Sermon: May 13, 2012

Commanded to Love

Scripture: Psalm 98 read responsively and John 15: 9-17

Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ May 13, 2012

Mother’s Day

Unity Presbyterian Church ~ Terre Haute, Indiana

INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE

Psalm 98 is a song of Praise which typically begins by inviting others to join in praise and then offering reasons for that praise.  What in your life brings you to your feet shouting for joy?  For the psalmist not only are all believers celebrating the grace of God, but all of creation.  Join me in this song of Praise.

¹O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.

²The Lord has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
³He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
⁴Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
⁵Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.
⁶With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.
⁷Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it.
⁸Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy
⁹at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

John 15: 9-17

The abiding relationship of vine and branches of last Sunday's lesson, which culminates in the bearing of much fruit, is now given further explanation in terms of love. If abiding is not for its own sake, but has an end or a purpose to produce abundant fruit, now that purpose takes shape in love. Love is what flows through the vine.  Love binds us in a lasting relationship with God.  Out of our relationship with God in Christ a new commandment is given that is not as instructional as the first ten are, but directs us to the source of obedience to God’s will for our lives.  Keep love flowing!

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

SERMON

As these final lessons of Jesus speak to us of abiding in love, we remember that this Gospel begins with a revelation about why Christ came to live among us – to dwell/abide/make a home with us.  The famed John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”  He came because God loves us.  Love is the prime mover for our very salvation.  Love shapes Jesus’ life, ministry, death and resurrection.  Yet people’s reactions to Jesus was violent.

VBS looked at the theme of stopping bullying for our July 7 event.  It made me start thinking more about bullying and why has bullying become a national pastime? Is it new?  Is it what killed Jesus?  Where does the desire to hurt others come from?

One definition of bullying is an act of repeated aggressive behavior in order to intentionally hurt another person, physically or mentally. Bullying is characterized by an individual behaving in a certain way to gain power over another person.[1]  This definition made me think of terrorism.  But finding a definition of terrorism turned out to be a whole other ball game.  One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter.   

As scholar Bruce Hoffman, has noted:

It is not only individual agencies within the same governmental apparatus that cannot agree on a single definition of terrorism. Experts and other long-established scholars in the field are equally incapable of reaching a consensus. He does note that there are common characteristics to terrorists and terrorism:

·         ( ) political in aims and motives
·         violent – or, equally important, threatens violence
·         designed to have far-reaching psychological repercussions beyond the immediate victim or target
·         conducted by an organization with an identifiable chain of command or conspiratorial cell structure (whose members wear no uniform or identifying insignia) and
·         perpetrated by a subnational group or non-state entity.[2]

In Hoffman’s description  I did find my similarity to bullying.  Terrorism and bullying are both violent or threaten violence and both have far-reaching psychological repercussions.  I could bemoan how we got into this mess with an ethos that values solving problems with violent actions.  I am not sure we even know how to entertain ourselves without violent actions: from movies to sports.  Does anyone remember when basketball was not a contact sport with violent overtones to intimidate the other players?  Or when sliding into base to deliberately hurt the base player got you ejected from the game?  I have seen this behavior in little league and church softball games.  I want to yell at people, “stop hurting each other.”  Thank God, our wise leaders of VBS decided to focus on behavior we want from all people: love and peace.  They are following Jesus’ model to command us to love one another rather than a command to “stop hurting each other.”  Demanding the behavior he wants from his disciples rather than telling them what not to do.  Mothers have long known the value of focusing on good behavior rather than bad behavior.  Because with children and often with adults the behavior one focuses on is the behavior that gets repeated.  So love and peace is the theme for Unity’s 2012 VBS! 

I also wondered why a commandment? 

Loving and living in peace with friends and family is hard enough to accomplish but with enemies the odds of being successful is greatly diminished. If it was easy to love all people, God would not need to command us.  Having the force of a divine commandment gives us strength to put the effort into loving those who are sweet and beautiful as well as those who are filled with anger and violence or withdrawn and unresponsive.  Just as a mother loves her new born or intransigent teenager, God loves us.  All people are children of God and we are commanded to love them as Jesus has loved us: sacrificially.   This is a love that requires action and service.  It is an investment in God’s children.  Who do you love?  Start there and work out being loving and forgiving and generous of spirit with all you meet.  See everyone as a beloved child of God.  In doing so, you will fulfill the greatest commandment of all: LOVE.  Amen.

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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism and  Bruce Hoffman, Inside Terrorism, 2 ed., Columbia University Press, 2006, p. 41.

Sermon: April 22, 2012

 “Scripture Open with Burning Hearts”

Scripture: Psalm 4 read responsively and Luke 24: 13-35

Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ April 22, 2012

Unity Presbyterian Church ~ Terre Haute, Indiana

INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE

Psalm 4 read responsively
There is certainly nothing wrong with fondly remembering the past or planning for the future. But if we only play a game of “what was?” or “what could be?” when will we focus on “what is” in our life?  Psalm 4 plants us in the spiritual present. We might not have everything we want, but God gives us all we need for now and that is more than enough.

¹Answer me when I call, O God of my right! You gave me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.

²How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? Selah
³But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.
⁴When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Selah
⁵Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.
⁶There are many who say, “O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!”
⁷You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound.
⁸I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.

Luke 24: 13-35
Here at the end of Luke's Gospel there occurs the story of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. Again we find Jesus eating with outcasts, but this time the outcasts are two of his disciples who have abandoned the journey of faith and left Jerusalem and their fellow believers.  To them everything has been lost and they might as well go home.  In their doubt and discouragement Jesus comes to teach them and eat with them one more time, but the real feast is of scripture laid out by the Word made flesh.

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

SERMON

Jesus taught or preached in a variety of formats.  He told stories or used examples of life around him.  Though he mentions scripture, his main focus is the coming of the Kingdom of God through his ministry.  Here with these disciples his focus becomes scripture’s revelatory nature to speak to the times they were living and through their witness to us to speak to our times.

Most Sundays I get to talk to our daughter, Esther.  We usually cover the gamut of health, family connections, religion, politics and new readings.  It is just such an intimate conversation that Jesus has with these wandering disciples on the road to Emmaus.  Jesus is always willing to listen to where we are.  Before encouraging us to stretch ourselves to a new place, Jesus wants to know where we are now and in the process we too release where we are.  Jesus can see that these disciples are sad and discouraged and listening to their story of loss is where he begins.  There is a profound irony when they ask him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He knew pretty well what had happened “in these days.”  Still he asks, "What things?" Thus he encourages them to reveal their hearts. We need to understand Jesus’ message for our lives but he also longs for us to tell him what is in our hearts.  It is in the sharing that we draw close to him.  Like a call from family far away it ever so briefly makes us feel close.

Now the scripture tells us what these men know about Jesus: that besides his name and where he was from, they confess that he was a Prophet “mighty in deed and word before God.”  Here they reveal their expectations that Jesus was more than just a Rabbi, teacher, healer.  They had hoped he was the long awaited Messiah sent by God to redeem Israel.  Even though they have heard the reports that he has risen from the dead, there is an inconsolable loss in their hearts which comes from seeing their beloved leader being crucified. Such a terrible loss can seem insurmountable. Like these disciples, we too hope that Jesus will make a difference in our lives and our world. These disciples had a hope, but death had crushed their hope so that even the Good News of the resurrection did not revive it.   The report of the women and other disciples meant little to them, because they had not seen him.  Like with Thomas, Jesus wants to know from them what He wants to know from us: can we believe without seeing with our own eyes?  In response to their doubt Jesus teaches them from their scripture why the Messiah had to suffer.

We often think the main obstacles to belief are in the head, but they are actually in the heart. Jesus says they were foolish, and “slow of heart to believe.” The text reads “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.”  This is where their hearts begin to burn with faith once again.  What texts would Jesus have used?

I am pretty sure he would of used Isaiah 53:3-5:

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

This passage was written over six-hundred years before the birth of Jesus.   It is amazing how many similarities to Jesus’ own suffering was the suffering servant of God found in the Prophet Isaiah’s witness.

When they reach Emmaus, Jesus seems to plan to leave them but now they want to learn more.  Often once we begin our study of scripture we can never get enough of it.  Still these disciples did not recognize Jesus, so he stays and eats with them.  Finally in the breaking of the bread their eyes are opened and they recognize him.  Sometime Jesus is right in front of us and yet we cannot seem him. We need to study scripture even when we are less than inspired; even when our hearts do not burn with a passionate faith; even when our sorrows and suffering cloud our vision of the promise in Jesus. Pray that God would open your eyes to see Jesus as He is, with you all the time; in the reading of the Word; in the breaking of the bread; in the fellowship of other believers Jesus is our companion on the journey. Amen.