March 29 - Christ-like love is
sacrificial and self-giving
The event in today’s gospel took place days after the raising of Lazarus, and just after Jesus’ triumphal entry into
Now among those who went up to worship at the Passover
festival were some Greeks, some non Jews. They came to
Philip, who was from
Most of you recognize this passage as the beginning of our Walk Through Jerusalem dramatic presentation. The visitors to our production play the role
of the Greeks, the foreigners, who wish to see Jesus. Our guide then leads them in a quest to find
the prophet from
In the gospel, Philip and Andrew take them to see Jesus, who realizes
that his great popularity, which now extends even to non Jews, means the end is
near. The miracle of raising dead Lazarus
was the last straw for the religious officials.
They’ll never discredit Jesus, so they plan to get rid of Him as quickly
as possible. No time left for the development of new disciples. No time left
for debates with the religious leaders. No time left, the passion has
begun. So Jesus says:
"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be
glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth
and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.12:29
For the Christ,
the cross is not a symbol of defeat, but rather of glory. He must go to
Our second lesson speaks of this mission, speaking of Jesus as
having been designated by God a high priest… Hebrews 5:8 and
Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high
priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, "You are my Son”. Hebrews 5:5
The
most important duty of the Jewish high priest was to offer a sacrifice to God
that the people’s sins might be forgiven on the day of
atonement. Now Jesus, our high
priest, will offer the one, perfect sacrifice, offering His life on the cross
for the forgiveness of our sins.
We respond to the great love Jesus has shown for us by sharing His love
with others.
Love like Jesus loves you. How
does Jesus love? Look at the cross. One word describes His love – “sacrifice”.
Love always involves an element of self sacrifice. To love like Jesus in our relationships is
going to require sacrifice.
Mother Teresa said start by doing small things with great love. Sacrificial love expresses itself in small
ways in daily life. Jesus, the Son of
God, entered into our experience to model for us what it means to love others -
and he did it as one of us.
One day Jesus and His disciples had entered a town where he would
teach. He’s met by this local religious leader named Jarius
who stopped Him and said “Jesus, my child is dying. Would you come heal her?” That interrupted Jesus’ plan for that day,
but Jesus said yes.
They begin to walk to Jairus’ house. All
of a sudden somebody goes up through the crowd and touches Jesus. And Jesus stopped and said, “Who touched
me?”
The disciples asked, “What do
you mean? There’s a crowd around you?”
And Jarius thought: “Come on Jesus! Let’s keep going!”
Interrupted again, Jesus
stops so he can minister to this woman who was hurting and needed hope and
healing. Then he finally goes with Jarius to heal to his daughter.
Jesus had a plan - an agenda
for that day. But he let it be
interrupted twice - first by Jarius and then by an
un-named woman.
He sacrificed his agenda - his plan - to meet someone’s need. He sacrificed his time - which was more
valuable than mine or yours - for others.
He gave each person the time with Him they needed. Not his spare time, but prime time.
Do not withhold good when it is in your power to do
it. Don’t say “Come back tomorrow” when
you can do it today. Proverbs 3:27
Loving others like Jesus loves you involves sacrifice. And the small sacrifices are important - like
simply allowing your daily routine to be interrupted by someone who needs a
little of your time. That means be willing to sacrifice my agenda - my plan -
my comfortable daily routine - for some one. Letting their agenda, their need, take precedence over mine.
It also means being willing to
sacrifice my time. Giving them whatever
time they need from me.
The best expression of love is time because it’s the most valuable
thing you’ve got. You express
Christ-like love when you give someone your focused attention.
Think about Jesus’ ministry,
and how often he stopped to focus his attention on just one person. He
interrupted his agenda and gave them the time they needed.
Loving like Jesus is expressed
in little sacrifices - when we’re willing to interrupt our plan - our agenda -
to make room for someone, and sacrifice some of our time just to listen to
them.
The other morning I had a medical appointment, which involved a lot of
just waiting. So when I left the
doctor’s office I was late and knew some members were waiting for me. I found my car in the parking garage and was
standing by the car lighting a cigarette when an older man came up to me.
“Could you help me?”
“I guess so.”
“I think I’m lost. I parked my car and then realized I don’t
know how to get to that building with the doctor’s offices.”
I looked around, noticed there were no signs, and no direct route to
the entrance. So I said “I’ll walk with you”, and we slowly made
our way through the garage to the entrance to the office building, telling
little stories on the way. Then he thanked me and said “I’m sure we’ll see each other again.”
“Perhaps.”
“Oh
definitely. Maybe not in
this life, but I’m sure I’ll see you in heaven.”
As I drove to church I felt good - and didn’t care that I was late.
The Message paraphrases Jesus words, "Listen carefully: Unless a
grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more
than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself
many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is, destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in
love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal."
Life cannot be hoarded away and kept safe – rather, be prepared to give
it away in love and find real life.
If
we are going to get anything out of it we have to
invest
ourselves in it. Do you remember “
Christ-like love is not selfish, but rather self giving.
It is not self centered, but rather other centered
Share Jesus love so you can receive love in return.
Many of us in here we have learned to do relationships on the
surface. Just out of curiosity, how many
of you like buffets?
You pick up a plate and get a little bit of everything. It’s great.
But that’s how some of us do relationships. We have buffet
relationships. We’ve got a lot of people
in our life but we just skim off the top – and keep it superficial – too busy
for deep friendships.
In a peanuts cartoon, Charlie Brown and Lucy are speaking to one
another:
CB: All it would take to make me happy is to have someone say he likes me.
Lucy: Are you sure?
CB: Of course I'm sure!
Lucy: You mean you'd be happy if someone
merely said he or she likes you? Do you mean to tell me that someone has it
within his or her power to make you happy merely by doing such a simple thing?
CB: Yes! That's exactly what I mean!
Lucy: Well, I don't think that's asking too
much.
She then mulls it over, and finally turns, shaking her head, “No, I can’t do it.”
My challenge for you this week, if you accept it, is every day have one conversation where you intentionally take it below
the surface. Fight against that superficial instinct. You listen.
Ask questions.
“Whenever you are wrong, admit it;
whenever you’re right, shut up.”
You don’t try to fix the person that you’re listening to. Will
“Live a life filled with love for others following the
example of Christ who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away
your sins.” Ephesians 5:2
Follow the example of Jesus’ love by making little sacrifices, like
being willing to interrupt your plan - your agenda - to make room for someone.
Sacrifice some of your time just to listen to them. Christ-like love is not self centered, but
other centered; not selfish, but self giving.