Sunday
06/11/17 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s
Sermon Title: “How should we treat each other?”
Old Testament
Scripture: Genesis 1:1-2:4a
New Testament
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Gospel Lesson:
Matthew 28:16-20
My friends, my sisters and brothers, welcome on this Peace
with Justice Sunday, and also this Trinity Sunday.
We are also in a season of graduations, so congratulations
to all the graduates who have worked so hard to get to this place of graduation.
On this Peace with Justice Sunday, you are invited to give
a special offering during our collection this morning, to support United
Methodist Ministries that seek to create peace and justice both locally, and
around the world. These peace with justice ministries are ones that seek to
help the marginalized, and to help people who are in war and violence stricken
areas, and other places. So, during our collection time this morning, you are
invited to give to this special giving Sunday. Please indicate on the memo line
of your check, Peace with Justice Sunday, or mark your cash donation in an envelope
that says Peace with Justice Sunday.
In addition to Peace with Justice Sunday, as I said, this
Sunday is also Trinity Sunday, as we celebrate this Sunday and every day, our
God great God, who is one God in three persons. Our God who is our great
creator, our redeemer Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. One God in three
persons, the Holy Trinity. Today we celebrate and worship the Triune God.
We also are given some excellent scriptures readings this
morning. We are given the creation story from the Book of Genesis. This story
of our creator God, who made the heavens and the earth. The God who made us in
His “image” (Gen. 1:26a, NRSV). The God who sent his son Jesus Christ to earth,
to love, to heal, to forgive, and to die for us. The God who comes to us in the
form of the Holy Spirit.
We are also given a scripture this morning from the Gospel
of Matthew. This is a great scripture, as it is the scripture of Jesus’ “Great Commission
“for his disciples, and for us. In this scripture, Jesus tells the disciples,
and tells us, to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am
with you always, to the end of the age’ (Mt. 28:19-20, NRSV).
In this scripture, Jesus is commissioning and telling his
disciples and us to go forth and make disciples. To baptize them in the name of
the Triune God, who we believe in and worship. This is why we baptize in the
name of the “Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. This is why I dismiss our
worship services in the name of the “Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”.
While we have these two great scriptures from this morning,
that discuss a God who creates, the Holy Spirit or “wind from God” that “swept
over the face of the waters,” and Jesus Christ, our savior, I have decided this
morning to tackle the reading that we were given from 2 Corinthians.
This reading we have from 2 Corinthians is short, as it is
only three verses. One would think that preaching on the “Great Commission”
from the gospel of Matthew reading for this morning would be the best and
easiest sermon to preach on, but I chose instead to preach on the reading from
2 Corinthians.
In this reading, the Apostle Paul comes to the church in city
of Corinth, to the Corinthians. In doing so, the Apostle Paul is calling the
Corinthians to repent of their sins, and turn to the abundant love of God. The
Apostle Paul is doing this so that the Corinthians and us might rid ourselves
of all that separates us from God, and to then free ourselves up to love more
deeply.
The title of my sermon this morning around this is called,
“How should we treat each other?”
Well according to the Apostle Paul’s final farewell message
to the Corinthians that we are given this morning, he says the following,
“Finally brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my
appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace
will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the
Holy Spirit be with all of you” (2 Cor. 13:11-13, NRSV).
Whether we are graduating from high school, college, or
somewhere else, or whether we are in a variety of other places in our lives, we
are called to love each other and to live in peace. The Apostle Paul tells us
that in doing this, that the “God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Cor.
13:11b, NRSV).
One of the greatest challenges in the times that we are
living in though, is that we live in culture that is very divided politically,
socially, and in a variety of other ways. It is so easy for us to simply write
one group of people off, or decide one group of people is no good. Our
graduates will have a strong role to play now and in the future, healing this
brokenness.
Within this, we are reminded in the reading from the Book
of Genesis from this morning that we made in God’s “image” (Gen. 1:26a, NRSV).
All of us then are creations of God. While this is true, we are all very
different in many ways, yet we are all, each and everyone one of us, made in
God’s “image” (Gen. 1:26a, NRSV). We are all broken, we all sin, and we all
need the grace of God offered through Jesus Christ.
Who
did Jesus come to save? The answer is everyone, no matter who you are. Jesus
came for, and love us all. We are all called to repent and follow him.
We are all also called to love and care for one another. In
the midst of a culture and a world with so many divisions, we are called to
love each other. It doesn’t mean that everyone will agree on everything, but
yet the Apostle Paul tells us this morning that the “God of love and peace”
will be with us (2 Cor. 13:11b, NRSV).
So often I have seen in our culture in recent years, people
being identified by categories before their humanity. These categories could be
conservative, liberal, vegetarian, libertarian, and etc. and etc. Categories,
divisions, yet we are told in the Book of Genesis that we are all made in God’s
“image” (Gen. 1:26a, NRSV).
The Apostle Paul leaves the church in Corinth, or the
Corinthians this morning with his second and last letter. The Apostle Paul
tells us to “Agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and
peace will be with you” (2 Cor. 13:11, NRSV).
The Apostle Paul then says, “Greet one another with a holy
kiss” (2 Cor. 13:12a, NRSV). Now I love you all, but I don’t know if I am going
to kiss you though.
This is the level of love that the Apostle Paul is
advocating for though. For me, I see a country, and a culture that is ever more
divided than I have ever seen it. It is divided between them and us. Yet, I try
to see the “them” though, not as “them”, but as people made in God’s “image”
(Gen. 1:26a, NRSV).
Do I believe that we need to turn from sin and darkness?
Sure I do, but I also believe that each and everyone one of us has sin and
darkness. This reality, I believe is true for everyone. I also don’t believe
that any sin is worse than any other sin. Due to this, we are all broken, and
we are all in need of the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Each and every one
of us.
When you look at this way, we begin to look at each other
as brothers and sisters in Christ, not just as categories. We are called to
love and care for each other, even when we disagree.
When Jesus Christ assembled his dream team of twelve
disciples, they didn’t all have the same stories, or the same jobs. I bet they
might have had different political views, yet they were stronger together.
I believe that the people of our country, and our church
are stronger together. As a church, we are continuing to live into a deeper
sense of God’s love, and the hope of Jesus Christ.
How has Jesus Christ called us to treat each other?
In John 13:34-35, Jesus says, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one
another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:34-35, NRSV). We are called to love
God and to love each other.
When I participated and preached at the young adult service
at Annual Conference last Saturday, I was preceded by a young pastor named
Lynette Cole. Pastor Lynette said that we are called to love each other, which
is hard because sometimes we don’t want to love the person sitting next to us.
Yet we are called to love.
We are also in need of the grace of God through Jesus
Christ. We are also called to love everyone, even when we don’t like them.
In Luke 6:35 Jesus says, “But
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” (Lk. 6:35, NRSV).
In 1 John 4:7 it says, “Beloved,
let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born
of God and knows God” (1 Jn. 4:7, NRSV).
Ultimately, everyone will not agree on
everything, but “How should we treat each other?” Jesus Christ tell us to love
each other, even when we have differences.
When I think of churches celebrating
graduation Sundays, and when I think of all of the graduates and young people
who are about to go forth in the world, I think about and pray about, how we
all are called to bring healing, love, and hope into the world. How we are
called to repent, follow Christ, and love each other.
I want to share a story with you on
loving your enemies: This story comes from Maxie Dunnam, The
Workbook on Living as a Christian, pp.112-113. Maxie
Dunnam, was the former president of Asbury Theological Seminary, and also one
of founders of the Walk to Emmaus spiritual retreat weekend movement. The
specific title of this story is called “Welcome Home Mr. President”. Here is
how it goes: “Hubert Humphrey was a former vice-president of the United States.
When he died hundreds of people from across the world attended his funeral. All
were welcome, but one – former President Richard Nixon, who had not long previously
dragged himself and his country through the humiliation and shame of Watergate.
As eyes turned away and conversations ran dry around him Nixon could feel the
ostracism being ladled out to him”.
“Then
Jimmy Carter, the serving US President, walked into the room. Carter was from a
different political party to Nixon and well known for his honesty and
integrity. As he moved to his seat President Carter noticed Richard Nixon
standing all alone. Carter immediately changed course, walked over to Richard Nixon,
held out his hand, and smiling genuinely and broadly embraced Nixon and said
“Welcome home, Mr President! Welcome home!”
“The
incident was reported by Newsweek magazine, which wrote: “If there was a
turning point in Nixon’s long ordeal in the wilderness, it was that moment and
that gesture of love and compassion.”
My brothers and sisters, may we seek to love and cherish
each other in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment