<BODY> <h3><span class="sermonTitle">Love One Another</span><br> <span class="sermonSubTitle">May 9, 2004 </span></h3> <p><img src="../images/Bobb.jpg" hspace=3 vspace=3 border=0 naturalsizeflag="3" height=239 width=170 align=LEFT> <p class="sermon">When one is in their final days and hours they don't mince words. They want to be sure to get across those messages that are most important. In the discourse with his disciples recorded in the Gospel of John we have some of Jesus's last words. He told them of his coming departure-his Exodus by which he would save the people. Just what was his message when his time was so short? His message was a new commandment. His message was that we should love each other.</p> <p> </p> <p class="sermon">In our society the word love is thrown around quite off-handedly. We say we love pizza, or Ferrari's, or diamonds, or baseball. But we can't really love those things the way Jesus talks about love. Jesus's kind of love is self-giving. We love things because of how they make us feel. The goal of Christ's kind of love is how the other person feels as a result of our actions. Love must show itself in action.</p> <p> </p> <p class="sermon">How do we learn to be loving? Most importantly we look to Jesus for how he treated people. He gave of himself to meet people's needs. He told them they were valued and forgiven. He healed their diseases. He fed their souls and bodies. He loved us to the point of giving his life.</p> <p> </p> <p class="sermon">We can let ourselves off from this kind of love by saying we don't have much opportunity to do this kind of thing. He could work miracles after all; he was God incarnate, but we are not. We can't do the kind of things he did. But Jesus tells us we can in John 14:12 it says, "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I go to the Father." Christ will enable us to do the works he calls us to do.</p> <p> </p> <p class="sermon">In fact, if we love God, we will love our brothers and sisters. It's inevitable. It's like the gauge on a boiler. You can't tell how much water is inside a boiler, but there is a gauge on the outside, a little tube that runs up the side of the boiler, which indicates how much water is within. How much do we love God? The gauge is how much we love our brothers and sisters in Christ. [Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, p. 225]</p> <p> </p> <p class="sermon">Still, it is easier when we have a tangible example of love to emulate. On this Mother's Day we think of those who first loved us on earth. I can't think of anyone who showed me more how to love than my mother. She gave of herself, working in a man's world before it was thought that a woman could hold her own in business. Mom's vacations mostly were spent doing the Spring cleaning or washing the window and putting in the storms for Winter. She was the major bread winner of our family, yet she took time to spend with me in the mornings before work and when she got home at night. I know she was tired, but she was never too tired to cuddle with me or listen to how my day went. She loved me enough to discipline me. She also would occasionally bring home surprises from work. On her lunch hour she would be downtown and something would catch her eye that reminded her of me, and she would get it for me. Holidays were very special because Mom would be home. She always made sure we had decorations and special foods. She taught me the importance of worshipping weekly. She embarrassed me by how loudly she sang in her beautiful alto voice. But as I got older I grew to love singing melody to her harmony. She welcomed all the lonely-those people who had no family to spend holidays with, or those who needed some company at mealtime. Often these guests were not expected, but she didn't mind. She taught me to be giving. She also taught me that family sticks together no matter what, because in her younger years her family had let her down. I knew she would always be there for me.</p> <p> </p> <p class="sermon">This to me is what Jesus meant when he said to love one another. We are to work to help support each other. We give of ourselves even when we are tired or don't feel like it. We think of what would encourage others and bring joy to them. We give each other hugs or hand shakes to show we care. We sing praises together. We spend holidays together. We stick together no matter what. </p> <p> </p> <p class="sermon">This loving care is noticeable even to non-believers. The Greek writer, Lucian, who lived in the first century wrote, "It is incredible to see the fervor with which the people of that religion help each other in their wants. They spare nothing. Their first legislator [Jesus] has put it into their heads that they are brethren." [ibid] </p> <p> </p> <p class="sermon">An early church leader, Tertullian, counseled his people, "It is our care for the helpless, our practice of lovingkindness, that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. 'Look!' they say. 'How they love one another! Look how they are prepared to die for one another.'" [ibid]</p> <p> </p> <p class="sermon">Even in America Christians were the first to set up hospitals and schools, so we have continued this caring. In Florida two prisons have been begun that are sponsored by faith based organizations. Of course, when anything looks like it may shed a positive light on faith, the ACLU will attack it, and this issue is no different. It amazes me that they are perfectly happy for Christians to pay the costs involved in their removing God from society. But for positive things they don't want to even have to share in the costs, lest tax-payers' money be used for anything smacking of Christianity.</p> <p class="sermon">In spite of this, we are called to shine God's love in our world. We are not to stop being loving when others take advantage of us. We know that in God's time, the whole creation will be restored and live in God's loving ways. For now, however, we are to be beacons of that love in our dark world. The beacon light is brightest nearest to it, but the beams reflect for miles around.</p> <p class="sermon">So we should be very aware of how we treat those who are closest to us-those in our own families, and those in our congregation. God has given us these people for our primary responsibility. How can we best show love to them? We can be looking for ways to minister to others. Did some who sit near you in church not show up today, but every other Sunday they are there like clockwork? Why not give them a call and say you missed them? Ask if there is something wrong. Does a brother or sister look upset as they are listening to the sermon or singing a song? You can move to them and put your arm around them or take their hand. Is someone ill or in need of food, or clothing, or a job, that you know of? Let the rest of us know, so we can help to meet their needs. <br> <br> The other side of this coin is that we have to be open enough to share our burdens with others. If we keep our concerns and needs to ourselves, our brothers and sisters can't minister to us and therefore can't fulfill the call that God has given them. If you are sick, let us know. If you have a need we can help to meet, make us aware of it. We may not be able to do everything you think we ought to do, but we can at least be there for you and support you in prayer.<br> <br> St. Stephen has always been a loving community to me, and others notice it as well. Time after time in our new member classes people talk about the welcoming feeling they have in coming here. We should thank God for this, and make it our personal missions to keep on being a welcoming community. We reach out to one another and beyond our congregation through our prayer shawl ministry. People knit or crochet these beautiful shawls for those who are sick; as they work on them, they pray for the one who will receive it. That's a sign of love. We have people who take a meal to those who have been hospitalized. That's an expression of love. Our bridge ministry reaches out beyond our local congregation to provide food for the homeless. That's another expression of love. Our youth go on mission trips to help refurbish housing for the needy. That's a sign of love. Our various prayer groups and individual pray-ers lift others among us up to God on a daily basis. This too, is an expression of love. Another big expression of love is to be able to appreciate what's important to another. Perhaps we don't like a certain hymn or liturgy, but someone else is enjoying it, so we can enjoy it through them and for them. Maybe we don't care for a certain style of clothing that some wear, but we can be glad that, whatever they wear, they thought enough about God and us to want to be here and share in worship with us. They are expressing their love for us by their presence, and we can express our love for them by being accepting of things like this that make no difference. The choirs give of themselves to sing their music to the best of their ability, out of love for God and the congregation. Others who participate in worship or teach or whatever they do, do their best for the same reason. We have people who care for the building, so we will have a nice facility in which to do ministry. Each one of us is responsible for loving each other in this and other ways. I'm sure you can come up with things that you are uniquely qualified to do, and use those gifts to show love.<br> <br> So let's take to heart Jesus's final desire and put it into practice in our own lives. We have plenty of examples of love around us to emulate. We also have Christ's life of love and self-sacrificing death on the cross to show to what extent God was willing to go to show his love for us. Jesus rose so his power could be shared with the community. Let's put that power to work and go out of our way to look for opportunities to love one another as Christ has loved us.</p> <P><A HREF="pages/14Preach.html">Preaching the Word</A></P> </blockquote> </BODY>