God has created
you to live in relationships. This theme is discussed throughout
Scripture and is one of the most basic principles of Christianity.
In the second creation story in Genesis found in Chapter 2 we
read in verse 18 where God says, "It is
not good that a man should be alone; I will make him a helper
as his partner." Even though God was in relationship with
the man whom God had created, God knew the man still needed someone
more like himself with whom he could share life.
The man and the woman God created as man's partner produced
children for God's first command to them was, "to
be fruitful and multiply." God's desire was not only
to be in relationship with creation but to also have those created
in God's image be in relationship as husband and wife,
as family, as friends and as society.
The earliest humans first broke this relationship with God.
Then they broke it with one another. Cain and Abel were brothers,
the first two offspring of Adam and Eve. Cain was a farmer and
Abel was a rancher who raised sheep. Cain became jealous of his
brother's relationship with God and in a moment of anger
he killed Abel.
Afterwards God asked Cain where Abel was to be found and Cain's
reply was, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis
4:9) The strong implication in the story is that God's
expectation is precisely that. We are responsible for one another
with the expectation of God being that each one of us will do
all that we can to love all others even as God loves them. It
is a high calling and one that requires an improved response
on our part. There is no greater evidence of how we understand
God and our calling than in how we treat one another within our
marriage, our family, our church, our society and our world.
In my opinion there is nothing of greater importance or need
for human beings to learn and do than to love one another the
way God created us to do. We have become immune and insensitive
to the statistics and events that reveal how far short we have
fallen in this divine purpose for us. 58 percent of all marriages
in the United States end in divorce. The number of abuse cases
of spouses, parents and children is absolutely staggering. Violence
is more or less accepted as a normal part of life. We see it
every day. We read about it all the time. There has not been
a single day of my life that someone has not been killed in a
war or from murder somewhere in the world.
"My very dear friends" is how a beloved colleague
of mine would address us whenever he led worship in Montana.
He himself had escaped from a concentration camp. I use his salutation
this morning. My very dear friends, this is not how we are supposed
to live. Human life is far too precious for us to be taking it
so lightly. The fact that murder, war, death, divorce and abuse
occur each day does not make them right. They simply are not
what God wants for us. You and I have been created to live together
in love. The way we reveal God to the world is shown primarily
by how we love one another. One of the best ways to determine
if a congregation is living an authentic life of faith is to
look at how its members treat one another.
In Matthew 18 verses 15 and following we are told by Jesus, "If
someone in the Church hurts or offends you, go at once to that
individual, explain what has happened and offer to work together
to make it right. If that doesn't work take one or two
others with you to help work it out. Take only those who want
peace and love between the two of you." Only as a last resort
are we to involve the whole community. However, if that is what
it takes the whole community is to be involved in an attempt
to bring about peace and unity. If nothing works to restore the
relationship then the individual is to be treated as a sinner
and an outsider. This sounds somewhat harsh until we remember
how Jesus has taught us to treat strangers, foreigners and enemies.
We are to forgive, love and offer hospitality to them.
This sounds difficult, even impossible. Indeed it is difficult
for those who insist on being centered in self, who think its
all about them. It's not. Remember last week: it's
all about God. What does God want to happen? God wants us to
be in positive, loving relationships.
Listen to Jesus' words in John 13:34-35. "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 you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." In
John 14:21 Jesus continues, "They who have my commandments
and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will
be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself
to them." Near the end of His earthly life Jesus commissioned
Simon Peter to be the one to lead the beginning of the Church
we have today. Jesus only asked Peter one thing but Jesus asked
it 3 times. "DO YOU LOVE ME?" And that is really
all that God asks of us. "DO YOU LOVE ME?" If we
do then we will love one another.
Our faith family is meant to be an opportunity for us to love
and be loved in a community whose members deeply care for one
another. It is meant to be a place of belonging where we can
share openly without severe judgment and rejection. Sadly, many
congregations are not able to do this. Blessed are the ones who
are.
There are so many passages of Scripture that describe what
our life together as Christians is to be like. I would like to
recommend for you reading the Book of First John. Here are just
a few things that are found there:
- 2:9 — "Whoever says, 'I
am in the Light' while hating a brother or sister is
still in darkness."
- 3:11 — "For this is the message you have heard
from the beginning that we should love one another."
- 3:14 — "We
know that we have passed from death to life because we
love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death."
- 3:16 — "We
know love by this that He laid down His life for us and
we ought to lay down our lives for one another."
- 4:7 — "Beloved,
let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone
who loves is born of God and knows God."
- 4:12 — "No
one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives
in us, and His love is perfected in us."
- 4:21 — "The
commandment we have from God is this; those who love God
must love their brothers and sisters also."
- 3:18 — "Let
us love not in word or speech only, but in truth and action."
I would like to close today's sermon on loving each other
with some words about hospitality from the late Father Henri
Nouwen in his book, Reaching Out. "It is possible for
men and women and obligatory for Christians to offer an open
and hospitable space where strangers can cast off their strangeness
and become our fellow human beings. In the context of hospitality,
guest and host can reveal their most precious gifts and bring
new life to each other. The term hospitality should not be
limited to strangers but should be a fundamental attitude toward
our fellow human beings." My very dear friends, we have been created for loving relationships
with each other. |
