Eye Rolls and Righteous Love
Luke 6:27-31
“But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
In the corner of my office is a small shelf, providing valuable horizontal space to store my precious collection of coffee mugs. In addition to their primary role of holding the delicious sacramental nectar of coffee that sustains me, they also display personality and humor. From Star Wars and Winnie the Pooh to slightly irreverent phrases, the mugs serve as a means of expression when I’m in meetings or going about my business during the day.
There is one mug that has accompanied me to many in-person and virtual meetings when I need to maintain a professional “poker face.” This green mug is imprinted with a phrase on two sides that allows me to react to the meeting without ever breaking my composure. This sage-green mug is printed with the phrase, “Insert Eye Roll Here” in bright white lettering on two sides of the mug.
As meetings drag on, or any time I’m unable to react to something, I raise the mug and sip. As I write this, I realize this is a confession of my snarky humor and my own human nature revealing itself. It’s remarkable how often we forget we’re human, fallible, and imperfect.
As difficult as it can be to refrain from making a face in a meeting that never seems to end, it seems almost impossible to imagine how we could love our enemies.
Jesus teaches us to love and do good to those who hate us and cause harm to those we love and care for, even those who use scripture and Christ to justify actions contrary to the Good News. Jesus’ command is frustrating, heroic, and cannot be ignored. Casting this teaching aside allows hatred to persevere, and we cannot allow hatred to infect our hearts.
Hatred is relentless, making us say and do harmful things. True love, not the false love peddled by those who have usurped Christ’s teachings for the sake of power and not Good News, but genuine Christlike love changes us. Christlike love transforms us and loosens the grip of hatred from our hearts and spirits, forming our hatred into something new: righteous indignation. We are transformed and compelled to act, to pray, and to change the world.
We have coffee mugs with snarky phrases because we’re human. It is in this Lenten season we take time to loosen the grip of hatred, anger, and fear. It is in this Lenten season we take time to be transformed by God’s grace, mercy, and love. Thanks be to God for good humor, and thanks be to God for the Good News we seek every day.
prayer
Let your Spirit, O Lord, come into the midst of us to wash us with the pure water of repentance, and prepare us to be always a living sacrifice to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Daily Lenten meditations each have a companion morning prayer video offered by the same clergy. View the YouTube playlist to find this meditation’s companion video, or to watch others.