Reconsidering Kindness
Preached at the First Presbyterian Church of Lee's Summit, MO, May 26th, 2013, as part of a sermon series on the fruits of the Spirit.
--
A reading from Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia, the fifth chapter, verses 22 to 25.
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
--
I would first like to thank Mary, Sandra, and members of the session for inviting me to preach this morning as part of your sermon series on the fruits of the Spirit. It is both a joy and honor to preach before my home congregation during this short break from my studies at Princeton Theological Seminary. Today I would like to speak with you on the topic of “Reconsidering Kindness.”
Paul was clearly unhappy. He had worked hard, traveled all over the region, he had been inspiring, and now this. It seems that all his hard work was going to be destroyed and all he could do was write a letter; but what a letter. In his letter to the Galatians, we see Paul full of passion and fire. While some of the details are unclear, what we do know is that Paul is writing to a group of Christian congregations he had founded in the Roman province of Galatia - located in the central highlands of modern day Turkey - after receiving reports that they were straying from the Gospel. Other teachers had come to the region and while we don’t know the exact content of their teaching, we can infer from Paul’s response that they were likely part of a group teaching that Christians must also be circumcised and follow all of the Hebrew law. Simply put, they taught that one must be fully Jew before becoming fully Christian.
In response to this teaching, which sought to replace the grace of Christ with the condemnation of the Law, Paul writes a letter that challenges the church to ask itself this simple question: do we take the teaching of Christ seriously or not? For Paul this was a simple choice: do we seek to find our salvation through the ways of the world or through Christ?
That brings us back to our topic of the day: reconsidering kindness, specifically what does it look like when we are being guided by the Spirit. However, before we look at what kindness looks like in our daily lives, I want to take a moment to explore why this spiritual fruit needs some watering.
Mega-church pastor Mark Driscoll, founder of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, is no stranger to controversy; with sermons topics ranging from teaching wives how to be more subservient to their husbands and instructions for the congregation on how to shun a former deacon who had the audacity to question his leadership, what might be surprising to some is that Driscoll is hailed by many as a leading light in the modern evangelical church. His aggressive style, fondness of strong language, and combative tone with those who disagree with him have found a huge audience, with his sermons (which usually clock in around 1 and a half hours) receiving regular play on YouTube, not to mention the many college campuses which broadcast his sermons live each Sunday. While there are many interesting thing about his ministry we could discuss, I would like to focus on one of his more famous comments, made several years ago in an interview with Relevant magazine. In response to a question about Jesus, Driscoll derided those who view Christ as “wimpy, effeminate, and kind, having just spent hours putting product in his long hair...I cannot believe in a Jesus that I could beat up.” Instead, Driscoll preaches a view of “Ultimate Fighter Jesus” - a savior who spends his days punching people, usually, it seems, the people who disagree with Driscoll.
I wish I could tell you that this viewpoint is limited to one preacher, that it is unusual to hear people speak of those who would love another unconditionally as weak and misguided, but I think you know as well as I do that it simply isn’t so. We want others to be kind, especially when they are dealing with us, but the reality is that when we are faced with true, uncompromising kindness it usually throws us for a bit of a loop.
As entertaining a show featuring “Ultimate Fighter Jesus” might be, I find the theological implications more than a bit troubling. To imply that someone who shows kindness and mercy is weak not only presents a radically twisted view of what it means to be strong, it also completely misunderstands the core message of Christ.
You see, the challenging thing is we aren’t called by Christ to be strong and powerful and popular. We aren’t called by Christ to come to church so that people will notice us or so that we can have better investments. We certainly aren’t called by Christ to be ultimate fighters, going around round-house kicking anyone who disagrees with us.
We are called by Christ to be bearers of the Good News of the Gospel to all corners of this world; and it is awfully hard to share the good news with someone if you have just punched them in the face.
We, as the church, need to reconsider what it means to be kind. The term Paul uses in the Greek is χρηστότης - which means much more than our sense of someone who is simply nice to those around them. The term implies someone who is not only thoughtful and pleasant, but more importantly someone who does those things with the goal of good in the world. To be kind in this sense is to actively seek the good in every situation. The same term appears in Romans chapter 3, although this time Paul uses it as an example of what we are like when we are under the power of sin; and while the NRSV translates the passage as “there are none who show kindness” many other translators favor “there are none who do good.”
If we want to live into this expanded concept of kindness, where we seek to not only be nice to those we interact with, but to actively work for the good of our community and world, there are a few things that we can do.
We must first realize that this is a fruit of the Spirit - in other words to fully embrace kindness we must rely on the work of God in our lives. The reality is it is hard to care for those around us, even when they are people we love very much. Left to our own devices, we are even less likely to show kindness to those who we don’t know or those who we view as a threat. Sure, there are exceptions. We might stop to help someone stranded along the side of the road - as long as we are sure it is safe. We might be extra nice to the person behind the register - if we are having a good day. We might even donate time and talent to help make our community better - if we have enough to be secure.
Of course all of those caveats are logical; they are the smart way to live life, to make sure you and your family are taken care of. They are safe.
With apologies to CS Lewis, however, we are not called to be safe. We are called to be good, and sometimes that means taking chances on things that push us outside of our comfort zone.
I would like to add a slight parenthetical here: I am not saying be reckless or to disregard your physical, emotional, or spiritual well-being. Please do not go do something overtly dangerous to prove your faith.
What we should do, however, is look for those situations that might be uncomfortable for us, but where we know we could do good, and be willing to push through our fear to exhibit kindness. This is where the Spirit comes in - God will be present with you and give you strength to do things you didn’t think were possible, to do work you didn’t know you could do. We can become more skilled at hearing the leadings of the Spirit simply by taking the time to listen. I would encourage you to consider spending time each day in prayer and reflection. It is amazing how much of a difference even five or ten minutes a day can make; I know it can be hard in our busy lives to find the time, but it is a practice well worth it.
Another specific way you can exhibit kindness is through a practice of hospitality. I know Mary and Sandra have talked a great deal about hospitality, so I will simply add my voice to theirs with this reminder: hospitality can take many forms. Of course it can involve sharing meals with others and helping those who may be new to a neighborhood, workplace, or congregation feel at home. However, I would encourage you to think outside the box when it comes to hospitality - what about saying thank you to those people at your school or workplace that may be often forgotten? Or you might consider reaching out to the family in your neighborhood that just doesn’t seem to fit in. You might be surprised what you find!
Finally, remember this: everyone you meet, no matter who they are, is a child of God. Even if they aren’t Christian, even if they actively despise Christians, they are still a brother or sister of Christ in hope - and they deserve your kindness. After all Paul, one of the greatest evangelists of the Church, began life as Saul - persecutor of Christians.
It is not up to us to know the final ends of God - all that is up to us is how we live our lives right now, and who knows, maybe it is YOUR act of kindness, YOUR act of goodness that will plant the seed of faith. You may never know if that seed will bear fruit, but yours will be in full bloom.