Sermons for the Month
Love God and Love the One in Front of You
DATE: April 30th, 2006
SERVICE: Third Sunday of Easter
TEXT: Luke 24: 36b-48To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
I was standing behind a boy of about 8 in the check-out line the other day. He appeared to be there with his grandparents and it seems as if they only thing they were purchasing was multiple six-packs of Pepsi. He glanced up at me and proclaimed, "It looks like were getting a thousand cans of Pepsi!" I replied, "A thousand cans that's a lot!" He then glanced at his shoes and made a clarifying statement. "Well," he said, "it looks like a thousand cans. I nodded, smiled and, evidently encouraged, he said more but not about the Pepsi.
"I want to be a preacher when I grow up." "A preacher", I replied, "that's a great idea, but why do you want to be a preacher?" He paused for the slightest moment and said, "Because I like going to church and I love Jesus." About that time his grandfather called him away to help with the thousand cans of Pepsi, and left me to wonder how far the conversation would have gone had it continued. I certainly would have asked why he loves Jesus. Still, even in what he said, that young man was a fine witness. He was who Jesus told his first disciples they were when he announced, "You are witnesses to these things." Witness is one of those words that we often place in a particular context, most often a legal one. But, one does not have to be testifying in the courtroom to be witness. In general terms, a witness is someone who has seen and/or heard something and can tell others about it. Those first disciples had witnessed Jesus. They had seen him live and die and live again, and told others that story. They heard him say that repentance and forgiveness of sins were to be proclaimed to all nations, and that's what they did. They were witnesses, and they changed the world. It's surprising that this is the case given their initial reaction to the arrival of the Resurrected Lord. If we reviewed the verses just prior to the ones we read today we would find that two people traveling on the road to Emmaus had encountered the Risen Lord, and had a long conversation with him, before he made himself know to them as he broke the bread at a meal. They immediately went back to Jerusalem and were telling the other disciples about their experience when Jesus came and stood among them. His appearance terrified them; in a way that's surprising given the fact that they had just been hearing how he appeared on the Emmaus Road. They might have expected that he would show up again. But perhaps having someone suddenly appear - out of thin air - would startle even an experienced ghost hunter who, no doubt, would have then joined the others in identifying this "being" as a ghost. In response Jesus shows them great grace. Instead of being frustrated he assures them that he is not a ghost. He shows them his hands and feet. He invites them to touch him. He asks for food and eats. All this proves that he is the same Jesus who died, but is now alive again. And, he teaches them - opening their minds to understand the scripture - which evidently could only be fully grasped after the resurrection. And, by proclaiming that they are witnesses, Jesus invests his trust in them. "You are witnesses of these things." Time has passed and now we are the trusted witnesses. Although we did not see him live and die and live, we have heard the story, and we have seen our risen Lord at work in our lives and in the lives of those around us. So, we are the trusted witnesses. But, how does one witness? I gave you one example, of a little boy who spoke out while in line at the store. But, isn't there more to it than that? Aren't there guidelines for witnessing? Surely a training course or two have been written, with a special edition for difficult cases like Lutherans who have faith that God will forgive them when they keep quiet. Well, maybe there is more to it but maybe there is less to it too. I say that because one of the commentators I was reading this week noted that the people in his life who have been the most impressive witnesses are not the golden-tongued preachers but ordinary people who make a powerful witness for Christ by the quality of their lives. I like the story that former President Jimmy Carter tells in his book Sources of Strength. It's about a Cuban pastor named Eloy Cruz who had a wonderful rapport with Puerto Rican immigrants - very poor people. He seemed to be able to influence the direction of their lives in positive ways. So, President Carter asked about the secret to his success. Pastor Cruz was really embarrassed to be signaled out, but he finally said this, "We only need to have two loves in our lives - for God, and for the person who happens to be in front of us at any time." (1) That's what it takes to be a witness - to love God and love the person standing in front of us. So, think about that for a moment. Imagine yourself leaving the house tomorrow. Who will be standing in front of you? How about your teenager who struggled to get up in time for school? Is it the clerk at Starbucks or the bakery? Is it the person in the car in front of you who is putting on her make-up as she drives? What about the student sitting in the front row who forgot his or her home work or the neighbor whose dog barked all night or the older person who is confused about the month or day? There are the sad ones who are ill or grieving or overwhelmed and those who are so content and joyful that it's annoying. Who will stand in front of you who you can love, and in doing so witness to the love of Jesus? And, what will it take to love them? If we take loving seriously this is no simple matter. There's a beautiful description of love in Paul's first letter to Corinthians. We often read it at weddings and think of it in terms of marriage relationships, but actually Paul was describing the church and the role each person has to play in it. He writes that although a person's spiritual gifts may be admirable, they actually are only as good as that one's desire and ability to love. So, what does this kind of love look like, the love with which we love the person in front of us? It's patient; it's kind; it's not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. Not only that, it never insists on its own way, it's not irritable or resentful and it never rejoices in wrong, but champions the truth. This type of love, which happens to imitate the love of Jesus, endures the worst and hopes for the best. And, it is unending. I guess that means there will be no more losing patience with that teenager - which does not mean that he or she does not have to suffer the consequences of being late. I guess the clerk who is pouring the coffee gets a kind word even if one has never left his or her mouth. The make-up lady does not earn a rude gesture or comment, no matter what putting on eye shadow causes her to do. The behavior of all of those people who have fallen short in one way or another is endured as we lovingly respond in a way that helps them. Remember, in all that we do we seek the truth; we hope the best for the endlessly sad or annoyingly happy ones. And, we do these things day after day, because there is no such thing as a day off from loving. I do not know about you, but all this makes me thankful for the gift of the Holy Spirit who will enable me to love in the midst of my, and of this world's, imperfections. When it comes right down to it, when Jesus said, "You are witnesses of these things," he was talking about our witnessing his love - God's love - for us. So, what better way is there for us to witness than to have love be the quality that is most evident in our lives? Perhaps you do not see yourself as a bold witness for Jesus, like that child I encountered. But, I bet you can see yourself as someone who loves God, and loves the person who happens to be standing right in front of you at any one time. If that's what we are truly striving to do, then we have earned the trust Jesus has placed in us. (1) SermonWriter, Easter 3B (April 30), Luke 24:36-48, pg. 10, www.sermonwriter.com.
AMEN