Coals of Fire

 “Coals of Fire” // Romans 12:17-212

Sunday, Feb 10, 2013 @ Jericho Ridge Community Church

Series: Upside Down: Living the Transformed Life”

Good morning everyone!  My name is Brad Sumner, I’m part of the teaching and leadership team here at Jericho Ridge.  Gong Hey Fat Choi.  Happy Chinese New Year to you all.  Just two quick updates that connect with that theme – One, next weekend our very own H and K who are going as long term workers to western Asia will be speaking so you won’t want to miss that because if you do, you won’t be able to catch it online due to the sensitive nature of their work.  Secondly, if you’ve been around Jericho for a few years, you might remember that we had been doing a catered Lunar Luncheon in the past.  But this year, as we worked with the food service company here at the LEC, we discovered food costs have increased so it became pretty steep per person so we’ve had to put that on hold until we can figure something out.  BUT not to worry…  Just pretend you are a newcomer – we’ll let you define that however you want – and we will still feed you on Sunday, March 3^rd at our twice annual newcomers luncheon. 

Alright, so let’s dive in.  Today, we wrap up our first teaching series of 2013 which has been entitled “Upside Down: Living the Transformed Life”.  We’ve been heading through Romans 12:9-21 together, verse by verse looking at the various elements of radical Christian living.  The idea behind this series is that each of the actions and attitudes mentioned in this passage becomes a pretty good litmus test for you and me to see if we are perhaps just calling ourselves by the label “Christian” or if our actions indeed demonstrate that we genuinely have a radical commitment to following God in the way of Jesus. 

Now, if you watch the news or listen to the radio, you and I are reminded almost daily that our world is full of radical people – both in the positive and negative sense.  People who, for better or for worse, are so sold out to their ideology (like capitalism) or their religion or their political perspective or their cause (like fighting cancer) or their nation, that they are willing to do radical things that the rest of us are not willing to do.  On the positive side, I think about an example here from Jericho Ridge.  Some of you know Mike Teeter and you might remember that a few years ago, he and his brothers decided to raise money and awareness for ALS.  So they did something pretty darn radical – they biked all the way across Canada! 

On the negative side, radical people can be guilty of horrific acts of evil.  Blowing up buildings.  Acts of war and genocide, sometimes against their own people.  Just last week in Tanzania 8 men armed with machetes and guns stormed into the house of a young 7 year old boy with albinism.  They shot his father in the leg and the left arm and wounded his grandmother.  The young boy’s grandfather came to his rescue and died trying to defend his grandson, after which the men killed the 7 year old.      

Radical people, by the drastic nature of their actions, challenge our presuppositions and our assumptions about what is up and what is down.  They shake us up from complacency and apathy and cause us to pay attention to things and to pray and to act in a fresh way. 

The writer of Romans, the Apostle Paul, has been building a case in this section that the most clear and persistent marker for a person whose heart and life is being transformed by Jesus is a radical kind of love.  This kind of love is characterized by not just pretending to love other people, but actually loving them (see 12:9).  The person who’s live is given over to this live does radically hard things in the midst of suffering like persevering and praying (12:12).  The person that is filled with this radical love does the even harder work and a more radical thing when they are reviled or persecuted, in verse 14 – They bless their enemies and pray for them!  Because the person filled with this kind of radical love does not seek to pay back evil with more evil. But in verses 19-21 of Romans 12, we find the most upside down and perhaps most radical of all commands anywhere in the Scriptures: [2 Slides - 12:19-21]

Last week Pastor Keith taught on verse 17 and 18 – doing all you can to live at peace with other people.  But a reasonable question to ask is “how far can this principle of peaceable living be extended?”  The section of Romans 12 I just read is sandwiched right between instructions on interpersonal relationships AND the role of the government in Romans 13.  Some of you may have gone home last weekend asking questions like “yeah, it’s all fine and good to live at peace with people as much as I can but what do we do when faced with the presence of radical evil in this world?  How does a transformed person approach the question of retribution, or paying someone back for evil?  What does the Bible teach about our response in the face of someone that has wronged us? 

I think it’s important for us as we look into these Scriptures to note a few provisos or footnotes on our discussion today.  Firstly, this is not a fully developed philosophical discussion around the existence of evil.  If you are looking for that, you’d best head to the Apologetics Canada conference March 1-2 at Northview.  Second proviso – this passage is about how an individual responds to evil and is not about how governments, nations or groups of people respond.  Just a few verses later in Romans 13, Paul argues that the state has a unique and God ordained role to play in restraining violence and subduing evil.  The police don’t go around giving out flowers!  We’ll look at that notion in a moment. 

But first, let’s get a sense of some the complementary texts that explore this same issue.  One question to ask when you come up against a hard or challenging teaching like loving your enemies is to see if Jesus said anything to say about it.  And in this instance, He did.  In Matthew 5:38 Jesus says “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.…  This phrase “an Eye for an eye” was known as the “lex talionis” and comes out of the Old Testament from Exodus 21:24.  And it formed the basis of the legal framework for centuries.  We sometimes think of it as promoting or sanctioning retributive violence – tit for tat.  “If he hit me, I’ll hit him back.”  But there is a problem built into that system.  To illustrate the problem, I think of a story told by a friend of ours, Sue, who several years ago faced a parenting dilemma.  She had observed her young son being very physically aggressive and punching his sister who was several years younger than he was.  So her mothering instincts to protect and punish kicked in, she quickly swooped in, yanked him out the situation and started giving him a spanking.  And as she was doing it she heard herself saying to him “In this house we do not hit each other!”  And then it struck her…

In Leviticus 24 the notion of an eye for an eye is not for private retribution, but it is set up out of a desire for the justice that is meted out by those with authority to be fair and not out of proportion to the crime.  In my friend’s situation, the punishment may have matched the crime, but it was also teaching something else that she didn’t want him to learn.  And here in Matthew 5, Jesus continues his teaching with an even more radical idea – loving your enemies (Read Matt. 5:38-45a) Matthew 5:43-45 is on a slide

This kind or radical love for those who insult and persecute you is all through the New Testament.  Look at I Peter 3, I’ll read just verse 9:

“Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it.” 

Or in the Old Testament, look at Proverbs 20:22

“Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.”

    Wait for the Lord to handle the matter.” 

As Pastor Keith reminded us last week, the desire for revenge is deeply rooted in human nature and is incredibly powerful.  If a person who desires to live the transformed life doesn’t repay evil for evil, how do they handle things?  Just this week, I saw a posting on Facebook that I think was trying to take a stab at this question.  It said “There’s no need for Revenge.  Just sit back and wait.  Those who hurt you will eventually screw up themselves and if you’re lucky, God will let you watch”.  In our text here in Romans 12, a passive-aggressive approach is off the table because we are to be motivated by genuine love for others and not a desire for them to trip up and fall and for us to be around to watch it go happen.  Let’s drill into our text a bit and see what we discover… 

The first thing that we see is the danger or retributive violence.  Paying someone back assumes something, and that is that it is my right or responsibility or that I have the capacity to tip the scales back to equilibrium.  But notice something here.  We are not to take revenge when personally wronged because someone has already been given that job.  The Scriptures are clear that paying someone back for evil they have done is the prerogative of God and the authorities ordained by God (Rom. 13:4).  The danger of retributive violence is that I am taking on a job that is not available to me.  I like the way that the ASV translation of verse 17 reads because it’s quite clear: “Give place to” or ““Leave room for the wrath of God”.  If you are wired up with a strong sense of justice, like I have discovered that I am, this is a significant challenge.  Observing the deep pain and the seemingly unrestrained nature of evil in our world – young girls bartered and sold as human cargo into the sex trade around the globe some of whom end up right here in our city; powerful people in Guatemala who use force and violence to displace the poor from land and homes that are rightfully theirs; the bully in the hallway at school who singles you out for no reason; the person at work who steals your idea and passes it off as their own…  Whenever I come up against something that is wrong, my initial response is to get mad and then it moves quickly to getting even because justice has been perverted.  This feeling of wanting justice isn’t wrong, but personal actions that come from a place of revenge for wrongs done to others or to me is off the table for followers of Jesus.  Because we are doing a job that is ultimately not ours to do.  Vengeance is mine, says the Lord – God will either naturally or ultimately deal with the situation and right the wrong.  In the Old Testament book of Nahum, the prophet is really pissed off that the enemies of God’s people seem to be getting away with murder.  Until God reminds him not so gently of the truth

“The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished.”  Retributive violence is not my job or your job – the position of judge and jury of the universe has already been filled. 

But this doesn’t mean, friends, that we sit idly by passively waiting for God to dispense cosmic justice.  The very next verse gives us an active  strategy to deploy when dealing with those whom we label as our enemies.  And the strategy is an offense of peace.   

We are part of a tradition as Mennonite Brethren known as the historic peace church and this often gets confused for and equated with pacifism.  But though we don’t have time this morning to get into all of the details, I would suggest to you that just as there is a difference between force and violence,

• There is a very real difference between pacifism and peace making (see Matthew 5:9)

We are called to work for Peace and to pursue it, not to sit idly about and hope that somebody else does the job for us.  Listen to our confession of faith and the active and indeed offensive stance that we are called to adopt

“We view violence in its many different forms as contradictory to the new nature of the Christian. We believe that the evil and inhumane nature of violence is contrary to the gospel of love and peace… Alleviating suffering, reducing strife, and promoting justice are ways of demonstrating Christ’s love.”

Here’s where Romans 12 comes into play when we encounter evil or oppression or injustice, we don’t just sit around have prayer meetings and say “gee, I hope God does something that!”  No!  We get up off of our (I’m going to say butts) and we actively seek to find ways of making peace.  We don’t’ get freaked out and cross to the other side of the street when we see someone who is homeless and hungry, we see if we can buy them a meal.  We don’t just sit back and say “I hope that whole drought thing in East Africa calms down”  No!  We fund the drilling of wells there through Global Aid Network or micro loan agencies.  In some circles, pacifism has become a poor excuse for passivity.  But our call is very active – feed the hungry.  Give the thirsty something to drink.  They might be your enemy, but take the risk that God is in charge and He’ll sort all of that out.    

Which brings us to the burning question (pun fully intended) and the title:  What’s Up with the “Coals of Fire” Thing?! (12:20).  To our western minds, this doesn’t’ sound like radical love, it sounds like revenge!  “You’re my enemy? Well I’ll just dump a bunch of burning hot coals on your head!”

The first thing to note is that this is a direct quote from Proverbs 25 which likely has a double meaning.  Two layers to it…    

Meaning 1 – It was a figure of speech from ancient culture that indicated radical generosity (Prov. 25:21-22)

When I was in Africa this past May, one thing you notice is that people carry everything on their heads. And I mean everything.  It’s amazing what people can stack up on their noggins with careful practice! 

Photo: African women walking with containers on their heads

So one probable meanings for this image comes from the ancient practice of how people keep the hearth fire burning in your hut or home.  In many developing cultures in rural areas, your source of fire is in a little pot or container of some kind with coals in it.  And the plan is that you always keep it burning.  But every now and again, the coals go out and someone in the family has to go to the neighbour’s house with your little pot to borrow fire.  Now, if you and your neighbour are not on good terms, this would be an opportunity for them to really screw you over.  Because those coals are absolutely essential for cooking and for keeping warm and if you don’t get your source of fire back, you are hooped!  And so one way of thinking about this image is the choice that you make in that interaction: the neighbour who has wronged you comes over to borrow something that they desperately need, and you have a choice to make.  It is within your rights to withhold it.  Or you can demonstrate radical generosity and heap those coals up high that they will carry back to their hut on their head. 

When you and I demonstrate radical generosity in the face of stinginess or being wronged, not only are you exhibiting the character of Jesus, BUT it also actually also highlights the offense even more because you are willing to do exactly the opposite of what has been done to you!  Let’s bring it into the modern world for a moment: If the teacher in the next classroom is always stealing your chalk or white board marker, instead of holding a grudge, you go to Staples and buy them a brand new box of chalk out of your own money – that’s heaping coals of fire on their head.  When someone wrongs you, you don’t get even, you go on the offensive to make peace even at personal expense. Because sometimes the cost is peace is greater than the cost of vengeance.      

And this cost is only worth it both in small ways and in big ways because of what we talked about before…  That God does not let guilt go unpunished.  In the Old Testament in the books of Psalms and Isaiah and Ezekiel, the image of coals of fire is used as a  

Meaning 2 – It is a metaphoric reminder of God’s judgment against evil and those who do wrong.

Living the upside down life only makes sense if there is someone ultimately more powerful and more capable of making peace than you or I will ever be.  And He is ultimately the arbitrator of humanity and He will ultimately punish all those who do evil.    

As we close our teaching time and move into a time of response and celebrating communion together, we are reminded that overcoming evil with good is always, always a costly endeavor.  (3) The Hard Truth: Peace is Always Costly (12:21).   

John Piper in his writing on this passage notes that

• Because of the cross and the resurrection, woven into the fabric of reality is God’s absolute commitment that justice be done

Because of God’s nature as perfect and just and loving, everything that is an affront to that must ultimately be dealt with.  The wrongs in the world as well as the wrongs that you and I have done in our lives must be punished in order for justice and peace to win the day.  “In God’s universe forgiveness does not mean that some crimes receive no punishment. It means that some crimes are punished in the suffering of a substitute.” Jesus on the cross.  Isaiah 53:6 says “the Lord laid on Him, that is Jesus” the sins of us all.  Peace with God and with others has been won when Jesus paid the ultimate price:  Listen again to the verse that was read: 

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”  (Romans 5:2 New Living Translation)  

Don’t miss out on that opportunity friends. If you are nursing a grudge against someone who has wronged you, the Scriptures invite you to forgive.  If you have wronged someone, go to them and make it right before coming to the communion table.  As the band comes to lead us, Jared and Ruth Ellen are going to lead us in special music with a song called “O God of Love, True Course of Peace”.  Our prayer team Curtis, Bailey and Laura are also available for you as you make your way up to the communion tables.  Here are JRCC our practice to have an open table, head up,  take the elements to your seat (bread: Christ’s body, cup, Christ’s blood) and participate as you feel ready.  Let’s stand and I’ll pray as we continue in worship.