“And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.”

In today’s Gospel brothers and sisters in Christ, we are told by Christ of the golden rule of being a Christian. Chapter 6 of Luke’s gospel introduces us to a way of living as true Christians. Just prior to today’s gospel reading we have Christ preaching the beatitudes followed by the woes. And then in the verse immediately preceding today’s gospel we are directed by Christ to “give to everyone who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again”. In other words, Christ tells us not to place emphasis on worldly things.

So, what does Christ mean when he says immediately following “and as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.” Note that Christ is not saying here that if people are good to you then you be good to them. Nor is he saying that if you are good to people then they may in turn be good back to you. That is not the message of this gospel. What Christ is saying is that as you wish to be treated so shall you treat your fellow man. In other words, the measure of action is by the person carrying out what they would want done to themselves by the other. This is the difference between initiating an action and reacting to action. A Christian is an actor and not a reactor. A Christian does things and acts in the name of Christ rather than seeking accolades, admiration and respect from his fellow human beings as reward for good deeds.

Let us look at that for a moment. Christ says focus on your actions. Look at yourself and put yourself into the shoes of the other. Would you want what you are about to do done to yourself? If not then abandon it. If yes, then carry it out. Another way of phrasing it is to act in love as a positive response to the other person. But the question is, act out of love for whom? The answer brothers and sisters in Christ is simple: to act in love for Christ. It is because I put on Christ that I act in love. It is because I respond to Christ’s love that I want to imitate Christ. As St Paul puts it in Colossians chapter 3:

“put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, lowliness, meekness and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

Accordingly, it is how we react to our love for Christ and the fullness of that love in our heart that allows us to reach out to our fellow man as a celebration of that love.

Note that Christ does give some admonitions to each one of us. He says yes, it is good to love, but you must love your enemy. For if you love your friends what credit is that to you? Further, if you lend to those that you hope to receive from, then what credit is that to you, as you lend in the certainty of return. No, our Christ makes it clear to each one of us that we are to love our enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing in return.

Here brothers and sisters in Christ we have a clear division between the way of this world and the way of the next. If we act as Christians in name only, with our eyes to a return in this world, whether it is admiration, respect, reward or self-advancement, then we do so in vain. St John Chrysostom makes it clear that either we seek our reward in this life or in the next. In this life we may do things that make us feel happy with ourselves and we justify this on the basis that we are doing God’s work because we happen to be assisting our fellow man in some small way. If we act to please men then our reward will be in them appreciating us. If, however, we want eternal reward we will not concern ourselves with why we do the good that we do, but do it because God is kind to us first. We do it because God loved us first. We do it because Christ gifted to us, through his suffering, eternal life.

Doing God’s work is not about cause and effect. It is not about looking for reward in heaven. It is not about promoting yourself in this world. It is about wanting to be like Christ in this world. It is about putting on Christ, dying with him and being reborn with water and spirit. It is about becoming a child of the Most High. In other words, a son of the living God. That is the reward promised in this gospel. It is about how we are saved. It is about doing good in the name of Christ to become Christ-like. It is about attaining the kingdom of heaven in this world.

Let us consider for a moment Christ and the way he loved those who hated him and wanted his death. Even on the night that he was given up to death he commanded Peter to put away his sword, after he had cut off the right ear the slave of the high priest, and healed him, admonishing Peter by saying “no more of this” (Luke 22:51). How many of us confronted with such injustice and personal danger would not demand some justice in return for ourselves. However, Christ reminds us that God is kind to the ungrateful and to the selfish. If God is merciful to those that are not merciful, if God is kind to the unkind then what is needed is made quite clear. To be a child of the most high you must re-evaluate your life and look at the things that are important. You must make a choice as to whether you do things in this life to receive the accolades of your fellow man, or whether you do things in imitation of Christ, in confronting situations, in circumstances where you may be held up in ridicule and derision by your fellow human beings, and then make the choice of whether you want your reward in this world or in the next.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as you would wish that men would do to you, do so to them. Such a simple sentence that has such depth of meaning. It means taking the initiative towards your fellow man in response to God’s love and acting as a fool for Christ without regard to the wisdom of the age and to what our fellows may say about our foolish behaviour. Our motivation is love for Christ and for one another and after all is not that the central message of the gospel? For Christ said love one another as I have loved you (Jn 13:34). Amen.