The Lutheran Hour
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"These Are Not Our Kind of People"
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Text: Matthew 5:43-48
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Lord God our Father, who has redeemed us all through Thy Son Jesus Christ from the hostility that prevents fellowship with Thee and with one another, keep us from thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, so that we may not be overcome by our own pride and prejudice, our own arrogance and asininity. Help us to love as Thou, O Father, dost love us, showing patience and kindness when such consideration does not seem to be in place because it is not deserved. Then, O Father, help us to love as Thou dost love us in Thy Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
The world is shrinking. Business men can set out at the beginning of the week on a round-the-world trip, make a few stopovers, have a few meetings, and be back home before the end of the week. I don’t know of anyone who has done that, but I imagine it happens all the time.
Two or three years from now, the same business men will make that same round-the-world trip, with the same stopovers, giving the same amount of time to meetings on the way, and be back home two or three days later. Jet aircraft are causing our world to shrink right before our eyes.
The same thing is happening in other ways. Time was, not so long ago when the world appeared big enough to contain almost any number of people anyone could possibly think of. Now space is becoming scarcer; people are beginning to think about the possibility that it will run out one day. There are still open spaces, of course, but are there enough for the additional billions of people who will be alive in the next 25 years, to provide room for them to live and food for them to live on? The open spaces are being filled up right now by people who are alive today. They will be filled up even more by young people establishing homes tomorrow. Our world does not look nearly as big as it once did. It is shrinking day by day.
Once upon a time, not so very long ago, it took days for a news report to reach people in other parts of the world. Today all of us know what is happening only minutes after it has happened, in any part of the world. Tomorrow we shall sit in our homes and watch things happening only a split second after the event has occurred, in any part of the world. Indeed, we shall hear what a man has to say all the way across the world before anybody does right on the spot who is sitting more than 75 feet away from the speaker. Day by day the world is shrinking right before our eyes.
One might expect that advances like these would make people feel more at home in the world, give them a greater sense of security, and bring them closer together in mutual trust and understanding. Is that what has actually happened? You know the answer to that as well as I do. The more people get to know each other, the closer they get to each other, the more you hear them saying as you do today, “These are not our kind of people.” What we have is misunderstanding, strife, and conflict on the grandest scale the world has ever known;—between nation and nation, community and community, neighbor and neighbor, man and man.
Don’t think for a moment that the problem just arose yesterday or the day before. It has always been with us, but it is dramatized for us who are alive today by the shrinking world in which we live. The problem is not that progress has gone too far, too fast. The problem is man. It has always been man, and it is man today. In the nature of man, the Scriptures tell us, there is a fatal flaw, a fissure that runs deep into his very being, a force that tears him apart, a burden that weighs him down, keeping him from being what he ought to be, preventing him from becoming what he would otherwise become.
We cannot be content to talk about man in the abstract, as if we were talking about somebody else. All of us are men with that flaw in our nature and that fissure in our character, with those forces tearing us apart and that burden weighing us down. We are men alienated from God and from each other. That is why you hear people saying in this shrinking world of ours, more often now, perhaps, than ever before: ”These are not our kind of people.”
It is like a sock in the jaw to hear somebody say about you, your family, or your friends: “These are not our kind of people.” The sock is just as hard when you say it about others: “These are not our kind of people.” Rich and poor, educated and uneducated, black and white, friend and foe, all feel the blow in the same way, and they all administer the blow in the same way. All that has to be said is this: “These are not our kind of people.”
What has our Lord got to say about this kind of business? This is what He said: “You have heard that it was said ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be the sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. If you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles the same? You, therefore, must be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”
What our Lord saw was Jewish people;—decent, respectable, law-abiding Jewish people;—giving their greeting of “shalom” or “peace” to Jewish people but to no one else. What He foresaw was Gentile people saying “grace and peace” to other Gentiles but not to Jews; white men saying “hello” to white men but not to black men; black men saying “good morning” to black men, but not to white men. Nowhere in the modern world is the fatal flaw in human nature and the hostility toward God and man more evident than in these relationships between people of different races. Our world’s biggest hurt;—its worst pain;—is in this little comment, so easily made and so hard to make good: “These are not our kind of people.”
Hostility does not stop with race. It goes right on into nationality, economic situation, social status, and even religion. So it happens that Englishmen say of Germans: “These are not our kind of people.” Germans say it of Polish people. Polish people say it of Italian people. In one of the hottest trouble spots in the world today, Palestine, there are two peoples of the same race, but of different nationality, saying about one another, “These are not our kind of people.” Jews say it of Arabs, and Arabs say it of Jews. The rich people say it of the poor and the poor say it of the rich: “These are not our kind of people.” Roman Catholics say it of Protestants, and Protestants say it of Roman Catholics: “These are not our kind of people.” Protestants say it about other Protestants. Lutherans say it of Presbyterians, and Presbyterians say it of Lutherans:
“These are not our kind of people.”What did our Lord have to say regarding all this talk about people not being our kind of people? Maybe, He said, others are different, and in that way not your kind of people. But what difference should that really make in your attitude toward them, your treatment of them? What difference, in the love of God, does it really make that they are different? You want to be sons of your Heavenly Father, don’t you? Look at your Father in heaven. He makes the sun to rise upon evil men as well as good, and He sends His rain upon honest and dishonest men alike. If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even the worst people you can think of do the same thing. If you exchange greetings only with your own circle, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do that much. No, you are to be perfect, mature in your love, like your Heavenly Father.
Whenever you meet Jesus Christ, you always come face to face with God the Father. People don’t like that. They prefer to solve their problems on their own. “Why,” they ask, “do you preachers always have to drag God into the picture?” Well, I am not dragging God into the picture. He is there, whether you like it or not. Jesus Christ said that God is there every day of your life. Whenever the day dawns, God is there. Whenever the sun shines, God is there. Whenever the rain falls, God is there. You can’t do anything about that. Take it or leave it, God is there.
God is the Heavenly Father. If a boy or girl has gone wrong, the Father still loves. He could cut off rebellious sons and daughters, but He doesn’t because He is a Father. Because God is a Father, He still causes the sun to rise on evil men as well as good men and sends His rain on honest and dishonest men alike, on the just and on the unjust. Whether people recognize Him as Father or not, He will be a Father, come hell or high water.
People are funny. They give credit to some impersonal force, which they call “nature,” for the rain and sunshine without which they could not live. Without that rain and sunshine there would not be any food and there would be no life at all. But people will not give credit to God for anything. They don’t want to be beholden to Him. They don’t even want to mention Him. People are funny, if you can call a situation funny, which is the tragic root of all our human problems.
Still God remains a Father. Still He sends His sunshine and rain upon those who recognize Him and those who do not, upon the good and the bad, the honest and the dishonest, the just and the unjust. And this is not the end. It is only the beginning! Still God loves as only a Father can. Not only does He continue to send rain and sunshine, but He comes Himself. He sends His Son, His only and eternal Son, Jesus Christ, to be one of us. He sends His Son to die in the place of men, to die for all of us. He raises His Son from the dead so that people like you and me can put our trust in Him, knowing that we are forgiven by our Heavenly Father because the Son has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. Still God is a Father, seeking always in His Son to break down that wall of hostility we have built up between ourselves and Him. Still He gives life in His Son, not that walking death which so many people call life, but real life through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Even now He calls you to trust in Christ, and to accept His forgiveness in Christ. He invites you to be His son and daughter by faith in Jesus Christ.
When Christ came, He did not look around and report back to His Father: “These are not Our kind of people. “This dutiful and obedient Son of His Father could easily have done that, but He did not. While we were powerless to help ourselves, Christ died for sinful men. The proof of God’s amazing love is this, that it was while we were sinners that Christ died for our sins. While we were His enemies, Christ reconciled us to God by dying for us. Surely, now that we are reconciled we may be perfectly certain of our salvation through His living in us. Therefore, we can hold our heads high in the light of God’s love because of the reconciliation which Christ has made.
When you meet Jesus Christ, you come face to face with God. There God is, in Christ. Christ died for you and now there can be no doubt about it: God loves you. He loves you in spite of yourself. He loves you as His very own. Be God’s own through faith in Jesus Christ. Show yourself to be a forgiven son or daughter of God in Jesus Christ. Live as a son or daughter of God, for He loves you as only a Father could. One thing you can know about God: He will never say about you: “These are not Our kind of people.” Because of Christ and what He has done for you, the Father will never say that about you.
The hope of our world lies in dutiful sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father, who know the love of God in Jesus Christ, which excludes no one, not even you. The Father is patient and kind toward people who wear out our patience and who we might think do not deserve our kindness. If we are going to be sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father, we can never say about others: “These are not our kind of people.” They are our Father’s kind of people, for whom our Lord gave His life. We might not have done things that way ourselves, but that’s the way our Father in heaven does them.
Our Lord said: “You, therefore, must be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” Let your love be mature enough that you never say about others, “These are not our kind of people,” in such a way as to exclude them from your consideration or your concern. Your Father cares. Can you do less? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.
Faith in Christ, wherever it is genuine faith, works by love. Love like the Father’s is a big thing. It takes account of the littlest people and does not overlook the little things that often mean so much. Don’t say hello only to the people who say hello to you. Remember those people who so often have felt the sting of rejection that they have forgotten how to say hello to anybody and are suspicious of everybody. Let the love of God which is in Christ rise to such an occasion through you. You, therefore, must be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Your Heavenly Father has given a final answer to all this talk about “These are not our kind of people.” Christ died for those people, whoever they are. Let me give you a little practical suggestion, that I have found to be quite effective, even when talking to people who do not believe in Christ. Let us say you are driving along with a car full of people and the conversation turns into a flood of derogatory comments about some people you know, or maybe some that you don’t know. Let the discussion run on until it has about run out, and then say quietly, “Christ died for these people.” If there is another flurry of talk on the same subject, as people try to justify themselves, wait until it is finished and then repeat quietly and insistently with very fiber of faith that is in you, “Christ died for those people.” Don’t argue about it, just say it with conviction: “Christ died for those people.” That little sentence of yours can put an end to a sparkling bit of conversation, but it will start some people thinking.
For you, my friend, listening to me today, maybe it’s just the thing to start you thinking. If Christ died for all those people, He died for you, didn’t He? If He died for you, as He did, isn’t it about time to line up with Him and accept the love and forgiveness of God which is in Christ, and by faith in Christ to be the son or daughter of God you were meant to be! Amen.
Copyright 1967. Lutheran Laymen’s League
Reflections for August 7, 2022
Title: These Are Not Our Kind of People
Mark Eischer: You’re listening to The Lutheran Hour. For FREE online resources, archived audio, our mobile app, and more, go to lutheranhour.org. Joining us now here’s Lutheran Hour Speaker, Dr. Michael Zeigler.
Mike Zeigler: Today, I’m visiting with Dr. David Schmitt, a longtime professor at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. He teaches classes that help future pastors with the art and the craft of preaching, and also classes that discuss how Christians relate to their surrounding culture. Thanks for being with us today, David.
David Schmitt: Thank you for having me. It’s great to be here.
Mike Zeigler: So David, the sermon we just heard was broadcast over 50 years ago. We actually saw the vinyl record that we pulled it off of. There were a lot of things going on in 1967, things that are similar to today, but Dr. Hoffmann was speaking into the cultural realities of his day. What did you notice about how he did that?
David Schmitt: The first thing you sense as you listen to that sermon is that he’s speaking into the cultural realities of our day.
Mike Zeigler: Okay, yes.
David Schmitt: So some things don’t change.
Mike Zeigler: Sounds very similar.
David Schmitt: They just get worse. So we have … I mean, ’cause that whole idea about the world is shrinking, he was prophetic as he thought about that. And the way in which technology was shaping everyday life. And for him, it was the technology of airplanes and media. But for us, it’s become the digital technology of smartphones. And there was an awareness of the influence of technology upon daily life. And I think he did a really good job of thinking about pluralism, and what happens when the world shrinks. Because when the world shrinks, we find that we need to share our common space. And sharing our common space becomes a problem the more we know about other people who are not like us, as he said. And so that phrase he had, “They’re not our kind of people,” I thought that was a brilliant way of capturing the problem of prejudice.
The way in which that phrase is colloquial, I thought made sense, because that’s where prejudice is often shared, in daily conversation. So it’s a colloquial phrase which catches you off guard. You might actually think of yourself as having said it or having thought it. And then the use of “our”;—”They’re not our kind of people”;—that invites you into an intimacy and shared prejudice that I thought was really brilliant in terms of unmasking the sins that can happen when we find our world shrinking and we need to share our space.
Mike Zeigler: So let’s talk about how he preaches the Good News of Jesus into that reality of prejudice. When we hear the Good News of Jesus, how does that give us a different response?
David Schmitt: And here I’m going to be talking about our cultural realities. So our cultural realities now have been to try to control prejudice by controlling language. So we have political correctness and people are very concerned about the language that is used, and rightfully so. I mean, language carries the power to help people envision a world. It does things. And when you speak about certain people in certain ways, it creates an image of them in your heart. And so we try to control prejudice by controlling language and regulating speech. And what he does is he points to God’s work of renewing the heart, that the vision is changed not so much by different speech as much as it is by a different heart, a different attitude, a missional heart, a heart that is aware of your own inclusion in the intimacy of the Father and the Son, and your inclusion in His mission out into the world.
Mike Zeigler: You and I are both part of local Christian congregations, and it’s a common experience that in a congregation you encounter people that you just don’t “hit it off “with. People that are difficult, and you get that sense that this is not my kind of person. How do I continue to reach out to them and try to foster a relationship with them, even though it’s difficult, this is not the person that I would pick to be a friend, and yet here we are in the same congregation. How does that …
David Schmitt: I love the way you put that: “Not the kind of person I would pick to be a friend,” because with Facebook and LinkedIn and all of these other social media devices, we do pick our friends. We create our communities. You, know, there are some communities you don’t get to pick, like your family. You might not like your brother, but he’s still your brother. Right? It’s just that’s the way it is. And so when you encounter someone that you, like you said, you’re just not going to get along with, I think it’s good that you recognize that, it’s good that you recognize that, but what that does is it draws you closer to the God who brought that person into your life, who brought you into a community where that person is just as important to Him as you are.
And it forces us to kind of begin to think about what is God doing by joining me to this diverse community? When you monitor and create your own community, you kind of have your own goals in mind. I choose people that will accomplish whatever goals I have for having this Facebook community or whatever. And now all of a sudden, God has His plan in mind. One of the most important things about His plan is that He’s the Lord of all nations and He is the God of all people and His mercy extends to all. And if you have trouble with that, well, it’s good that God’s calling you out on it.
Mike Zeigler: And it would be impossible if Christ were not at the center of it.
David Schmitt: Right, right. Yeah.
Mike Zeigler: Thank you so much for being here and visiting with us.
David Schmitt: Sure.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)