“Do Not Turn Your Back on One Who Borrows” by Rev. Paul Berghout

 “Do Not Turn Your Back on One Who Borrows” by Rev. Paul Berghout

Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time 

Piety

We are treated as deceivers and yet are truthful; as unrecognized and yet acknowledged; as dying and behold we live; as chastised and yet not put to death; as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things. 2 Corinthians 6:8B-10 

“If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” Matthew 5:40-42

Study

Sunday started us into the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, when Jesus compared our faith to the mustard seed. Like that tiny seed, our faith can grow large and put forth large branches, affecting those who we may not even know we have touched. 

Throughout the week, the Gospels continue looking through the lens of the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew.  The readings take us deeper and deeper into the counter-cultural message and analogies like the mustard seed that must have left the listeners in ancient Palestine wandering away, wondering away.

In revealing his new and more profound way, Jesus shares a most seemingly in-congruent law, “Offer no resistance to one who is evil.” And, he tells us to “Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” 

Working in harmony with the processes of life in co-operation with God is how the Kingdom of God works, Jesus says.  That may be why we hear about practices that challenge the traditions and knowledge of his day.

The case of salvaging an old derelict ship from the bottom of the sea illustrates these methods Jesus used.

In one of the tidal rivers near New York, the building of a bridge was interrupted by a derelict sunk in the river’s bottom.

Divers put chains about the obstacle, and all day long, the engineer directed the maneuvering of tugs as they puffed and pulled in a vain endeavor to dislodge the hulk. 

Then a young student, fresh from the technical school, asked for the privilege of trying, and from the vexed, impatient chief obtained his wish.

“What will you do with it?” the engineer inquired. “The flatboats in which we brought the granite from Vermont,” the young man answered. So, when the tide was out, the flatboats were fastened to the derelict. The Atlantic began to come in; its mighty shoulders underneath the boats lifted until the wreckage had to come. 

The youth had harnessed infinite energy to his task.

To the consciousness of such a spiritual resource, Christ has introduced to his people. 

Growth can only occur if we respond to God’s grace through constant acts of love, acts of kindness that become ever more frequent, intense, generous, tender, and cheerful. Husbands and wives “become conscious of their unity and experience it more deeply from day to day” (Gaudium et Spes, 48).

High tides occur 12 hours and 25 minutes apart, and it starts small, but small is mighty. 

Jesus is saying, “If you only had the littlest bit of what you’re asking for, if you had no more than the tiniest amount of it, it would be achievable. [Sunukjian, Donald R. Source: The Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society, 8 no 1 Mar 2008, p 120-134.]

But you have to use and speak your faith because the only way to increase our faith is by using the faith we already have. The little bit of faith you have is enough for you to do what I’ve called you to do, says God. 

If it isn’t small, don’t start at all.  It’s hard for an 8th grader to know which mustard seed is their life’s mission because they don’t have the experience yet.

However, if they honor their parents and show up and try at school, they will know. Family life leads to mission. Mary and Joseph let her Son go, allowing him to live and complete his mission. 

The more everyone in the family focuses on God’s call for one another; the family becomes more loving and peaceful.

On the negative side, little things matter as well. Just the slightest prick from a box jellyfish – often invisible to the eye – is enough to kill a big man. 

A seemingly insignificant decision.

In the Old Testament Book, the Song of Songs 2:15, King Solomon noted that it is “the little foxes that destroy the vines.” 

Action

Many of the ordinary, mundane decisions that we make every day seem to have nothing at all to do with falling into sin and thus moving you away from your mustard seed faith and mission, but they can: one small step at a time.

Watch for “red flag” thinking: thoughts like “I have to . . .” (do something, go somewhere, see someone) or “I can handle . . .” (a specific high-risk situation). 

The decision could involve any aspect of your life, such as your job, recreational activities, friends, or family.

We heard about a shelter for birds twice in our readings Sunday. First, in Ezekiel, we heard that birds dwell beneath the branches of the tiny shoots that grow from the mighty cedar. 

In our Gospel: “Large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” (Mark 4:32). The multitudes of the outcasts and neglected in Israel, including the Gentiles, hear the call of faith and salvation.  It refers to what the rabbis speak of as “under the wings of God’s “dwelling” and denotes the dwelling of the divine presence of God. Providing a blessing done in faith for others is the goal.

In a Jewish context, “sprout” or “twig” has a messianic nuance because, in several places in the Old Testament, the Messiah is called the sprout of David. 

God will bring the exiles home, undoing all the damage, and that “tender shoot” will grow to be a large Cedar tree and be a place for birds seeking shade.

Repair the wreckage of the past and rebuild our lives together, cooperating with God, using our mustard seed faith. Amen.