought to live out God's radical love doing to others as you they would have done to them? What if both Palestine and Israel could agree to separate but equal lands of their own and did onto one another as they want done. Peace, love, hope, joy?
What if as Christians, people with the same teaching, we supported dialogue as a non interested party? Only to do as we would have done? What would be able to cultivate as that hospitable, unconditionally loving presence of our mentor, Jesus Christ? What would we be able to allow to grow in that space?
What if the United States of America . One that is known to be a Christian nation. What if we ourselves embraced this as seriously as we have embraced our might, power, and gold?
What if we cared as much about the other nations around our globe as our own? What would this do to the Middle East ? Where instead of trying to make them as selfish, greedy, and unsustainable as the current state of living in the US , we respected them as much as we demand others to respect us? What if we respected their history and traditions unlike we've done in our own history.
What if we embraced the entire human race and did to others as we wish done to us? What if we cared about the genocide in Durfar? What if we cared about the people working south of the border in the maquiladoras that provide the products we “must” have? What if we cared about the people of Africa being extinguished by AIDS instead of just their orphans?
What if we embraced our poor and did for them as we do for ourselves? How would that change the response to Hurricane Katrina? Rita and Wilma? Would the people have suffered without water, rescue, family for over a year? Is that what we hope for when disaster strikes? Is this what we hope for when everything's been lost including the rest of our families? Are we really saying to our nation, if you are poor you are expendable? We will enjoy your torture? We will all feel lousy but be paralyzed by fear and do nothing? This is not the embodiment of the teaching. And may our own inaction not be rained down upon our heads.
Do onto others as you want done to you. What if we held this as a principle of living in Tucson ?
Being October how would that effect our voting? Would you want to lose your health benefits? Would you like to be prevented to sit with your loved one in the hospital? Would you like to be prevented from attending school? Use of the library? Would you like your children to be refused medical care?
What would you like done to you if you were passing through Tucson , praying to find work. Praying to find a way to save your clan. You'd been chosen, sent, and you made it crawling through the desert day and night. Would you want your sons and daughters crawling out there? Drinking anything they can find? Being led by a coyote that pulled them off a bus with all your family savings? Is this what life boils down to for us in Tucson ?
And what about here at First? We are in covenant. We are in covenant with our God. We come together to be in covenant with one another. And, Matthew reminds us today this covenant is embodied in doing to others as we would have done to us. How many times have you left your house with throwing or leaving trash on the furniture? When was the last time we took a moment to pick up our bulletins and this sanctuary? When was the last time we took a moment to make sure someone visiting was greeted, just as we hope to be greeted here on Sunday mornings? And just quietly within ourselves. When we don't agree, or can't get along, how is it we do to others…
God always treats us in the same way God wants to be treated. We are in holy covenant about that. As the people of the Jesus movement, remember this is the righteousness we are striving for. Not to be judges. Not to be unforgiving or rule holders. Instead, no matter where people are on the journey, we are to treat them as we would want to be treated. We are to put ourselves in their place and ask what it is they need and how we'd want to make that happen.
Let us begin to hold ourselves, to the Law and the Prophets, To do onto others as we would have done to us. Let us pray.