Romans 12:9-21
9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
What does it mean to overcome evil with good? I share with you a story I came across a few years ago.
Story of Buzz – Jesus the Sin Stealer
I want to be as graphic and as plain as I can be about this. Jesus is the ultimate sin stealer, and that troubles me.
You can certainly use language that describes this reality in different terms, like “Jesus removes our sins,” or “Jesus washed my sins away,” but Jesus “rips us off” as far as our corporate and personal sins are concerned. I am a witness to this, because I was reared by a sin stealer: my mother.
This sin stealing was shown most clearly on an early spring day long ago, when my mother had made my favorite lunch for school. It was a small container of chocolate milk, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. I went off to Public School 129, eager for the morning to pass so I could sink my teeth into one of those delicious cookies. But, a block and a half away, as I turned to Quincy Street, I was face-to-face with Buzz, the bully of the block.
“Gimme that lunch, punk!” he said.
“But, Buzz, that’s my lunch.”
“You better gimme that lunch!”
“But it’s mine. My Mom made it for me, and she made me my favorite…”
Buzz’s right uppercut sent me and the lunch to the ground. He picked up the lunch and said, “That’s what you get for not listening to me!” and went off to school. I also went off to school with no lunch and lots of anger.
At home, late that afternoon, I was very silent. Mama, knowing something was up, said, “What happened at school today?”
“I’m gonna kill him!”
“What?”
“I’m gonna kill him!”
“And who do you plan to kill?”
“Buzz. He beat me up, he stole my lunch, and I’m gonna kill him!”
Mama thought for a while and then said, “Here, have some food. Don’t start your homework right away — there is something we need to do together, but you must do it as I say.”
The next morning I saw Buzz in front of the school. He pointed to me and said, “Here is that punk who I stole cookies from yesterday!”
I walked up to him, handed him a bag and said, “Buzz, here are some cookies. They’re for you. My mother and I made them.”“Whaddya mean, punk? Giving me cookies? I can take them from you anytime I want!”
“But we made them for you. Take them.”
“Are they poison?”
“No, they’re okay. Take them.”
He took the bag from me and handed it to one of his buddies. “Hey, Biff, you try them.”
“But they just may be poison,” said Biff.
“Try them anyway, already! They just may be good!”
After one bite, and Biff still standing, Buzz passed out the cookies to his buddies, saying, “The punk has brought me, Buzz, some cookies! Isn’t that great?!”
The next day, I saw Buzz during recess. I walked up to him, gave him a bag and said, “Buzz, here are some more cookies. Take them; they’re free.”
“Are you messing with me, man? Are you messing with me? These are the ones that are poison! Yesterday was just to set me up!”
“Don’t worry, Buzz. They’re just fine.” He took the bag and backed away from me with a terrified look on his face.
The following day, I saw Buzz in the cafeteria. I said, “Buzz, here are some more cookies. Enjoy them!”
“How can I enjoy cookies if you keep on giving them to me! Now cut it out, man! I didn’t even finish yesterday’s cookies! No more cookies! He took the bag anyway.
On the next day, I saw Buzz at the end of school. I walked up to him and said, “Buzz, here are….” He took one look at that bag of cookies and turned running and screaming all the way down Quincy Street. I haven’t even had the notion of taking someone’s life ever since. Because Jesus is a sin stealer, my mom stole my intention to sin. (Adapted from a sermon by the Rev. Michael L. Cobbler, “The Trouble With ‘Sin Stealers,” January 17, 1999)
Let us pray:
Dear God, you challenge us to do the hard thing – overcoming evil with good. Strengthen our resolve and may evil be overcome! We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.