Homer Avenue UMC - 5th Sunday of Easter - 04/29/18 - Sermon - “love one another"

Sunday 04/29/18 Homer Avenue UMC

Sermon Title: “Love one another”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 22:25-31

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 John 4:7-21

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: John 15:1-8

          My dear friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, welcome once again on this our 5^th Sunday of this the Season of Easter. Five Sundays after Christ gloriously rose from the dead, giving us hope, giving us life, giving us light, and giving us love. Through Christ, his life, his teachings, his cross, and his resurrection, we are offered eternal life and a relationship with him.

          So often in church and other “churchy” places though, we hear about the love of God, of the love of His son Jesus Christ, and of the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet, sometimes this “love” that so many people seem talk about doesn’t always seem to be a present reality for us. Has anyone here for example, ever visited a church that was unloving? You went in, no one said hello to you, and people were generally cold and unfriendly. Or maybe you knew some people who said that they were Christians, but they didn’t seem to love or treat you like they were Christians.

          The problem with this, is not only is it mean, not only will likely result in churches shrinking and closing, result in discouragement, hurt, and anger, but above all of this, it is against what the Word of God says.

          Jesus Christ said in the gospel of Mark 12:30-31:

^“you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

(Mk. 12:30-31, NRSV).

          This morning in our reading from the Epistle or letter of 1 John, the Apostle John tells us this 1 John 4:7-12:

“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us” (1 Jn. 4:7-12, NRSV).

          As you might have guessed by this point, I want to talk about love this morning, as my sermon title is called, “love one another”. This sermon title is taken right of our reading from 1 John 4:7. In the gospel of Mark scripture that I just read, and in this portion of this morning’s reading from 1 John that I just read, it is clear that we are called love all people, no matter what.

With this said, I bet that everyone here can say that you love your children, your grand-children, and for some of you, your great-grandchildren. You might also say that you love your siblings, your cousins, and so on and so forth.

          Even so, I have had people that have told me things like, “Pastor I love my brothers and sisters, but we don’t get along, and as a result, we don’t ever speak to each other”. Then I think, but that isn’t loving. If I were to tell the person this, they might say to me, “Even though I love my brothers and sisters, when we are together all we do is fight. Due to this, I believe that the best way I can love them is to not see them or speak to them”. The Bible tells us that we are supposed to be reconciled with each other, but we know that this means both sides have to agree to that idea of reconciliation.

          Do we have to agree then with everything that someone else does or believes in order to love them? No. I am sure for example, that every decision that your children have ever made, have been ones that you always agreed with! I have heard parents says things to their kids like, “I still love you, but I think that the decision that you are about make is a mistake”.

          My brothers and sisters, we are indeed called to love, but God still has expectations on how we are supposed to live and act. If I visited someone in jail, as I have before in doing prison ministry, I love the people I spend time with and minister to. I don’t love the crimes that they committed, but I do love them. We are called to love everyone, and care for everyone, but this does mean that we have to agree with everyone on everything.

Once again, the Apostle John writes in 1 John 4:10:

“In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 Jn. 4:10, NRSV).

          To know God, to know Jesus, is to know love, yet Jesus still needed to come and die for us. So we should love, but not everything we do is ok. You love your kids, but you might not love every decision that they make. This is a really hard balance I think, but as the gospels says, Jesus came in “grace and truth”. Jesus came with love, but He also has expectations about how we are to live and treat each other. If someone loves everyone for example, but is stealing cars let’s say, then the stealing of the cars is wrong. Sometimes when we love someone, we have to be willing to tell them that they are wrong.

          The reading this morning from 1 John 4 once again ends like this:

“God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also (1 Jn. 4:16b-21, NRSV).

          In this reading from 1 John we really hear in great detail about how God loves us, and that if we know God, how we are supposed to love each other. We are not supposed to hate each other, but rather are to love each other.

          Once again though, the last two versus of our 1 John reading say:

“Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also”

(1 Jn. 4:16b-21, NRSV).

          The reality is, is that we are all fallen, all broken, and are all sinners. We are called to love one another, even if we don’t agree with one another. We are called to love others, even if we don’t like them, or even if we are the ones making the mistakes.

          As our Bishop Rev. Mark Webb said in a sermon at our Annual Conference a few years ago of himself, “You don’t have to like me, but you do have to love me”.

          A great part of our Christian faith then, is that we are supposed to love everyone with the love of Jesus Christ. For by doing so, they may then come to know Jesus Christ to.

          We are called to love. If someone is a Mets fans for example, it doesn’t mean that you have to be a Mets fan, it just means that you have to love them. It probably also means that since there a Mets fan, that you should pray for them to.

          I really like the concept of “tough love”. I have heard people tell parents before to show their kids “tough love”. I have heard that sometimes saying “no,” or allowing your kids to struggle some is “tough love”. Do we believe that love can be “tough love”?

          I had a friend in college, when Melissa and I went to Potsdam College. This guy stole stuff everywhere. He went to the school bookstore and store clothes, pens, and you name it. One time a group of us went to Pizza Hut for my birthday, and I kid you not, this guy stole, a full set of utensils, the plate from the table, a menu, and then the plastic cover from the cash register. He had somehow stuffed all of this into his clothes, and then showed us all of this when he got in the car. Do I still love him? Of course. Did I agree with what he did? No. Is he still crazy? Yes, but I still love him.

          It is true that to know God is to know love, but it is also true that to follow God, to follow Jesus, is to do what we have been commanded to do. Why won’t I steel like my friend in college did, because we have a commandment from God that tells us not steal. The funny thing with this story, by the way, is that my friend in college had the money to buy the things that he stole, he just thought that it was funny to steal them.

          Anyone who walks through the doors of this church then, will be deeply loved and appreciated by me, but it is also part of my sacred duty to tell them how God wants us to live and act. Love needs to have rules, and love needs to have boundaries. If not, you could just tell your kids or grandkids “do anything you want, because we are to love each other”. Yet you don’t them that. You teach them what is ok, and what isn’t ok. Maybe you have said to your kids, “this is what I think that you should do, and if you don’t do it I think that you are wrong, but I will still love you anyway”. Part of love is being honest.

          To mention our gospel of John reading from this morning briefly, we have another “I am” statement from Jesus Christ. Last Sunday, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd,” and in this gospel reading, Jesus says:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower” (Jn. 15:1, NRSV).

Jesus then says in John 15:2-5 of God:

^“ He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing”

(Jn. 15:2-5, NRSV).

          God is the plant, and Jesus is the vine that connects us to the plant that is God. To know God, to know Jesus, is to know love. Yet apart from Jesus, who is the vine, we cannot bear fruit. Our love for others is something that we should have, but we should also seek to live in the ways that Jesus told us how to live. For what is love without truth?

          I pray that we may be patient with one another, love another, even if we do not always agree with one another. As one of my Bible Commentaries says:

“Not everyone around us will deserve our love, yet we must extend love to all. We were equally unlovable when God first lives us” (Africa Bible Commentary).

Know that you are all loved, and prayed for. Amen.

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - 4th Sunday of Easter - 04/22/18 - Sermon - “I am the good shepherd"

Sunday 04/22/18 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “I am the good shepherd”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 23

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 John 3:16-24

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: John 10:11-18

          Welcome once again on this the 4^th Sunday of Easter. Four Sundays after Jesus rises to new life, and through Him, we are offered new life.

          In the Christian New Testament, as many of us know, we have four gospels. These of course are the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In these gospels we have the story of Jesus Christ, what He said, what He did, the claims that He made, the healings, the love, and the power of God. To put it another way, the words of Jesus Christ are the words that are contained in the gospels. There are other scriptures that quote Jesus, but the gospels are where we get the on the ground reality of who, what, how, were, and when, Jesus was and is.

          If one reads the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the text says some pretty amazing stuff. We hear the story of Christ, His life, and everything that He did and claimed. The challenge for us as Christians though, is to ask what do these gospels and all scripture mean? Are the gospels reliable? Do we believe that in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that Jesus said and did the things that have been recorded of Him? I do. If we read the gospels with precision and integrity then, we find some very specific teachings and ideas.

          For example, this morning in our gospel of John reading, Jesus Christ says,

“I am the good shepherd” (Jn. 10:11a, NRSV).

          What did Jesus mean, when He said this? Further, do we believe that Jesus did in fact say this? I know that I believe that He did.

          In the gospel of John, we have in fact seven statements of what are referred to as the “I am” statements, made by Jesus Christ. It is interesting that when Moses asks God His name in Exodus 3:14, via the burning bush, that God replies by saying:

“I am who I am” (Ex. 3:14, NRSV).

          So for Jesus to make statements that are aligning with the statement that God made to Moses, is very interesting to me. The seven “I am” statements in the gospel of John are:

(http://journeyingtotherealme.blogspot.com/2017/06/john-15-seriesverse-1.html).

          I read you these seven “I am” statements, to give you an idea of what I am talking about this morning. According to the gospel of John, Jesus made seven “I am” statements. While these seven “I am” statements can make for a great sermon series, I wanted to just focus on the “I am” statement that we have this morning from John 10:11-18. In this reading, Jesus once again says,

“I am the good shepherd” (Jn. 10:11a, NRSV).

          Well, when I began to do research on this statement and the concept of a “Shepherd” and a “Good Shepherd,” I found some information that I didn’t expect at all. For example, I Googled “The Good Shepherd,” and the first thing that came up was a movie called “The Good Shepherd,” with Matt Damon, Robert De Niro, and Angelina Jolie. Well then I thought, “Wait a second, I thought that Jesus was the good shepherd!” Then I thought, “Why would a movie be named “The Good Shepherd?” Were the makers of the movie trying to trick us into going to the movies?”

          Well, it turns out that character that actor Matt Damon played in this movie, was a man who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency or the CIA for years. His character was dedicated to his country, and was willing to die to defend it.

          This is interesting to me, because our gospel of John reading once again begins with Jesus saying:

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep” (Jn. 10:11-13, NRSV).

          A shepherd who leads sheep or some other animal is charged with protecting and caring for the sheep, or whatever the animal is. Pastors are often called shepherds, as we are charged with taking care of the spiritual wellbeing of the people of the church and the communities that we serve.

          Jesus finishes our gospel of John the reading this morning by saying:

^“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father” (Jn. 10:14-18, NRSV)

          As Jesus is speaking to a group a Pharisees when He says this, He is saying that the real shepherds walk through the gate of the sheep, and the sheep hear, see, and recognize there shepherd. Wolves and thieves break in, climb over the wall, and do not sound like the shepherd.

          This is certainly powerful imagery, but again if Jesus said this “I am” statement, as I believe that He did, there are powerful claims in this statement. To me, in this scripture, Jesus is saying that He is the Lord of all persons, or sheep. For again, Jesus says this morning,

“So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again” (Jn 10:16b-17, NRSV).

Jesus is saying that He is our leader, our shepherd, and that we must follow him and listen for his voice. Even further, he says he will lay his life down for us the sheep, and then take it back up. Jesus says in John 15:13:

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn. 15:13, NRSV).

Jesus tells us to follow Him, to allow ourselves to be shepherded by Him, and that he will not deceive us. He will even die to save us.

Some of us might have attended our Active Shooter Training that we had the Freeville UMC this passed Tuesday night. In this training, a teacher that came said that she would lay her life down to protect her students, and then I said I would do the same to protect the people of the church. If a pastor is a shepherd, and if we take it seriously, then we are modeling, and living exactly what Jesus taught this morning when He said:

“I am the good shepherd” (Jn. 10:11a, NRSV).

          Jesus could have made the seven statements in the gospel of John without using the words “I am,” but I think the reality of his divinity, of Him being the fullness of God and man, came through in the making of these statements.

          Jesus then can be portrayed like a shepherd that leads us, loves us, and cares for us. Jesus tells us that He seeks out the lost sheep, and that he as our shepherd that will lead us to the ways of love, hope, peace, and eternal life.

          This is very similar to reading that we have for this morning from Psalm 23 that says:

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake” (Ps. 23:1-3).

Psalm 23 is speaking of God the Father, yet this morning in the gospel of John, Jesus Christ, God’s son, God in the flesh, is using very similar language.

Since pastors and priests are called shepherds sometimes, we are called to teach, live, and do exactly what Jesus says this morning. This reality extends to all of us though. You are all shepherds. You might shepherd your children, your pets, your family, people that work for you, your students if you’re a teacher, or others. How many of you have people in your life, by a show of hands that you would lay your life to defend and protect? Well, then you are a “Good Shepherd”.

            This reality rings true in our reading from this morning from 1 John that says:

^“We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?”

(1 Jn. 3:16-17, NRSV).

          Shepherds are willing to sacrifice, willing to defend, and willing to lay their lives down for those they love.

          So I believe this morning that Jesus is telling us that He is the full embodiment of God, the great “I am,” that is going to die for us, be raised to new life, and they He will live in us if we let him. We are then to go forth into the world telling people about this great shepherd named Jesus Christ, and then with the power of the Holy Spirit we are called to transform the world. When we love each other, shepherd each other, we are drawing closer to Christ, and better living out exactly what Jesus was saying this morning, when He said:

“I am the good shepherd” (Jn. 10:11a, NRSV).

          There’s short story called the “Star Fish” that I think explains ever further. This story goes like this:

“A man was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up. Left on the sand by the receding tide the starfish were certain to die as the sun dried them out. The man also saw a boy picking up starfish and flinging them back into the sea. Planning to teach the boy a little lesson in common sense, the man walked up to the boy and said, “I have been watching what you are doing, son. You have a good heart, and I know you mean well, but do you realize how many beaches there are around here and how many starfish are dying on every beach every day? Surely such an industrious and kind hearted boy such as yourself could find something better to do with your time. Do you really think that what you are doing is going to make a difference?” The boy looked up at the man, and then he looked down at a starfish by his feet. He picked up the starfish, and as he gently tossed it back into the ocean, he said, “It makes a difference to that one.” (http://storiesforpreaching.com/category/sermonillustrations/servanthood/)

          My friends, my brothers and sisters, Jesus is the good shepherd, and we are His sheep, or as the story just said, his starfish. May we shepherd and love each other, the way that Jesus has and continues to do for us. Amen.

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Native American Ministries Sunday/3rd Sunday of Easter - 04/15/18 - Sermon - “So what happened exactly?"

Sunday 04/15/18 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “So what happened exactly?”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 4

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 John 3:1-7

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: Luke 24:36b-48

          Welcome again my sisters and brothers, on this our Native American Ministries Sunday, this the Third Sunday of Easter, this the Sunday that we are hosting again Romanian Missionary Ramona Petrella Cummings, and maybe a couple of other things, as well!

          Since this is Native American Ministries Sunday, today is a special giving opportunity in the life of the United Methodist Church, where we can support Native American seminarians, pastors, and Native American outreach. Feel free to pray, and to give to this special giving Sunday, as God calls you to do so. Feel free to also do the same for Ramona’s ministry.

          As our church bulletin says this morning however, I am going to give a very brief message. In part, I am doing this to give you a small message, as I was on vacation last Sunday, but also to hopefully help support Ramona and her work. Anyone that is working to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and anyone who is working to build God’s kingdom, is generally someone that I support.

          The question though, is why do we as Christian do what we do? Why do we serve, love, heal, and forgive? You see, all of us are called as Christians to serve God and share the gospel of Jesus Christ in various ways, but some of us are called to go where there is great suffering. For millions and millions of Christians, we generally believe that Christ overcame sin and death on the cross, that he was resurrected, that he is alive well, and that he will return one day in glory. For so many of us, this is our motivation and our transformation that causes us as Christians to do what we do.

Knowing the risen Christ, believing in His gospel, and living it out, can result in God putting us in places and situations that we never imagined. Many of us also know that the Christian Church is worldwide, and that we are the biggest faith in the world. Due to this, it shouldn’t be a shock to us to know that we have many millions of Christians serving, loving, working, and caring in places where God’s people need the most love, help, and kindness.

This leads me to this morning’s gospel reading from the gospel of Luke, and my sermon title of “So what happened exactly?” In this reading, Jesus Christ, after his resurrection, appeared to his disciples. Specifically, the gospel reading says:

“Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence”. (Lk. 24:36b-43, NRSV).

          For me, and for millions and millions of Christians, not only do I believe that Jesus was God in the flesh on earth, that he loved, healed, and forgave, and died for our sins, I also believe that he rose again. I also believe that he appeared for 40-days to his disciples and many, and then ascended to heaven. Jesus therefore, is alive and well, and will return one day in glory.

          Serving Christ, preaching and following the gospel of Christ takes on a powerful new meaning then when we believe that the savior we follow is truly alive and well. This belief fuels us to change the world, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, and sometimes to go far and wide to show people the great love of Jesus Christ. When Christ is alive in us, we begin to see the world differently, and the gospel calls us to change the world into what Jesus called us to change it into.

          “So what happened exactly,” this morning? Well I believe that Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, physically presented his resurrected body to his disciples, that he ate with them, and that he then told them again just who he was and is. This reality, this truth found only in Jesus Christ, is so powerful, that it has changed me, and it has changed millions upon millions of others through the world. Due to this, when we answer the call to serve Christ, sometimes that call might just take us to a place like Nicaragua, or to Romania. Be ready for God’s call! Amen.