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
