Psalm 42: 2-6 2My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 3My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" 4These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. 5Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. 6My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon-from Mount Mizar.
Gospel Reading Luke 6: 36-42 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” 39 He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. 41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Sermon Text Romans 12: 17-21 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Sermon Romans 12:17-21 "I want to box Corona", this headline was the children's page of the Süddeutsche Newspaper. On this page, German children shared how they deal with the Corona situation. And Marlene, 4 years old, said: 'Sometimes I go out on the balcony, put my tongue out at the Corona and scream very loudly'. I was touched to read these children's words. How they described their ways of dealing with a situation in which one reaches one’s limits, where one is helpless and experiences uncertainty. Then just to go out on the balcony and scream. Stretch one’s tongue out at the Corona virus. That helped little Marlene at least. And we? What helps us to survive in times of uncertainty, fear? Just as we may have experienced in the last few weeks, and certainly experienced it before in life. "It's normal to be overwhelmed, it's also the first pandemic of most." I got this saying from a young teenager via “Whattsapp”. A good way to talk to one's own fears and worries. And I hope that we will be able to look at ourselves with such compassionate eyes. "It's normal to be overwhelmed. " Yes, of course there are the other moments, the moments in which we are full of impatience, those times, in which our hope fades, in which we are full of sorrow or even anger. Anger at the pandemic, anger at God who is allowing the pandemic, anger that so much is no longer possible. Maybe we adults should then also go out on to the balcony, or better get into our car, close all the windows and just scream. Or unpack our boxing gloves and punch a punching ball. That is an understandable thing. It's normal to be angry.
On the other hand, it becomes dangerous if we humans let out our fear and anger on others when we feel out of control. When instead of boxing into the air or onto a punching ball, we strike at each other by building enemy images and turning our fear into hatred. Some people turn their helplessness and fear into hatred of "the socalled others" who are to blame. Instead of going to the balcony and scream or boxing into the air, we invent enemy images. Someone must to be blamed! “Hatred and revenge are sweet”, so they say. Someone must be blamed for my discomfort and for my fear. They are "the others" or "those who are different." A considerable number of people think so. And because nowadays you can put everything on the internet, you can also find tips for enjoyable revenge taking there. Pour milk into the tank of your enemy! Fill his mailbox with a pile of dog poop! Or call the pizza service in the middle of the night, order pizza in her name. Such and many other tips are published on the Internet. And it is promised: You will enjoy it insanely if you can pay “the other” back. Nothing in the world makes you as satisfied as that. But be sure that no one will catch you. Be careful. Never act spontaneously. Plan your revenge campaign carefully. Ruin your enemies! Do it really professionally. Revenge is dangerous. There is often considerable damage: to things, to the body and to the soul of the person against whom revenge is directed. Revenge is also dangerous for the one who exercised it. Probably one is going to be caught. If he has committed a criminal offence, the punishment follows: fine - prison - charitable work, depending on the degree of crime committed. Then the enjoyment has an end.
It is most dangerous for our living together as a community. Let us imagine what will happen to a community where the law of revenge reigns. Let's imagine what would happen in Atlanta if everyone took revenge. Every insult, every disappointment, every injustice. Everything is paid back. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Where this law is obeyed, in the end all will be the toothless and all will be blind. In the last few weeks, when so much fear was going on… I had to keep thinking about the words from the Letter to the Romans. In chapter 12, Paul writes: " Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Overcoming enmity is a satisfaction, a much greater than revenge. Perhaps we should open a new page on the Internet, a page with advice on overcoming enmity. Testimonials, stories, tips. Probably many of us have had experience with it. Some things we tried have succeeded, some have failed. The attempt was still worth it. Overcoming enmity is a real challenge.
From my side I would like to contribute a few examples: One is the story of Phyllis and Aisha. Both are mothers. Phyllis once had a son: Greg. He was 35 years old. He worked at the World Trade Center, on the 103rd floor. On September 11, 2001, he was burned there, along with nearly 3,000 other people. Aisha also has a son, Zacarias. He is now in prison. He had prepared for these attacks, he actually wanted to participate. But a few days before, he was caught and arrested. His mother, Aisha, was unaware of his actions. She hadn't had any contact with him for a long time. She was ashamed of her son. She wanted to meet relatives of people who died as a result of the attacks. She wanted to express her sympathy. That's how she found Phyllis. The two got to know each other. They told each other about their sons. They cried together. Over time, they became friends. And then came the trial of Zacarias. The prosecutor pleaded guilty to the death penalty. But 35 relatives of victims became advocates for him. He was not involved, they pleaded. He was already in prison when the attacks happened. Moreover, our relatives do not come back to life because he dies. Retaliation does not help anyone. What we need is reconciliation. Greg's father has also made such a plea. This effort was successful. Zacarias remained alive. He now has a life sentence. And the two mothers work together for reconciliation, not only in their private environment, but also in public. Last year, they both received a prize for it. Two admirable women working against enmity and for peace. It's not easy, it's not harmless, you're not praised by everyone for it. Quite the opposite. Nevertheless, it is possible. These two are doing it.
I want to add another story. The story of the ice cream man. It was on a school trip. At the end of a long, hot day. Shortly before the end of the trip, many bought an ice cream. The line at the ice-cream stand was long. Finally, Jason got it. "Three of nut with cream!" The ice cream man filled the waffle. Jason took the money out of his wallet. "Ceasar, here's supply! 20 bottles of milk!" The ice cream man looked at the supplier, and that was the opportunity for Jason. He quickly grabbed the waffle and ran away. He still had the money in his hand. He quickly ran to the bus. His heart pounding up to his neck. On the way, he lost part of the ice. Jason got on the bus. Luckily, the teacher hadn't noticed anything, he didn't say anything. But one of the schoolmates had watched it all. When he made a comment, Jason said: "These Mexicans, they are thieves anyway! And besides, what does this really matter?" Soon after, the bus left. Unfortunately, the bus drove past the ice cream stand. And suddenly the ice cream man jumped in front of the bus, gesticulating excitedly with his hands. The driver stopped. The door opened. The ice cream man said to the teacher, "A boy, I recognize him, very, very important!" The teacher let him in. Carefully looking, the ice cream man walked through the bus. Jason ducked. He would have preferred to have sunken into the ground. But no chance. The iceman discovered him. Excitedly, he talked and gesticulated, partly in Spanish, partly in English. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a purse. Jason' purse. "Here, your purse. So that you can pay for your ice cream next time," the ice cream man said, giving him the purse back. Then he said to the teacher, "Sorry - no more time - must sell ice cream!" The ice cream man got out and the bus continued. Jason put the purse into his pocket. He was ashamed. And that day he made a
decision: "Never again will I cheat anyone for his honestly earned money!" Good can overcome evil. Only the good has such strength. It can't do evil. Whoever repays evil with evil is himself infected by evil. Our thoughts are occupied by evil. The energies are bound. We are full of fear. Evil strikes back at us. Let's be careful that this doesn't happen. Do not let evil overcome you, but overcome evil with good. That is what God likes. This is what benefits humanity. This is the path of following Jesus. And also in our personal environments we can try to live peace. We have daily opportunities to do so. Here's a final example: One man lived in a rather densely populated residential area. Again and again, as he stepped out of the front door, he saw a man standing on the balcony opposite from him, smoking his cigarette. He kindly called out to him "Good morning"; but instead of a greeting back, the man turned away. So it went for a few weeks and months – one of them saluted, the man on the balcony turned away. Sometimes the greeter felt rather stupid and wondered if he should stop greeting. But when he met the other, the "Good morning" came out of his mouth as if by itself. Over time, however, the scene changed. It started with the man not turning away on the balcony. A few weeks later, he nodded slightly when he heard the greeting. And the next time a "good day" was heard. A few weeks later, the two men met in the street. Snow had fallen. During the breaks, the two chatted kindly. And in the end, they cleared the place in front of their houses by removing the snow together.
Yes, even in our time living with Corona, in our personal, small environments, we can try to live peacefulness. There is an opportunity to do so every day. And may the peace of God guide our hearts so that we do this as far as it is up to us. And may the peace of God, which is higher than all our understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen
Jesus Christ you are our peace in a world where there is so much unrest. Fill this world with your peace: Peace in our neighborhood Peace during the demonstrations in our large cities Peace on all borders Peace in all the countries where war is still and again. We ask you to spread your peace. Jesus Christ you give the power to reconciliation. Renew us and our world through your reconciliation: Reconciliation for those who hate and hate each other Reconciliation for those who use violence against each other and shoot at each other Reconciliation for those who carry guilt between each other. We ask you: Reconcile us.
Jesus Christ you are love. Let love grow: love in our homes, our families, and communities Love for the sick and mourners Love for the humiliated and persecuted Love for your creation. We ask you: Grow with your love in us and in this world. Jesus Christ you are the breath of our lives. Breathe in us. Breathe, live and work in and through your churches throughout the world. Go with us and with your people Give us daily: new breath,
new power, new love, and a new willingness to reconcile. We need your presence and your work in these times so filled with worries, this summer, where many deny the virus and others fall victim to the virus, in this time of great political division. Jesus, you are our brother. You are God's presence in our midst. We trust in you. Amen. Based on this trust we pray together: Our Father in Heaven Hallowed be Your name Your kingdom come Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our sin, just as we forgive those who sin against us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil, For yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory Forever and ever, Amen