( Sermon Romans 12,21 ) [ German Sermon ] [ Abkündigungen668.62 KB ]
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
AN INVITATION TO LIFE, TO LOVE and for PEACE
Dear Congregation, just now we heard the Bible verses of the Confirmands. To me and I believe to many of you, these moments are always a highlight of the services during which they participate and present themselves.
The weekly Verse includes all these sayings and rounds them off. That is why I have decided to say something to that today.
In Romans 12:21 the Apostle Paul writes:
" Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
This word, this short sentence, is at the end of a passage that deals with the life of the church, but also with the coexistence of Christians with other people.
All the admonitions for peace, for renunciation of revenge, for love culminate in this sentence.
A so-called "golden saying", as we often use, a concise and apt summary of Christian ethics.
Is that even possible? Isn't that a fantastic idea?
A pious wish, then, that has nothing to do with the reality of our lives, absolutely nothing at all.
Paul sees it differently. He also knows about the hardships of reality, he does not deny evil, but calls it by its name. But he is convinced that Christians can also do things differently.
The motto of the week is related to the commandment of enemy love. Hardly any sentence Jesus said is as offensive and challenging as the demand to love the enemies and pray for the persecutors (Matthew 5:44). Jesus is convinced that love is a heavenly power that we can and must use on earth. If we managed the impossible, even to love our enemies, then they would no longer be enemies. If love of enemies were lived by all people - then all enmity would cease.
Conceit! Of course, yes. And yet there were people who tried to live like that.
Paul formulates differently, more generally, more principledly: he does not speak of enemies and love, he speaks of evil and good.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
What does Paul mean by evil and good? This formulation is open to interpretation. Everyone understands it differently. And that, dear congregation, is also the exciting thing about it. What is "evil"? Is it other people, are they circumstances or catastrophes, or is it in myself? Evil is primarily that which has nothing to do with love, it is the opposite of it and has the opposite effect. Thinking to do something good does not mean that it is good. But if the intention is right, then that is good.
In the Lord's Prayer we pray for salvation from evil.
Evil exists. And evil is threatening, it pulls us down, into downward spirals of struggle, of righteousness and the desire to be right, to revenge and resentment.
I can deny evil or fight. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth".
Paul does not follow either of these two possibilities: he names evil, it is a genuine experience that we have. But he does not call for battle, he does not send us into a battlefield: to fight evil, to want to destroy - that would mean to let oneself be drawn into this cycle. Whether it is people or nations, races or states that have been declared by others to be forces of evil - exclusion, war and annihilation have only brought increasingly evil into the world.
Overcome evil with good - this is the Christian strategy in dealing with evil, wherever and in whatever form it is encountered: God's kingdom is not fought for, it is sown and grows, where people refuse the vicious circles of evil and seek ways of love and ways to peace in the face of evil.
Can we do that? We know for ourselves: it is hard. Someone pulls you to pieces and spreads lies around. Fake news runs wild. Someone hurts me with evil words, runs me down, terminates our friendship, behaves ruthlessly towards me. There are situations in which I could explode. And I would love to live out the way: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. What would happen? A vicious circle of evil would be opened and would never end.
We Christians believe in God, in His love, from which we live. We are always dependent on forgiveness. Filled and embraced by God's love, I can do without retribution.
Does it work? Yes, it can work. Of course, it is tried far too rarely. Examples from history such as Mahatma Gandhi in India or Nelson Mandela here, show the power of non-violent resistance in politics.
Mediation as a way to a peaceful resolution of conflicts... I tried to present this to the 8th Graders in Religion as a solution strategy.
It is so important that there is more of that in the world. We need peacemakers who show ways out of hatred and violence.
I hope you have already experienced for yourself how liberating conversations and encounters can be, in which reconciliation takes place, forgiveness is pronounced, new beginnings are faced together.
Do not let evil overcome you but overcome evil with good. A fantastic idea and an invitation to life, to love, to peace.
Amen