Today’s sermon for the 14th Sunday after Pentecost is actually for the 2nd Sunday from the Gospel of Luke. This Sunday usually falls on the last Sunday of September or the first Sunday of October. The simplest and yet most important principle of moral conduct is today’s lesson about the Golden Rule as taught by Jesus Christ. It is a case of simple justice – to return like for like in positive terms.
As a universal ethical principle the Golden Rule seeks to guide people to fulfill their needs, desires and dreams without tremendous conflicts causing hurt among them. All human beings have the same needs and shortcomings, “Do unto others just what you want them to do for you”. This is the basic principle of morality presupposing a commonness and brotherhood among all human beings.
Just as important as the Golden Rule is, Christian morality goes far beyond it. Christian morality involves something more than the idea of fairness. It is precisely that we are to treat others with love, goodness and compassion no matter how they behave. It is essentially taking one’s neighbor upon oneself just as the Good Samaritan had compassion on the wounded Jew, a supposed enemy, and interrupted his own journey in order to help him when others walked by.
Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Himself is the supreme model of the good Samaritan seeking to bind and heal humanity’s wounds, and suffering persecution in the process. Jesus came to help all of us, voluntarily submitting to abuse, insults, beatings, betrayal and crucifixion.
Thus Christian morality is anchored not merely on the principle of fairness, but much more on the principle of all encompassing sacrificial love. This is the essence of today’s gospel and of our Orthodox Christian understanding of the Golden Rule.
