Sunday 08/28/22 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Let Mutual Love Continue”
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 81:1, 10-16
New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
Gospel Lesson: Luke 14:1, 7-14
The scripture tells us in many places
that God is love. To truly know God, is to know perfect love. As Christians, we
have historically believed that this perfect love of God, came to earth, took on
a body, and was named Jesus Christ. God created everything in love, God’s son
Jesus came to earth in love, and the Holy Spirit fills us with love. To know
God the Father, who creates, is to know love. To know God’s son Jesus Christ,
God in the flesh, is to know love. To be filled with the Holy Spirit of God, is
to know love.
With this said though, I sometimes see
love in the world, but I also sometimes see the opposite of this. Sometime I
see cruelty, anger, wrath, envy, war, and harmful behavior. If we are
Christians, if we are people that follow Christ, how should we respond to the
world around us. If in perfect love God the Father sent his only son Jesus
Christ to live, to teach, to love, to heal, to die for our sins, to rise again,
and to some day return in glory, should we live and love like Jesus? Further,
if we all did live and love like Jesus what would Sidney look like? What would
the Tri-Town Area look like? What would New York, the United States, and the world
look like?
Now what I am saying is not always
easy, in fact it can be very hard. To be a Christian in so many ways is to be
counter cultural. It is to love others, even when we are told not to. I think
if we are all honest there have been times when have not loved each other, or
desired to not be caring and kind to each other. Yet, this is the highest ideal
of the Christian life. Imagine if we pursued loving each other, the way that
Jesus loves us all?
We have a beautiful scripture for this
morning from Hebrews 13:1-3 that says once again:
13 Let mutual love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured (Heb. 13:1-3, NRSV).
What a beautiful verse of scripture in Hebrews 13:1. It says once again:
13 Let mutual love continue (Heb. 13:1, NRSV).
God
the Father who creates, is love, his son Jesus Christ our Lord, is love, and
the Holy Spirit of God is love. When God corrects us though, this is also done
in love. For example, as our reading from Psalm 81:10-13 it says once again:
10 I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. 11 “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. 12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. 13 O that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! (Ps. 81:10-13, NRSV).
I have talked to parents before who have told
me that they grounded their child or took some of their privileges away from
them. Some parents have told me that they did this “because they love the child,
and wanted them to learn”. Love is treating people and loving people the way
that God loves us. Even so, we all still sin or are still tempted by sin. We
can be forgiven of our sin through the Lord Jesus Christ, but we still live in
this world. This world is sometimes full of struggles, pitfalls, snares, and brokenness.
It can be hard to love all the time amidst all of this. Further, sometimes we
have to be firm and corrective, but in love.
I find in interesting that the Apostle Paul
writes in Hebrews 13:1-3 to “Let Mutual Love Continue,” to never withhold hospitality
from stranger, as we may have been entertaining angels, The Apostle Paul also
tells us, once again, to remember those who are in prison, and those being
tortured. In the very next verse 13:4 however, the Apostle Paul then immediately
goes after adultery. Quite a shift in just a few verses. The Apostle Paul then
tells us not to love money, and to be content with what we have. The Apostle
Paul then assures us that God will always be with us (Heb. 13:4-8, NRSV).
Sometimes in some of his New Testament letters
or books the Apostle Paul can seem harsh, or very direct. I think that the
Apostle Paul is trying to call us all to social and scriptural holiness. All of
us have sinned, all of us have fallen short, and all of us maybe continue to
fail in different ways. Everyday, we can repent, give our lives to Christ anew,
and hope to become more and more like Jesus. God loves us when we are living in
perfect love, and God love us when we are not living in perfect love. God
always love us.
The challenge I think is that if we have made
mistakes and sinned, which we all have, sometimes we feel worse than others. We
might think that we are the biggest and the worst sinner. Somehow what we have done
is much graver than everyone else. Yet the scripture says we have all sinned
and all fallen short. Who is worthy of God? None of us, but all us are worthy
through Jesus Christ. I do not believe in degrees of sin. If we have done
something wrong or sinned, we have all fallen short. Which means brothers and
sisters, we are all in this together. Your pastor is not better than you, and
you are not better than your pastor. Well maybe!
We are all works in progress. Thanks, be to God
that each and every one of us are offered salvation and forgiveness through
Christ, but we must keep following after him. I believe, I hope, that I am
holier and more righteous than I was ten years ago, but I am still growing,
praying, learning, and Lord willing becoming more like Jesus. When we can have
joy knowing we are forgiven, loved, set free, and offered eternal life,
hopefully we can then look around the church and say that we are all really the
same. We are different, but all equal before the living God, through Jesus Christ
our Lord.
Unfortunately, I did not always hear this
message growing up. Some pastors would preach that all of “you” need to repent,
all of “you” need to change, and yet to me those pastors seemed perfect. They
wanted to present as if they knew it all, had it all together, and never had
any sin or temptation any more in their life. We are all fallen, but all are
pursuing wholeness and completeness through the Lord Jesus Christ. Imagine a
church where you can be you, but will be challenged to be more like Jesus. A
church where you can be you, but where are loving each other, praying for each
other, and becoming more like Jesus. This sounds like love to me, even though
sometimes the layers of love can get messy.
Our Book of Hebrews reading ends for this
morning in 13:7-8, 15-16 saying once again:
7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 15 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God (Heb. 13:7-8, 15-16, NRSV).
So, hopefully our leaders, your pastor, is living and
trying there best to live a righteous, moral, and faith filled life. Should a
good pastor or church leader inspire you? Yes, of course, be we are all daily called
to become more like Christ. The Apostle Paul reminds that Christ never changes,
nor does his love for us. We keep following him, and we keep seeking to be more
like him. What is one of the ways to become holier, to become more like Christ,
to become closer to being sinlessness? The Apostle Paul tells us to continually
to offer a sacrifice of praise to God and profess his name. Lastly, the Apostle
Paul tell us to do good, to share and be generous, as this is what we have been
commanded to do in God through Jesus Christ.
A pretty interesting packaging of scriptures in our Hebrews
13 reading for this morning once again. We are told love, to show hospitality,
remember those in prison, and then the Apostle Paul goes after a few areas of
sin that some have or do struggle with. The Apostle Paul then tells us again to
love each other. You see if we just love each other in an emotional sense, but
never challenge ourselves or others to become more like Jesus, then are really growing
to our fullest extent? This does not have to be done in a punitive or a mean
way. Sarah Pressler has told me in a loving, yet firm way before that I am
working to much. We need to show “Mutual Love” to one another, but are all
called to grow closer to and be more like Jesus.
Love can be shown through words, actions and deeds. If are
trying help build people up, have them reach their full potential, and are
trying to lead people to be more like Christ, than that can be love to.
In looking at our gospel of Luke 14:1, 7-14 reading for
this morning, I believe we once again have a great depiction of the kind of
love Jesus teaches us all to have. Jesus gives us instructions for how to have
a dinner party or sorts, which of all things might seem like a shock that Jesus
would be concerned about a dinner party. Nevertheless, starting Luke 14:1 it says
once again:
14 On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely (Lk. 14:1, NRSV).
So, Jesus, on one occasion, as the gospel said
went to a leader of the Pharisees house to eat a meal on the Sabbath Day. The
Pharisees, or the religious leaders, are of course watching Jesus closely to try
to find some error or some sin that they could claim that he committed. Of
course, Jesus committed no sin or error. This was the continued pettiness and the
nitpickiness however that the religious leaders constantly hurled upon Jesus.
How did Jesus respond and act when he got to this meal at
the house of a leader on the Pharisees? Well picking up in Luke 14:7, it says
of Jesus at the dinner, once again:
7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Lk. 14:7-11, NRSV).
While Jesus uses the example of
a wedding banquet or a great feast, he tells us that we should be humble. We
should not seek to be in the best seats and seek to be seen as the best.
Further, if we do this we should not seek to exalt or bring praise to
ourselves. Instead, we should seek to sit in the lesser places, and if we are
invited to sit in better place than maybe we can do so. Jesus tells us that all
who exalt or praise themselves will be humbled, and all those who humble
themselves will be exalted.
Our
gospel of Luke reading for this morning then concluded with 14:12-14, once
again saying:
12 He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Lk. 14:12-14, NRSV).
Jesus tells us that when we put on a
dinner or a luncheon not to invite our friends, brothers, relatives, or rich
neighbors. Instead, Jesus says that we should invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame, and the blind. Jesus said, we will be blessed because these folks cannot
repay our kindness like our friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors
can, but Christ will repay us in eternity.
This morning, once again, as my sermon title says, the
Apostle Paul tells us in Hebrews 13:1:
13 Let mutual love continue (Heb. 13:1, NRSV).
This
means, we need to daily seek Christ, read the scriptures, pray, being in small
groups and bible studies with each other, and seek to be more like Jesus. As
Jesus continues to change and mold us, we become more holy and more righteous.
When we really love each other, we show the love of Christ, but also tell each
other when we need repent and turn to Christ. We are all equal in Christ, we
are all fallen, but we can all be redeemed and forgiven. None of us are worthy
on our own, but we are redeemed in Christ. We are all welcome here, we are called
to love each other, and as the Apostle tells us this morning in Hebrews 13:1
may we seek to:
13 Let mutual love continue (Heb. 13:1, NRSV). Amen
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