Lenten Reflection on Philippians 2:1-11

 

What you just in Philippians 2:1-11 was a hymn.  It was sung by ancient Christians almost 2,000 years ago as they gathered in homes, feasting on a meal that remembered Jesus Christ.  And, though it was almost 2,000 years ago, we still hear the essence of that song. 

They raised their voices to the night to celebrate Christ, who refused to use his divine powers to control, but rather gave his life up for our sake...for the sake of the lowly.  Christ is the king who chooses to be a slave and serve the peasant.  Christ is the superintendent who chooses to be a teacher’s aide for the sake of the student.  Christ is the general who chooses to sludge through the mud in order to be there to take a bullet for the private.

It is because of that superior love, a love which does not forget even the lowliest of us, that those voices from long, long ago sang out into the night sky.  It is because of that amazing grace that we still gather and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Like those ancient Christians, we too gather around the name of Jesus Christ.  Christian worship in the ancient world was “Christ centered worship,” and so is ours.

Though it may seem obvious, one of the most important values that we as a people who follow Jesus Christ hold, both when we gather together and as we live out our lives, is “Christ centered worship.” 

Christ is at the center of our devotion.  We sing songs to God.  We raise our voices celebrating Christ.  Though there is a lot of great, meaningful music out in the world, our song is always about the one who created us, and loves us, and redeems us.  And, as we focus on Christ, and raise our voices together, we are reminding ourselves again and again that our very lives belong to Christ.

We are a people who belong to Jesus Christ.  We do not belong to politicians, nor do we follow them.  We do not belong to cultural warriors, nor do we follow them.  We do not belong to social influencers or public personalities, nor do we follow them.  Our song reminds us again and again that we belong to the one who loved us all the way to the cross: Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul encourages us to, “Let the same mind be in [us] that was in Christ Jesus.”  

Christ is at the center of our devotion and celebration.  

Christ is at the center of our decisions.  

Christ is the voice to which we listen.  

Christ is the personality that we follow.  

We hold central the value of “Christ centered worship” because Christ’s love holds us central.  It is a love that can overcome anything that we throw at it, including sin and death.  It is a love that is worth being a part.  It is a love worth emulating.  It is a love worth living.  Christ is our center.  We strongly value, “Christ centered worship.”

Reflection on Luke 4:1-13

 

The temptation, of course, would be to retreat to the safety of neighboring countries.  And, no one would fault any one of God’s faithful servants in Ukrainian churches for doing so.  Protecting your family’s lives is definitely seen as a noble, holy, and loving act.  But, as you may have seen on the news, many faithful followers of Jesus Christ are staying within their nation as bombings and artillery shells rain down.  The pictures are inspiring as we watch people gathering around the word and meal of Jesus Christ while in underground shelters.  There hope remains in Jesus.

Just as impressive, are the stories of the faithful followers of Jesus Christ who risk their lives each day by opening their churches to shelter the weak, and then head out into the dangerous streets in order to secure medicines and food for those who cannot venture out themselves. 

In these faithful people’s actions we can see the unshakable hope that they find in Jesus Christ and his gospel.  In these people we can see the love of God and neighbor in ways that we rarely see otherwise.  In these people we can see the work of God’s Holy Spirit.  It is present, sowing the seeds of good news in even the poorest of war-torn soils.

Never forget that he Holy Spirit is always there; present wherever the world cries out in pain and suffering.  The Holy Spirit is always there, filling the lives of God’s people, and then leading them through the murky wildernesses of life. 

The Holy Spirit was even present during those forty days when the Bible says that Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness.  Specifically, the Bible says:

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.”

There is this clear sense in the scriptures that Jesus would not have been prepared to face the trials of the wilderness and the devil had it not been for the presence of the Holy Spirit.  The Bible says that he was “full of the Holy Spirit” and that it was the Spirit that led him during his time of struggle and temptation. 

Can we just stop right there and take a moment to let that soak in?  When I face times of trial, struggle, and temptation, I usually react one of two ways. 

The first, and most common reaction for myself, is the think it to death method of facing hardship.  If there was a saber tooth tiger outside my tent back when our ancestors had to worry about such things, I definitely would have set my mind to thinking about a solution.  If the tiger was kind enough to oblige, I would have definitely tried to face him with some really good, solid thinking.  The tiger would have run in fear of all my thinking.  Heck, I can take all night, thinking about a problem and still not have a solution in the morning…that is how devoted I am to thinking it through. 

As you can guess, I would have been eaten by the tiger a long, long time ago. 

And, in the case of the devil, he could have done his evil work and been on to something else by the time I finished thinking and developing a solution.

The second way I react in times of trial, struggle, and temptation is actually the complete opposite of the first.  Sometimes, I just simply react without putting forth any effort of thought.  When I drank a little too much the night before a very important theatrical contest, I am absolutely certain that I put zero thought into it beforehand.  Trying to give the performance of your life on stage, while fighting off nausea because of the night before, simply was not thought through will at all.

As you can see, both these ways of reacting during times of trial, struggle, and temptation can have equally disastrous results, allowing the devil to have his way. 

All that said, there is one approach that I often fail to try, but it is the one that Jesus used over and over again in his ministry and life.  When faced with struggle and temptation, Jesus always relied of God’s Holy Spirit.  I do not mean this to sound too holy and unreachable for the normal person.  After-all, the Holy Spirit speaks to Jesus in a way that the Spirit still speaks to us today.

When completely famished and tempted to turn a stone into bread by the devil, Jesus clings to what the Spirit of God has to say through scripture.  “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”

Do you see what the Holy Spirit did there? The Spirit made certain that there was a word of scripture present during the temptation. There was a word of hope right on Jesus’ tongue, as Jesus faced his trials. The Spirit was there for Jesus and filled him.

The Spirit was still present when Jesus was tempted to use his power for selfish reasons.  He was told that he could have power over all the kingdoms of the world if only he would worship the devil. 

Unfortunately, we are seeing real-time the destruction that this particular temptation of worldly power can tragically wield.  Of course, we know that Jesus does not fall for this temptation, but have you ever realized that the Holy Spirit once again used scripture to keep Jesus away from the wrong path?  “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”

And, as before during the two previous times, Jesus refuses to fall for the devil’s temptation to have his heavenly Father save him from a deadly fall.  After-all, does not scripture say that, “He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you.”  You see, the devil can use scripture also.  Beware; evil knows how to twist all that is good into something less than holy, righteous, and loving. 

The Spirit’s guidance for Jesus during this particular temptation is quite striking when you look deeper.  Jesus was placed on top of the Holy of Holies in the temple, and below what Jesus would have seen was the stone upon which the priests offered sacrifices.  The smell of the sacrifices would have been wafting up to his hunger-wracked body.  But, beyond the tempting smell of food, Jesus was tempted to force God to save him from smashing into the altar of sacrifice after a heavenly game of “Trust Fall.” 

The devil assures Jesus that God will send angels to catch him so that his foot will not dash against the stone of sacrifice.  Jesus is tempted to walk away from his own act of self-sacrifice on the cross.  In other words, the devil tempts Jesus to back out of the life he is about to lead, and the tragic and painful end that it entails.  “God will save you from the pain of the cross,” the devil is practically tempting.

Here is the reality.  Sometimes the purpose that God provides will not be the peaceful existence for which we dream.  Sometimes, it will include crosses, and it will include helping neighbors in war zones, and it will include walking with people until their last breath, and it will include giving up the good job for the sake of a little one, and God’s purpose for you will include so many other uncomfortable and potentially painful things, that we will constantly be tempted to not be a part of God’s work because the sacrifice is just too much.  Would it not be better to drink iced teas while floating in a pool?

But, like Jesus who did not give into temptation, we too have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit.  We too have been filled with the knowledge of who we are and what we are about.  We are children of God who seek, above all, to love God and neighbor.  We are children of God who have been saved by the one who refused to walk away from our pain and hardship and sin. 

And, we are children of God who have been given the gift of scripture.  The Spirit will use scripture to lead us through the wildernesses into the heart of God.  Filled with the Holy Spirit and guided by the scriptures, hopefully God will use us to reflect the same kind of self-sacrificial love shown clearly by the one who died on the cross so that we might live: Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sermon for Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (Ash Wednesday)

 

This thing that we call “the faith” is not about you.  It also is not about me.  It is not about us. 

I know, it is common to say things like, “Without my faith, I do not know what I would do.”  When people say that, most people mean, “Without God, I do not know what I would do,” and that is just fine.  But, some people actually mean what they are saying.  Some people mean that without “their” faith they do not know what they would do…as if faith were something they accomplished over the years…as if it were some sort of badge of holiness that they now get to wear.

But, this thing that we call “the faith” is not about us.

Jesus was once asked about the most important part of this thing that we call “the faith,” and Jesus’ answer was:

“’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39).

This thing that we call “the faith” is first and foremost all about God.  We love God because God first loved us.  We love God because God created us.  We love God because Jesus was sent to die for us and to raise us up to new life.  We would not be here worshiping if it were not for God.  It is not about us.  It is about God.

Secondly, this thing that we call “the faith” is about loving those around us.  When God was walking around, in the flesh, he loved, and taught, and healed, and fed his neighbors.  His life was about caring for those around him. 

So, as followers of Jesus Christ, our life of faith is similarly about loving our neighbors.  It is about using the gift of time that we have been given by God for loving and caring for our neighbors in some way.  It is not about us.  It is about our neighbors.

Lent, then, is a time when we try to refocus our lives toward love of God and love of neighbor.  And, we need this time of focus because, quite frankly, it is easy to get wrapped up in ourselves. 

It is easy to become proud about what we donate or who we help.  It is human nature to want a plaque commemorating our gifts. 

I once visited a church where there was a plaque commemorating the gift of a phone right on the telephone receiver.  I noticed it because the corner of the metal plaque dug into my hand!  Ouch!  Really?  Did someone really need to be recognized for eternity because they gifted a $35 phone to the church?

It is not about us.  This thing we call “the faith” is about God and neighbor.

Some people pray long, long, long prayers using very holy language.  But, one of the most honest prayers I have ever heard was, “God, please help.”  And, Jesus responded to little more than, “Lord, have mercy on me” before giving healing.  The long, eloquent prayers, of course, are about how holy the person sounds to those around, and not about God at all.

It is not about us.  This thing we call “the faith” is about God and neighbor.

Just this week, I read a post on social media in which someone was complaining both about the rising gas prices and the anxiety that the war in Ukraine was causing the person.  “I’m not sure how much more of this I can take.”

Someone with immediate family in Ukraine responded:

“Though I can understand how the gas prices and the war might cause people in the west some discomfort, I fear that such discomfort distracts from the very real threat to the life and existence of my family members still in Ukraine.”

It is not about us.  It is about God and neighbor.

As we receive the ashes today, we hear the words, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  It is an acknowledgment that without God the dust that makes up our very being would have no life breathed into it, and without our neighbors that dust would have no purpose.

I, therefore, encourage all of us, myself included, to choose a Lenten discipline which focuses on either showing love to God or love to our neighbor…or both! 

Take a moment right now to consider what might lead you to focus less on yourself and to focus more on God and your neighbor. 

This is not about making you a great Christian in the end.  It is not about succeeding or failing at a Lenten discipline.  It is not about you at all.  It is about finding something that we lead you away from that sort of thinking altogether, so that God gets the praise, and your neighbor gets the love.

After-all, this thing we call “the faith” is about God and neighbor.

Reflection on Luke 9:28-43 - Trinity

 

The pastor found her just around the corner of the funeral home, sitting in the long-cut, Georgian lawn, staring forward.

“May I sit beside you?” the pastor asked.

“Sure,” the young woman said with a smile.

The pastor lowered himself, making an indent in the long grass; legs outstretched matching the young woman’s.

He looked over at her face and was confused by what he saw. What he expected to see was anguish. What he expected to see were red eyes and a running nose that required one of the pre-loaded tissues in his breast pocket. The pastor expected to be counseling a crushed soul who needed a savior in a harsh world.

Instead, he saw that the smile that she had given him still lingered as she stared forward across the lawn. Granted, it was a smile with a slight hint of pain, but a smile none-the-less.

“You’ve just lost your husband. I can’t believe you would have a smile left in you.”

“Not just my husband Reverend, but also my grandfather a month ago, and my best friend to an automobile accident two months ago.” After she spoke, there was a great silence. The smile lingered in the silence.

Finally breaking the silence the Pastor stated, “You know, when someone loses so many people in such a short period of time, it is normal to be angry with God. Some people wonder why bad things happen to good people. Still others wonder if God is good at all. This is all normal, in case you’ve felt any of it recently.”

“Thank you Reverend for your words, but I tend not to worry about the things I cannot know or answer. I don’t know why bad things happen to good people or if God intended all of these bad things to happen. Maybe, God wants to prove a point, or maybe they just happened. I don’t know. I don’t get riled up about such things. There are depths to God that I just cannot know, so I don’t worry about them. But, there is one thing that I do know…one thing that keeps me going…one thing that allows me to smile even now.”

The Pastor searched her face, waiting for the answer; waiting as a gentle breeze blew waves across the lawn.

As the woman indicated, there are just some things that we cannot know about God.

Oh, how we wish we could ascend the mountain with Jesus and his disciples, see the glory of God shining through Jesus, and listen in on the holy discussion that Jesus has with Moses and Elijah about the depths of God’s purpose. Oh, how we wish, like Peter, that we could pitch a tent with the three of them, and over the course of a few days be guided and enlightened by the deep truths of the Holy One. But, the reality is: such insights into the divine are short-lived and fade quickly.

I remember one night in college; I was pondering the depths of God’s grace in my mind.  No, I was not some holy child during my college years, I had a paper to write on the subject.  None-the-less, I was pondering God’s grace.  I was just on the edge of sleep, and at that very moment I had an insight. It was as if I had been brought up the mountain of God to see the depths of God’s heart. And, for one instance…one brief moment…I felt what it must be like for Jesus to love even an enemy so much that he would go to the cross for them.

I can remember that what I felt was an empathy that understood someone’s pain, their longings, their misguided desires to fix their world. For one brief moment, I felt what it must be like to have unconditional love with no reservations. But, it was just a moment later, and in the next it was gone.

It is weird, I remember that I had the experience, but I cannot for the life of me bring myself back to that mindset where I had that unconditional love with no reservations. That memory blew away just as quickly as it had come. The depth of God’s love that I understood for that brief moment is just as hidden today as it had been before that mountaintop experience. Some things just are not available to us to understand.

Maybe, it is because our visions of Jesus’ pure light are so brief that God gives us further instructions.  Maybe it is because of the inaccessibility of God’s depths…the inaccessibility to the answers to the questions such as “Why do we suffer?” and “Does God intend this evil for good?”…that God does speak out clearly from the cloud saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”

“Listen to him.”

Listen to Jesus.

In fact, this church’s vision statement practically is the transfiguration story.  Our vision statement, by the way, is the thing that guides who we are and who we could be as followers of Christ.  Our vision statement is: “Come and see, come and serve, follow Christ.”  “Come and see.”  Come and see who Jesus really is, the holy one…God’s very hands and feet come to the world.  He is the one revealed to us in the transfiguration. 

“Come and serve.”  We will get to that one in just a second.  It is “follow Christ” which gets at what God is saying when God booms that voice from the clouds, “Listen to him.”  We listen to Jesus. We look at his life. We pay attention to him.  We follow him.  And when we do, we will see who God is and what God cares about. 

And this is where the “come and serve” part off our vision comes into play.  When we see what God cares about, then we know how to serve God.

As we watch Jesus walk down the mountain, we do see, immediately, what God cares about. 

In the story, God cares about a child.  One of the lowly ones is brought to Jesus, infested with a terrible spirit. The child spits and snarls and screeches. No one else has been able to give him any help.

Maybe, no one believes that he can be helped. Maybe, no one believes that he is important enough to be helped. Maybe, people are afraid to even look at him. That is what people tend to do when they see the hopeless walking about, they tend to look away.

But, Jesus looked. He looked and he healed. Maybe, we do not know what it feels like to have God’s unconditional love…love that knows no enemies and fears no one…, but we know what it looks like. It looks like giving time to even the most lost of causes. Even people who are the most lost of causes are children of God.

“This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”

“Thank you Reverend for your words, but I tend not to worry about the things I cannot know or answer. I don’t know why bad things happen to good people or if God intended all of these bad things to happen. Maybe, God wants to prove a point, or maybe they just happened. I don’t know. I don’t get riled up about such things. There are depths to God that I just cannot know, so I don’t worry about them. But, there is one thing that I do know…one thing that keeps me going…one thing that allows me to smile even now.”

And, she pointed straight ahead. Ahead, the Reverend saw what looked to be a three year old boy spinning with his face to the sky with complete abandon. He recognized the boy as the woman’s son. The boy seemed oblivious to the pain surrounding his world.

“I smile because of him. I smile because Jesus cared that little children be given a fair shot at life.  In the Bible Jesus takes the time to stop what he is doing and heal children. Well, that boy right there deserves the same. He does not deserve a broken mother or a broken world. I smile because I love him, and he needs that love right now.”

The child stopped spinning, and waved to his mother and the pastor. The mother kept smiling and the pastor gave a smile of his own. It was a fake smile, of course. But, for the child it was the reassurance that life can be whole and new and wonderful again. The smile told the story of the cross...of death and resurrection. One does not need to understand the depths of God to understand the need for God’s unending love.

Reflection on Luke 9:28-43 - Wysox

 

The pastor found her just around the corner of the funeral home, sitting in the long-cut, Georgian lawn, staring forward.

“May I sit beside you?” the pastor asked.

“Sure,” the young woman said with a smile.

The pastor lowered himself, making an indent in the long grass; legs outstretched matching the young woman’s.

He looked over at her face and was confused by what he saw. What he expected to see was anguish. What he expected to see were red eyes and a running nose that required one of the pre-loaded tissues in his breast pocket. The pastor expected to be counseling a crushed soul who needed a savior in a harsh world.

Instead, he saw that the smile that she had given him still lingered as she stared forward across the lawn. Granted, it was a smile with a slight hint of pain, but a smile none-the-less.

“You’ve just lost your husband. I can’t believe you would have a smile left in you.”

“Not just my husband Reverend, but also my grandfather a month ago, and my best friend to an automobile accident two months ago.” After she spoke, there was a great silence. The smile lingered in the silence.

Finally breaking the silence the Pastor stated, “You know, when someone loses so many people in such a short period of time, it is normal to be angry with God. Some people wonder why bad things happen to good people. Still others wonder if God is good at all. This is all normal, in case you’ve felt any of it recently.”

“Thank you Reverend for your words, but I tend not to worry about the things I cannot know or answer. I don’t know why bad things happen to good people or if God intended all of these bad things to happen. Maybe, God wants to prove a point, or maybe they just happened. I don’t know. I don’t get riled up about such things. There are depths to God that I just cannot know, so I don’t worry about them. But, there is one thing that I do know…one thing that keeps me going…one thing that allows me to smile even now.”

The Pastor searched her face, waiting for the answer; waiting as a gentle breeze blew waves across the lawn.

As the woman indicated, there are just some things that we cannot know about God.

Oh, how we wish we could ascend the mountain with Jesus and his disciples, see the glory of God shining through Jesus, and listen in on the holy discussion that Jesus has with Moses and Elijah about the depths of God’s purpose. Oh, how we wish, like Peter, that we could pitch a tent with the three of them, and over the course of a few days be guided and enlightened by the deep truths of the Holy One. But, the reality is: such insights into the divine are short-lived and fade quickly.

I remember one night in college; I was pondering the depths of God’s grace in my mind.  No, I was not some holy child during my college years, I had a paper to write on the subject.  None-the-less, I was pondering God’s grace.  I was just on the edge of sleep, and at that very moment I had an insight. It was as if I had been brought up the mountain of God to see the depths of God’s heart. And, for one instance…one brief moment…I felt what it must be like for Jesus to love even an enemy so much that he would go to the cross for them.

I can remember that what I felt was an empathy that understood someone’s pain, their longings, their misguided desires to fix their world. For one brief moment, I felt what it must be like to have unconditional love with no reservations. But, it was just a moment later, and in the next it was gone.

It is weird, I remember that I had the experience, but I cannot for the life of me bring myself back to that mindset where I had that unconditional love with no reservations. That memory blew away just as quickly as it had come. The depth of God’s love that I understood for that brief moment is just as hidden today as it had been before that mountaintop experience. Some things just are not available to us to understand.

Maybe, it is because our visions of Jesus’ pure light are so brief that God gives us further instructions.  Maybe it is because of the inaccessibility of God’s depths…the inaccessibility to the answers to the questions such as “Why do we suffer?” and “Does God intend this evil for good?”…that God does speak out clearly from the cloud saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”

“Listen to him.”

Listen to Jesus.

One of this church's stated values has to do with paying close attention to Jesus.  Our values are those things that we hope every member of the congregation would find vital to their lives and incorporate into their lives.  These are the values:

Jesus Centered Worship

Real, Caring Relationships

Active Generosity

Loving Service

Sharing Faith

All the values are essential, and I hope that your life will reflect each one, but the value that we are talking about today is the first one: “Jesus Centered Worship.”  We are a people who are Jesus centered.  Our decisions in life are based on looking at Jesus and listening to him.  We listen to Jesus. We look at his life. We pay attention to him, and when we do, we will see who God is and what God cares about.

 As we watch Jesus walk down the mountain, we do see, immediately, what God cares about. 

In the story, God cares about a child.  One of the lowly ones is brought to Jesus, infested with a terrible spirit. The child spits and snarls and screeches. No one else has been able to give him any help.

Maybe, no one believes that he can be helped. Maybe, no one believes that he is important enough to be helped. Maybe, people are afraid to even look at him. That is what people tend to do when they see the hopeless walking about, they tend to look away.

But, Jesus looked. He looked and he healed. Maybe, we do not know what it feels like to have God’s unconditional love…love that knows no enemies and fears no one…, but we know what it looks like. It looks like giving time to even the most lost of causes. Even people who are the most lost of causes are children of God.

“This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”

“Thank you Reverend for your words, but I tend not to worry about the things I cannot know or answer. I don’t know why bad things happen to good people or if God intended all of these bad things to happen. Maybe, God wants to prove a point, or maybe they just happened. I don’t know. I don’t get riled up about such things. There are depths to God that I just cannot know, so I don’t worry about them. But, there is one thing that I do know…one thing that keeps me going…one thing that allows me to smile even now.”

And, she pointed straight ahead. Ahead, the Reverend saw what looked to be a three year old boy spinning with his face to the sky with complete abandon. He recognized the boy as the woman’s son. The boy seemed oblivious to the pain surrounding his world.

“I smile because of him. I smile because Jesus cared that little children be given a fair shot at life.  In the Bible Jesus takes the time to stop what he is doing and heal children. Well, that boy right there deserves the same. He does not deserve a broken mother or a broken world. I smile because I love him, and he needs that love right now.”

The child stopped spinning, and waved to his mother and the pastor. The mother kept smiling and the pastor gave a smile of his own. It was a fake smile, of course. But, for the child it was the reassurance that life can be whole and new and wonderful again. The smile told the story of the cross...of death and resurrection. One does not need to understand the depths of God to understand the need for God’s unending love.

Reflection on Luke 6:27-38

 

God the Father is so very good.  Like most good fathers out there, God is so forgiving.  It does not matter what you do, God will still love you.  It is who God is. 

Even when we go astray; even when we wander away, even when we turn our face; God shows us mercy and makes in God’s house a place.  God the Father is so very good.  It is who God is. 

It is in God’s very nature to be gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.  Even to the ungrateful and the wicked, God is kind.  It is who God is.

And, my deepest wish is that I could be like God.  Not in a pretend that I am God and make my brother clean my room or he will get thrown into hell sort of “be like God” way.  Not that that ever happened.  Rather, I wish that I could love like God loves; showing mercy to friends and the enemies alike.  I deeply wish that I could have a love like that. 

I deeply wish that I could have a love that would welcome the wayward child back home with open arms and no regrets or resentments. 

I deeply wish that I could have a love that would care for the poor and feed the hungry without wondering if they deserved such grace. 

I deeply wish that I could look into my enemies’ eyes and see the person who is suffering deep hurt and in need of healing.  I wish that I could take a blow and turn the other cheek receiving another blow, yet never forgetting to look into their eyes, seeing their suffering and need for care and a cure. 

I deeply wish that I could lend my shirt and not become bitter because of the cold.  I deeply wish that I could be like God, filled with God’s amazing grace.

I think I had it once.  I think we all did.  I see how my little boy hears me say, “Wow, I’m thirsty” and he simply runs and gets me some water without being asked.  That is pure, untainted love. 

He reminds me of the day that well over 5,000 hungry people were fed by the hand of the Lord Jesus.  They did not need to prove anything to be shown such love.  They simply needed to be hungry.  Love says, “Feed someone when they are hungry.”  Love is simple.  It shows grace and offers the meal.  It simply runs and gets the water.

But, I think that the disciples had lost this simple love in the same way that we all do.  We are taught that something else is more important.  “Send the crowds away,” the disciples demand Jesus, “so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions” (Luke 9:12).  Somehow, somewhere we learn that people’s self-reliance should be held higher than love. 

Jesus does not let the god of self-reliance win the day.  Rather, Jesus demands that love be given the highest place in our lives.  “You give them something to eat.”  Then Jesus takes their five loaves of bread and two fish and feeds the entire crowd.  Love for the crowd wins the day, that day.  But, there is still plenty of opportunity to forget the lesson of love.

I remember once when I was a kid giving one of my favorite toys to another child who did not have something to play with that day.  It was love.  When it was discovered that I had given the toy away, I was told that the child had parents of his own.  I was not to give away gifts that others worked hard for me to receive.  That day I learned that money which buys me things was important.  I learned that money and things are more important than love.

And, just like that, our love is lost, little by little as we grow.  Losing a sense of mercy is almost as automatic as losing teeth.  We simply forget.

Someone who had just experienced a divorce came to me once, filling my head with the horrors of their former spouse; a person I had previously liked very much.  They demanded loyalty of me.  They demanded that their enemy be my enemy. They demanded that I not be friends.  They demanded that I forget how to love.  For them, loyalty was much more important than love, and compassion, and forgiveness.  And, in convincing me of their truth, I lost a little more of that divine gift called love.

After-all, love can be dangerous.  Turning the other cheek when one side is slapped can lead to two sore cheeks and an enemy retaining power.  We cannot live in a society with no repercussions.  So, love is thrown into the back seat.

If everyone in the ancient world were to give their shirt also when their coat was taken, the entire societal system of service and slavery developed so that the poor would pay back the rich would crumble.  You cannot allow an entire society to crumble because of mere sentimentality.  So, love is abandoned and God’s ways are lost.

There was a reason that Jesus was hung on a cross, and it was not because he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.  It is because of his insistence that God’s love can transform and save.  But, you see, love does not win wars or plunder wealth.  Love does not maintain the division between the rich and the poor.  Love does not allow people to be hated or used as scapegoats for other’s problems.  God’s radical sort of love is a dangerous idea to the world, and ideas like that need to be stopped.  The world does not desire transformation and salvation.

But, I do.  I want transformation.  I deeply wish that I could be transformed into a person who loves others just as God loves me.  After-all, I have hurt others.  I have taken what was not mine.  I have been an enemy.  And, so have you…if you are honest.  All of us have.  All of us at one point or another have forgotten what love is all about. 

But, Jesus has never forgotten.  And, Jesus has never abandoned the idea that love can transform and save.  Jesus has looked upon us, as feeble as we may be, and determined that though we are sometimes ungrateful, and wicked, and misdirected, and unforgiving, and unloving, that he would be merciful anyway, just as the Father is merciful.  He loved you and me all the way to the cross.  The cross is the ultimate in cheek turns.  Choosing death for our undeserving sakes is the very definition of loving the enemy. 

Do you not see?  Only love can win the day, every time. Only love defeats death.  Only love is the answer.  Only love saves the lost.  Only love feeds the hungry.  Only love raises the dead to new life.  Only love leaves the mark of salvation on our souls.

So, take a moment to forget all that you have been taught by the world about what is important in life, and learn again the lesson you understood so well as a little child…the lesson of love.  Hear now the word of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of love:

"Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you."

(Luke 6:35-38)