The Law of Karma: Sow the Wind, Reap the Whirlwind

The Laws of Nature 

I start with two questions this morning – 1) Can God break the law of gravity? 2) Can God break the law of karma? 

 

When we were in school, we learned about physical laws of nature, for example, the law of gravity. If I step forward over the edge of the platform, I will descend to the next step. If the edge I step off is big enough, I will fall and hurt myself. The law of gravity ensures this, and I cannot break it. 

 

Can God break the law of gravity? Of course, God can. We call those times when God suspends the physical laws miracles. The feeding of the 5,000, for example, began with a suspension of the normal pattern for multiplying food. Once the food was multiplied, of course, the usual physical laws resumed. 

 

It is a good thing that God normally does not break or suspend physical laws, or we would live in a chaotic world, an unlivable world. Imagine a world in which two people sit down in the same spot at the same time without bumping into each other. It sounds cool, but it would in fact be chaos! God uses the predictability of physical laws to make our world orderly and useful. We can heat our homes in the brutal cold of a Manitoba winter because the laws of nature make it possible. Heat cooks our food and warms our bodies when it is controlled and predictable. If we could not depend on heat to work according to regular laws, life would be unlivable. 

 

The answer to our first question, then, is that God can suspend the physical laws, but normally God does not. This leads me to a follow-up question: Can God suspend or break what we might call the moral law. Follow me closely for a bit. 

 

Natural Law 

Philosophers and theologians teach us about something they call “natural law”. Instead of the physical laws of nature, they are referring to the moral laws of nature. These are principles of right and wrong that apply to life in this world, just as physical laws do. Breaking the moral laws has consequences much like trying to break the physical laws. One such is that we should tell the truth. If we do not, if we regularly lie to other people, we will reap the consequences as surely as we do if we step off a cliff. 

 

Another such law is what Hindus call the law of karma. We have a saying in English that expresses the law of karma: “You reap what you sow.” The basic idea is that whatever happens to us in our lives has its roots in previous choices we have made. In Hinduism, this is carried to extreme lengths through the idea of reincarnation: Anything bad that happens to you is your own fault, because of something you did in a previous life. We don’t have to buy into this extreme to see the basic truth: As Hosea puts it, “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” 

 

Our second question, then, is: Can God break this law of karma? Does God suspend or set aside the moral law, just as God sometimes breaks the laws of physics? [Note: I am using “karma” in its popular sense as cause and effect, rather than the way Hinduism describes karma more fully.] 

 

Luke 6 

In the sermon on the plain, Jesus tells us that not only can God break the law of karma, but he expects us to do the same. Listen to what Jesus says:

²⁷ ‘But to you who are listening I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill-treat you. ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.

 

The law of karma says: Your enemies hate you, and so they have sown the seeds of hate. You hate them also, and the cycle of hatred continues. Jesus says: Break the cycle. Love them! 

 

The law of karma says: Your enemies curse you, and they have earned your curses in return. Jesus says: Break the cycle. Bless them! 

 

The law of karma says: Your enemy insults you with a slap on the cheek, and you should return their insult in spades. Show them who’s strongest and toughest! Jesus says: Break the cycle. Accept the insult, even when they add more! 

 

The law of karma says: Your enemy confiscates your coat, and you are justified in taking it back with interest. Jesus says: Break the cycle. Offer them whatever else they need! 

 

Jesus breaks the law of karma, but notice how the passage ends.

³⁵ 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. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Remember I said that when God suspends a physical law, we have what we call a miracle. When God intervened in Mary’s life, she conceived a child without the usual act of conception. But after God’s intervention, the ordinary laws of nature resumed. Mary’s pregnancy followed the usual pattern, and the baby Jesus was born. 

 

The same thing is true here. Jesus breaks the law of karma in order to break the cycle of hatred and violence in our world, but then the law resumes working. If you break the law of karma and start a new cycle, returning love for hatred, you sow love and reap love. 

 

Genesis 45 

The story from Genesis is a dramatic example of God’s grace and mercy. Sometimes we think that the God of the Old Testament is a God of law and the God of the New Testament is a God of grace and mercy. Of course, God is always full of grace and mercy, and the story of Joseph puts that grace on display. To put in the terms I have been using this morning, God breaks the law of karma and introduces a new life for Joseph and his brothers. 

 

You remember the story. Joseph was one of twelve sons of Jacob. The twelve had four mothers – Joseph and Benjamin came from Jacob’s favourite wife, Rachel. She died giving birth to Benjamin. Sometime after she died, Jacob showed that Joseph was clearly his favourite sone, and his brothers reacted jealously. They sold him to some passing traders, Midianites, who carried him down to Egypt. The brothers told their father that a wild animal had killed Joseph, and the family mourned him as dead. 

 

Meanwhile in Egypt, Joseph became a slave to a man named Potiphar, and then was thrown in prison on trumped-up charges of trying to seduce Potiphar’s wife. In prison, Joseph became known as a man of wisdom, able to interpret people’s dreams. His reputation led to his release from prison, when he was brought before Pharoah and interpreted his dreams. His success led to further favour, and he was elevated to the effective ruler of Egypt second only to Pharoah himself. 

 

Meanwhile, a famine gripped his homeland of Canaan, and his brothers heard that Egypt had food when everyone else had run out. They didn’t know, of course, that Egypt had food because their brother, Joseph, was in charge of collecting and storing food there – thanks to God’s leading and wisdom in preparing for the famine. Ten brothers headed off to Egypt, leaving only the youngest, Benjamin, behind. 

 

When they arrived before Joseph, he recognized them, but they did not recognize him. Egypt had food, and they needed food. Joseph made sure that they got it, but first he put them through a series of tests. I have wondered why. Why didn’t he just say, “Karma, guys! You messed with the wrong man”? Why didn’t he throw them out with nothing? Instead, he gave them food, but he added conditions. Bring me you brother Benjamin. They brought Benjamin, and Joseph engineered a scene to throw Benjamin in prison. 

 

The result was to reveal a fundamental change within the brothers. Years before, they had acted on their jealousy to get rid of Joseph. This time, not knowing that Joseph was standing in front of them, Judah stepped forward to take Benjamin’s place. “Put me in prison,” he said, “but let Benjamin go!” Clearly, Judah had changed – whether or not all of his brothers had. 

 

So, we have the verses that we read: “Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ⁶ For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no ploughing and reaping. ⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸ ‘So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.” Here, Joseph breaks the law of karma. Instead, he follows God’s law and extends grace to his brothers. Karma may be a moral law of the universe, but God’s law of love is deeper and stronger than karma. 

 

God’s Law of Love 

Jesus acted out the law of love on the cross. The cross of Jesus is the ultimate act of breaking the law of karma. Or more precisely, karma is at work in our lives – if you sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind, but the cross breaks the cycle of violence and hatred that karma perpetuates. The cross enables us to live out of love and mercy and start a new cycle of grace and hope. 

 

The Law of Love in Daily Life 

You know that our usual response to the things that happen in our world is to invoke the law of karma. I read the news recently to see that a police officer in the USA was sentenced to two years for shooting an unarmed suspect. She claimed that she thought she was reaching her taser, but she actually pulled out her gun and killed him. 

 

The responses were predictable: Slap on the wrist! Doesn’t bring the dead boy back! Terrible decision! I do not know what the sentence should have been, and I make no suggestion here as to what the court should have said. I note only that we routinely invoke the law of karma in such situations. 

 

Consider the various convoys and blockades that took place over the past month. Supporters of the protests suggest that the government had it coming. Opponents of the protests want the police to step in and end the protests. Both sides are ready to perpetuate the cycle of violence and hatred that escalates matters and makes them worse. 

 

Again, I make no suggestion here as to who is right. I note only that supporters and protesters alike invoke the law of karma – you have sown the wind; now you reap the whirlwind. 

 

It is not “normal” for us to break the cycle. We want life to be fair, and we use our desire for fairness to demand that those who hurt us receive an equivalent penalty. They have sown the wind; we want them to reap the whirlwind. The law of karma is deeply ingrained. 

 

Concluding Thoughts 

We are not wrong. Karma is another name for justice. Those who live by violence bring about their own destruction as justice takes its course. The trouble is that the cycle of violence is a dead end. Literally. It will kill us all before it is done. We need God’s law of love to start a new cycle, to sow the wind of love so that we can reap a whirlwind of love. 

 

Let’s do a thought exercise. We’ve had lots of activity over the last several weeks, bringing a difficult climax to the pandemic we’ve lived with for the past several years. As the protests disperse and we move towards some kind of normality, how will you respond to those who were really vocal about what they believe? 

 

I have taken a phone call from someone in Winnipeg, calling our church because she assumed we were just like the church on route 12 south of Steinbach. She called me/us all kinds of names, including murderer, and made it clear that she wants God to judge us harshly. I have a friend in Hanover whose child was left feeling threatened by protesters at one of Hanover’s schools. People from both sides have made it clear that they think their opponents are allied with evil. 

 

So, what do we do? What if we respond with acceptance and empathy for both sides? What if we refuse to condemn protesters automatically and try to understand their fears? What if we refuse to label political leaders and those who support restrictions and ask how we can work for the common good? What if we break the cycle of insult and recrimination? What if we begin by expressing profound gratitude to those who have done their very best throughout the pandemic to keep our hospitals and stores and restaurants and trucks going? What if we start a new cycle of listening and building bridges? 

 

The pandemic itself was its own particular time with its own particular requirements. The aftermath, which we are now entering (although Covid is not going away!), is a new time. A time for healing the wounds of our society and rebuilding community. That means we have to set aside grudges and break the cycle of karma. That means we have the opportunity to start a new cycle of love and acceptance, based on Christ’s act on the cross – returning love for insults and good for evil. 

 

This is actually the attitude Jesus wants us to have in every area of life. The pandemic is no more than one arena in which we break the law of karma, following Jesus on the cross, and start a new cycle of life lived in love. May we do so starting right now. 

 

 

 

 

Focus Statement: 

God has made a law in the universe, as timeless as the low of gravity: If we sow the wind, we will reap the whirlwind. Jesus tells us that God will treat us in eternity the way that we treat each other here on earth. 

 

Scriptures: 

Genesis 45: 1-15 

Joseph makes himself known

45 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, ‘Make everyone leave my presence!’ So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. 

³ Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph! Is my father still living?’ But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. 

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me.’ When they had done so, he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ⁶ For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no ploughing and reaping. ⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 

⁸ ‘So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. ⁹ Now hurry back to my father and say to him, “This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. ¹⁰ You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me – you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. ¹¹ I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.” 

¹² ‘You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. ¹³ Tell my father about all the honour accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.’ 

¹⁴ Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. ¹⁵ And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterwards his brothers talked with him.

 

Luke 6: 27-38 

Love for enemies

²⁷ ‘But to you who are listening I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill-treat you. ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you. 

³² ‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ 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. ³⁵ 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. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

 

 

Thought-provoking Question: 

Can God break the law of gravity? Can God break the law of karma? 

 

Going Deeper Questions: 

1) Daryl said that God can break the laws of nature (such as gravity. Do you agree or not? What does that mean? 

2) Do you agree that God can break “the law of karma”? If so, what does that mean? If not, why not? 

3) What would our world be like if “karma” acted strictly? What would happen to our ability to choose? 

4) What do you think God wants us to do with the freedom that he gives us by breaking the law of “karma”? 

 

 

Steinbach Mennonite Church 

27 February 2022