But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:27-36
“Jesus introduced the time to realize the essence of the Sabbath and Jubilee expectation, namely uncalculating generosity. The realization of this promised reality confronted the greedy, ungrateful, and evil practices which thrived among the people. Jesus addresses problematic components of the reciprocity ethic and instructs His disciples to forego calculations of reciprocity in favor of following the realization of the Sabbath and Jubilee… Just as God promised to bless generous people by reciprocating their openhanded giving to each other (e.g. Deuteronomy 15:1-8; Leviticus 25:8-55), Jesus promises that God will bless those who do not evaluate the worthiness of recipients before being generous.”
Jonathan Marshall in Jesus, Patrons, and Benefactors: Roman Palestine and the Gospel of Luke (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2009) 243. I shot the header photo yesterday while walking through the national forest outside of Kremmling, Colorado, where we cut down our Christmas tree. It’s our tradition the day before Thanksgiving.
For readers in America, Happy Thanksgiving! For others around the world reading this, join us in pausing to give thanks to God for all His blessings to us. Today will mark my final post in the recent series on “Jubilee” as it relates to generosity. Marshall makes three statements that keenly sum up our recent study.
Firstly, Marshall rightly describes the realization of Jubilee as “uncalculating generosity.” With Jesus, this theme comes into view when our love for others does not keep score. When Peter asked Jesus how many times we should forgive others, remember He replied, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21-22).
Secondly, Marshall astutely alerts us that Jesus says to “forego calculations.” Think about it. Our generosity should look totally different from the culture. We are explicitly instructed to subvert cultural expectations regarding property as we join Jesus in proclaiming the radical ethic of Jubilee. God wants His stuff handled according to His instructions.
Thirdly, Marshall reminds us not to “evaluate the worthiness of recipients.” That’s what the world does! We must be kind to even the ungrateful and wicked. If you want to give thanks for anything today, give thanks that God extended His generosity to you when you were undeserving. Go and do likewise. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!