Genesis 45: 3-11, 15                                                                                                   Rev. Dr. Galen E. Russell III

Luke 6: 27-38                                                                                                                               February 23, 2025

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Prayer: May we feel the spiritual freedom that comes when we follow you. In Christ we pray, Amen.

We know what ‘common sense’ is, yes? Some of us have learned a good, deep understanding of everyday knowledge about the world, and some of us not so much. There are plenty of internet memes about the lack of common sense—like this one—“I’m guessing whoever decided to call it common sense didn’t know that many people.”

Common sense is what is practical, basic, sound judgement and wisdom for daily living, right? It’s the stuff that’s almost too obvious to say. Kind of like what should be second nature, or what is generally understood and accepted by a large group of people regardless of their backgrounds. Common sense tells you not to touch a hot stove to avoid getting burned. Or to look both ways before crossing the street. That’s common sense.

Today’s Bible reading from Luke has the Golden Rule—“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” And I wondered, is this common sense? Maybe. It is, in the sense that a lot of people know the rule. But, is it practiced? I found it interesting that of all the definitions for common sense that I spotted on the internet,  only one came close to including practicing common sense: “Common sense is everyday knowledge about the world… and the ability to use it easily when appropriate.”  So, is the Golden Rule practiced? Is it used easily?

Sadly, I think most of us, most of our businesses, most of our governments rumble along without paying much attention to the Golden Rule. Sometimes it only gets lip service.

 Sometimes the inverse, the negative version of it is preferred—“Don’t do anything to others that you don’t want done to you.” Which is OK, but it sounds like common sense. Because common sense says watch out for yourself first, and don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want them to do to you. 

But that’s different from what Jesus taught. It’s not as demanding. It doesn’t involve us doing anything. It’s easier for us to not do something for others than it is to do something for others. So, when Jesus said “Do to others,” I think he means we have to involve ourselves in another person’s welfare first, just as we hope that the other person involve themselves in our welfare first. 

When I was in 6th grade, I was all about football. Played it. Watched it. Watched movies about it. Shortly after I watched “Brian’s Song,”  a movie about football players Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers, one of my youth advisors from church gave me the book “I Am Third” written by Gale Sayers. And I read it right away. And it had a lasting impact on my life. Because it’s Gale Sayers’ autobiography about how he learned that the best order to balance life’s priorities was this: God is first, others are second, and I am third.

        Yeah, that’s not common sense. But that may be Christian common sense. Christian common sense is  what you get when you have God living in your heart first. And then you open yourself to the love of Christ as the dominant influence in your life which stirs you to do to others as you would have them do to you. I am third. And you build faith that God has your best interest at heart while you are third. That’s Christian common sense, and it reaches far more deeply than common sense could ever reach.

Because Christian common sense is what we can learn. It’s spiritual wisdom for everyday living.

So, it makes me think that a real test of being Christian is not being nice, or doing devotions, or going to church, or giving money to the church. It’s not preaching the gospel. It’s not even loving those who love you. Or blessing those who bless you. Even the worst people can do that! It’s not giving to those who can reciprocate. Or getting mad when you give and there is no reciprocation. I’ve seen that happen a few times.

 No, I wonder if the real test of being a Christian is how deeply we desire to let Christian common sense become like second nature in us. How deeply we do to others because we’re followers of Christ.

Christian common sense goes directly to what God values— the sacredness of life all around us. The power of seeing every person first and foremost as loved by God and a place where God lives.  The beauty of the God/human relationship that is grounded in a sacred partnership with God.  And the trajectory of that partnership that is always arcing toward harmony. Toward reconciliation. Toward love and grace.

Which is why this story of Joseph revealing himself to his brothers is like one of my favorite Hebrew scripture stories. What a beautiful story of reconciliation. Of love and grace of transformation.

It reminded me of another story of a man who required major surgery, and on the evening of the surgery, his one son Ed arrived at the hospital to spend time with his dad and mom. As he approached the room, he heard laughter from both dad and mom, and a third voice mixed in. When Ed entered the room, he was shocked to see his older brother Gary, who five years ago, had a falling out with his dad. They had not spoken since. They were like enemies. But his father’s illness brought them back together and the beginnings of forgiveness and reconciliation started. Just like when Joseph spoke those words to his brothers, “I am your brother, Joseph,” Ed wrote that maybe his brother Gary, when he first saw dad after all those years, said “I am your son, Gary” (Horstman, Ed, “In the Lectionary,” The Christian Century, Feb. 2025, p. 27). And maybe God’s grace penetrated through all the years of separation. And transformed them and their relationship.

 See? Forgiveness. Reconciliation. Love and grace. These values are Christian common sense. It seems to me that Gary and his dad practiced Christian common sense when they practiced the Golden Rule. Gary visited his dad, as he would like, as if Gary was having surgery.

 But, they had to choose to follow the Golden Rule.  God is not going to push us to follow it. We have to take that first step, almost as if God wasn’t there at all. But immediately we do, we find God was always there.  As soon as we do to others what we know we would value if done to us, God’s light comes on it and transforms it. It becomes a holy moment.

This past week the electrician came to my house to finish up some work for me he started a while back, and while he was there, he asked me what I was preaching about today. I told him my sermon was called “Christian common sense,” and it was about making the Golden Rule common sense in our lives and about loving your enemies. And he said, “Hmmm… I don’t do that. I don’t love my enemies. I tolerate them.” I laughed and said, “Yeah, I think a lot of people are in the same boat.” But, then I said that Jesus didn’t teach us to tolerate our enemies. He didn’t even teach us to like them. He taught us to love our enemies as we would want them to love us

.

Well, he didn’t respond, and I don’t know him well enough, so the conversation turned to electrical matters. A few hours later, when he was done, I came back with the check book, and I said, “What do I owe you?” And he said, “Well, since you called me back a few weeks ago, the amount is $150 more than what we previously agreed upon. Ok, But, I want you to take that $150 that you saved, and give it to someone who needs it in your church.” WOW! I felt the holiness of that moment I gave that money away as soon as I could. 

What do you think? Do you think that the Holy Spirit got into his heart a little bit there? I’d like to think so God. So maybe as soon as we do to others what we know we would value if done to us, God’s light comes on the moment and can transform it. Making it sacred.

That’s nothing but Christian common sense. And it can free us when common sense doesn’t take us far enough. May we have God’s wisdom and strength to make Christian common sense second nature in our lives, for everyday living. Amen.