May 6 Sermon - As I have loved
you,
So you should also love one another
The gospels record Jesus’ ministry – his preaching and teaching – and
conclude with His death and resurrection.
Then, the risen Christ commissions his disciples to carry on his ministry. As the Father has sent me, so I send
you. You will be my witnesses… Make
disciples of all by teaching and baptizing…
These newly commissioned apostles will not rely solely on their own
wisdom and strength. Christ promises
that as they do His work, he is with them always. He bestows on them the Holy Spirit, giving
them a share of his power.
Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, and intends to have a new people
– his followers – gathered together in his church. Just as His ministry was an outbreak of the
The book of Acts is the sequel to the gospels. It is in your Bible right after the four
gospels because it picks up the story immediately after Christ’s resurrection. It shows us how these newly appointed
apostles did carry on the work of Jesus.
With the Spirit’s guidance, they organized new Christian communities,
the first churches.
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Maybe you imagine everything was wonderful in those first churches led
by the apostles compared to the church as we experience it. But in fact there were problems even in the
early church. Since the church is made
up of ordinary people, with human limitations and prejudices, there was and is
a gap between the church as God has called it to be, and church we know.
Today’s first lesson is the conclusion to the story of one of the
problems that arose in the early church.
While it was long ago, since people are people, in some ways it is also
contemporary.
In the ancient world, few barriers were stronger than the wall between
Jews and gentiles, the non Jews. The
Jewish people had survived and held on to their traditions and their religion
by remaining separate from everyone else. That separation was enforced by
dietary laws that prohibited sharing at the table with non Jews. It kept them from being assimilated into the
surrounding cultures
All of the first Christians were Jews, and at first they continued to observed those dietary laws that kept them separate. In
order to become a Christian in the early years, you had to observe those Jewish
rules. But as Peter learned, that was
not God’s plan for His church.
Word reached the church in
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What does the church do when there is a problem?
Then as now, they have a meeting.
In our lesson, Peter has been called into a meeting to explain
himself. The problem is not that non
Jews have become members of the church, but that peter shared a meal with them,
in violation of the kosher laws.
Let me restate the problem in more contemporary terms.
Most congregations are happy to welcome all into their membership –
even people who are quite different in terms of background. But some churches don’t want to change in any
way to accommodate those who are different.
[All are welcome provided they don’t expect any change in worship
services or hymns or menu at fellowship meals.]
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In our lesson, Peter defends himself by saying this wasn’t his idea – it
was God who led him. His defense seems
to have been convincing for the last verses of the lesson say that their
objections were silenced, and they praised God for non-Jews were now entering
the church.
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Maybe the point is that God’s will is not easy to discern. So there will be discussions – and even
disagreements. That’s especially true if it might require change of some kind,
as it did in this case.
It’s human nature that some will resist change, while others embrace
it. Does the Lord really mean that we
should do this?
Notice how they handled the problem.
They met together, and talked about it, trying to discern God’s
will. But one meeting really didn’t
settle the problem.
If you’ve been to meetings at which a controversial topic is discussed,
you know the typical pattern. We gather
and pray about it. We patiently listen
to varying points of view. We pray some
more. And most folks leave the meeting
with the exact same position that they walked in with.
So the meeting settled the issue?
Of course not.
Read on in Acts and just a few chapters you’ll find another meeting, in
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Since we are no closer to God than Peter and those church members in
the Bible, we should not be surprised if we have difficulty discerning God’s
will for our congregation. We should
expect differences in opinion. And we
should allow time – be patient – as we go through a process of discernment.
And we should remember that those in the first churches stuck together
despite their disagreements.
How?
Think about Jesus’ words in the gospel as a guide – a guide for our
discussions – and our life together.
I give you a new commandment, that you love one
another. John 13:34
He didn’t say always agree with one another, but that you can act in
loving ways toward one another even when you’re disagreeing.
He didn’t even say like one another.
That would be nice, but to like or not like is rather subjective – and
perhaps a feeling. But Christian love is
not something we feel for someone else, but something we do for them. It is
wanting good for them – and doing good. It is acting compassionately, no matter how
we feel.
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What’s new about the new commandment?
Jesus had told us that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. He even admonished us to love our
enemies. So the command to love is not
new.
What is new is the degree – the type of love.
Love as I have loved you.
We know love by this, that he
laid down his life for us--and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 1 John 3:16
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Jesus has set the bar high for relationships within the church: Just
as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
How should loving one another play out in the church?
The love Jesus modeled for us was humble – in humility Jesus washed the
feet of his disciples. Loving as he
loved means being humble rather than arrogant.
Recognizing that the person disagreeing with us may have a point – there
may be an element of truth in what he says even though his conclusion is
different from mine. It can mean a willingness
to apologize to another member when I have been mistaken – or have come on too
strong.
Loving as he loved means having a forgiving spirit. We all make mistakes, so be willing to
forgive a fellow member when they have been wrong. Be the one who takes the initiative in making
peace with someone who has offended you.
Talk to them rather than about them.
And don’t be surprised if they don’t realize that you were offended by
their remark.
When you have a real difference of opinion with someone, spend some
time in prayer about the issue. Then,
after prayer, approach the other person in a spirit of non-belligerence – with
the goal of not trying to win the argument, but to maintain the unity of the
fellowship. We don’t have to agree about
everything in order to remain in fellowship as brothers and sisters.
Loving as he loved implies simply giving the benefit of the doubt to
members who march to the beat of a different drummer. Remember you don’t have to like them or agree
with them to love them. As Luther said, put the best construction on their
words and actions – interpret what they do in the best way.
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Jesus says that empowered by His love - with His help - we can love
those who are different from us, and even those who disagree with us . . .
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Do you realize how LIBERATING that is?
It means that we can argue theological rights and wrongs
and
worship styles and anything else
-- and STILL ALL BE MEMBERS OF HIS BODY
-- as long as we LOVE EACH OTHER.
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With the eyes of faith, look at our congregation and see the body of
Christ. For that is what we are
becoming. The Holy Spirit pours His love
into our hearts, remaking us into Christ’s body, so we can be His beloved community.
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For His love can make you patient and kind --
NOT
arrogant or rude
His love
does NOT insist on its own way
it is not irritable or resentful
Make that Christ-like love your aim
for such love has power
the power
to transform situations
the
power to change others
the power to transform you.