Creekside Church Sermon of February 18, 2001 "Doing the Impossible " Luke 6:27-38	Rev. David Bibbee
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Our culture emphasizes competition. Whether it's sports, the arts, or business, what finally matters is, "Who won?" "Who's in first?" "Who won the Oscar and the Grammy?" "Who's at the top of the Fortune 500?" We love winners and the stories of their trek to the top. But at times the inspiring stories come from those who finish dead last.

Back in 1986 the slowest finishing time ever was recorded in the New York City Marathon. Bob Wieland finished the race in four days, two hours, 48 minutes and 17 seconds. There was no cheering crowd at the finish line, just some of Bob's family and the race director, Fred LeBow. As Bob crossed the finish line he pumped his arms in the air, and after he received his finishers medal, he explained why he did it. He cited the same reason as 20,000 other runners…that it was the greatest marathon in the country. Then he got specific. He said he finished the race as a witness to his Christian faith. He wanted to test his physical conditioning and promote the President's Council on Physical Fitness of which he was a member.

He said, "Success is not based on where you start, it's where you finish, and I finished. The first step was the most difficult. After that, we were on the way home. The joy has been the journey." Winning the marathon was an impossibility. Fred LeBow had written him off as a drop out. But how quickly this evaluation changed when Bob crossed the finish line, not on his legs, because he lost them both on a Vietnam battlefield. Bob recorded the slowest time by running the entire race on his arms.

How many people do you suppose told Bob that his goal was admirable, but impossible? Probably not as many as those who read our gospel lesson for today and conclude, "It's impossible." These words that we just read are familiar, for sure. They are actually a condensed version of what Jesus said in Matthew's much longer Sermon on the Mount. Even though the sermon is shorter, it isn't easier to practice. I should commission Rosanna to commit these verses of Jesus to calligraphy. I would hang them on the wall of my study and ponder the poetry. But Jesus didn't entrust this teaching to the church so we could merely ponder it, but practice it instead.

"Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Give to everyone who begs from you. Do not judge or condemn." This is not the ethical hinge upon which the door of society swings. But it is the product of a life rooted in Jesus. The world says, "Adapt." The gospel says we are to "Adopt" a new way of living. The world says, "Fit in." Jesus says, "Stick out." "Don't be conformed to the image of the world." The world says, "Go with the flow." Jesus says, "Go against the current." It is impossible for us to discretely do what Jesus asks. Like a city set on a hill, if we put these principles into practice, we will be noticed.

Imagine for a moment that you are so moved by this sermon that you decide to do your utmost to live Jesus' teaching. No more resentment or animosity. No refusing the beggar. No getting even. No judging without the facts. Like I said, you're just imagining. Whereas you used to walk past the disheveled man on the sidewalk begging for enough money to buy a sandwich and a cup of coffee, you now stop every time and not only give what he asks, but then some. Word of your generosity spreads and you run into more and more beggars. "As you have done it to the least, you have done it to me," Jesus said.

The greedy guy at the office who bad mouths you in front of your co-workers-the guy who has climbed the company ladder at your expense; the guy who doesn't like you and calls you a "chump" to your face…he comes to you sobbing about how his daughter's tuition at Haverford is bankrupting the family, and would you be so kind as to let him take over some of your accounts till he's back on his feet? You remember Jesus, "What credit is it to do good to those who do good to you?" At five o'clock on the way to the parking lot you see a homeless man you've helped before. It's snowing, and all he wears is a tattered windbreaker, so you take off your Columbia parka and scarf. You sit in your car shivering, thinking about the half of your sales territory you gave away, as you read the bank statement that shows that your alms giving has emptied your savings account…all because you did what Jesus said.

Putting Jesus' sermon into practice isn't just hard…it's impossible. But is it really? Will Rogers said, "Rome has more churches and less preaching in them than any city in the world. Everyone wants to see where St. Peter was buried, but no one wants to try to live like him." Much has been said and written about this period of spiritual renewal we are in. People are hungering for God. Mega churches are multiplying like rabbits. Religious titles comprise the biggest sections of bookstores. But if there is a revival going on, why are we not seeing more evidence of it?

Why the growing disparity in education and income between the rich and the poor? Why do we have the highest prison population in the world? Why are families in such a mess? Why in the age of media technological marvels, do we have such fine programs as "Temptation Island"? Jesus' message is clear. "Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Turn the other cheek." He doesn't say, "Do it if you feel like it or if you're up to it."

When I read these words I squirm. I have helped some people who show up at the church door asking for money, but the number I have turned away is far greater. I do not wish ill upon those with whom I am at odds, but I will admit to not having a burning desire to go out of my way to do good for them. It's easier to simply say, "It is beyond my capacity."

I recall an exchange in Lewis Carroll's, "Through the Looking Glass." Alice says to the Queen of Hearts, "One can't believe impossible things." The Queen then responds, "I dare say you haven't had much practice. When I was your age, I did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." Is this what Jesus asks of us…to believe and do impossible things? Jesus was not naive about his disciples then or now. He knew our failure rate at enemy loving would be high. He knew that our disparity between belief and performance would cause us to despair like those who cried out to Jesus, "Then who can be saved?"

The answer he gave is the answer to our problem. I am not to do as Jesus says because I'm capable, or because I should, or even because it is right. What is impossible for mortals is possible for God. God is always reaching out to his enemies in love. God is always reaching out to sinners in love. And if you are considering doing what Jesus taught without God, don't even try. It is impossible.

If we could visit the church of Luke's day, we would be struck by its membership. They exchanged handshakes and hugs and said to each other, "The peace of Christ be with you." What is so incredible about this? We do the same thing. But look closely at those first Christians. They are rich and poor. They are Jews and Gentiles. They are Roman soldiers and the people they persecuted. The only things these groups had in common were hatred and animosity for each other. They were enemies, but they sat beside each other at the table waiting for the bread and the wine of the Lord's Supper to be passed. What happened? People outside gawked in disbelief.

But that's the way things are done in God's kingdom. Something like this could ever have happened without God. They evidently took Jesus at his word and extended their hands across the human divide and the power of the risen Christ took root in them. Their enthusiasm and love for God and each other spilled over as they walked in the world. Society didn't know what to make of the peculiar things these Christians did. They didn't realize they were getting a glimpse of the world that was yet to come…the kingdom that God was carefully crafting and continues to craft today.

Barrington Smith and the "saints" of Immanuel Apostolic have been with us a little over a year now and we have become a better church for having had them with us. During this time, Barrington has been approached by pastors and leaders of several African American churches and asked, "How did you get into that church?" Translated, "How did you get that white church on the corner to open its doors for you?" Barrington's short answer is, "What is impossible for mortals, is possible for God."

Jesus pushes us beyond our comfort zone with the challenge of today's lesson. Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Judge not. Condemn not. Forgive. He doesn't ask us to do this because it is easy. It's not. He doesn't ask us to do it because it will always work. It won't. He doesn't ask us to do it because people will always open their arms and love you for your effort. They won't. The only reason for trying such impossible things is because God wills it.

Johanne Goethe once said, "I love those who yearn for it." We have so much to learn about possibilities. We have taken some hard steps toward a desired future as a church. There are many more to take. We have heard the voices that have said, "We shouldn't. We won't. We can't." But through it all God has been faithful.

I want you to picture a young woman standing before a crowd of thousands, watching in disbelief as she is about to be crowned the tennis champion of the world by Queen Elizabeth II. It seemed like a dream. She was born into a poor family and was critically sick most of her early life. The family lived on a dilapidated farm outside of New York City. Her mother was wise upon wise. One day she called to her little girl, "There's a stone down by the barn, honey. You see it?" The child recognized the stone. "I want you to go down there," her mother said, "and bring that stone up here so we can use it as a step by the kitchen door." The girl began crying, "Mommy, I'm so weak I can hardly walk down there, let alone move the stone." Her mother said, "You go down there child, and if necessary, move it only a half an inch at a time, but move it!"

Over the following days the little girl did as she was told, often with tears. Inch by inch she moved it. A normal child her age could have completed the chore in fifteen minutes, but it took her two months. But something happened she had not anticipated. Tussling with that stone day after day, her weakness left her. She became strong. Over the years she got very good at ping-pong. Next it was the tennis court, and then Wimbledon. With perseverance, Althea Gibson beat the odds and did the impossible.

Some of us assess situations in light of the odds and say, "No way. It's impossible." As a result, they never cross the threshold into life. But thank God, there are those who still do. Althea Gibson did it… inch by inch. On his arms, Bob Wieland did it mile by painstaking mile. The first Christians did it by believing against the odds and doing as Jesus told them, doing risky things which brought soldiers, sinners, and saints to the table of the Lord.

And what about us? We will be challenged for sure. Some challenges may seem impossible, but what is impossible for mortals, is possible for God. Ask me if I believe we can have a stronger, deeper, growing church, and I will say yes, not because we will simply make up our minds to do it, but because we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

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