On Love • August 31, 2008

Exodus 3:1-15 Psalm 105; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon by Michael R. Martin
First United Methodist Church of Saranac Lake, NY

We have a selection of good lectionary readings for this week.

In Exodus, we have the story of Moses and the Burning Bush

In Matthewm Jesus predicts his death (“From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!””) and says those immortal words tos Paul: “Satan, get thee behind me!”

And Romans is about love. When I first started working on this week, I figured love would be an easy topic to tackle. But Nooooooo!

Romans 12:9-21 (NLT) – Love

        9Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
        14Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
        17Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
        19Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
        “I will take revenge;
        I will pay them back,”
        says the Lord.
20Instead,
        “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
        If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
        In doing this, you will heap
        burning coals of shame on their heads.”
21Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

In this reading from Romans, Paul exhorts the Christian communities at Rome to live out together what it means to be one body in Christ -- loving one another, respecting and forgiving one another, loving and reaching out in care to enemies, and blessing even those who persecute them. Even as Christ overcame the power of sin and death in his incarnation, life, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection, so his body, the church is called to overcome evil with good.

The New Living Testament entitles this passage “Love” and starts out “Don’t just pretend to love others.” The New Revised Standard Version calls it “Marks of a True Christian” and begins “Let love be genuine.”

In my approach to this topic, I first located a definition of love, in Wikipedia:

Love represents a range of emotions and experiences related to the senses of affection and sexual attraction.[1] The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure to intense interpersonal attraction. This diversity of meanings, combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, even compared to other emotional states.

As an abstract concept love usually refers to a strong, ineffable feeling towards another person. Even this limited conception of love, however, encompasses a wealth of different feelings, from the passionate desire and intimacy of romantic love to the nonsexual. Love in its various forms acts as a major facilitator of interpersonal relationships and, owing to its central psychological importance, is one of the most common themes in the creative arts.

Next, in my approach to understanding the subject of love, I collected a diverse group of quotations and reflecdtions on the subject.

The Persian (Iran) viewpoint:

Even after all this time
The sun never says to the earth "you owe me".
Look what happens with a Love like that!
- It lights the whole Sky. (Hafiz)

and

The children of Adam are limbs of each other
Having been created of one essence.
When the calamity of time afflicts one limb
The other limbs cannot remain at rest.
If you have no sympathy for the troubles of others
You are not worthy to be called by the name of "man".

From the Greeks, we learn about special types of love. Much like the Eskimo is said to have numerous words for snow, the Greeks covered love. But I focused on the purest form of love, agape.

Agape (ἀγάπη agápē) means love in modern day Greek. The term s'agapomeans I love you in Greek, and sounds quite romantic. The word agapo is the verb I love. It generally refers to a "pure", ideal type of love rather than the physical attraction suggested by eros. However, there are some examples of agape used to mean the same as eros. It has also been translated as "love of the soul".

In the New Testament, agapē is charitable, selfless, altruistic, and unconditional. It is parental love seen as creating goodness in the world, it is the way God is seen to love humanity, and it is seen as the kind of love that Christians aspire to have for one another. I was exposed to this special selfless love on my Walk to Emmaus and was further warmed by agape as a servant on a number of Emmaus teams.

Christians believe that to Love God with all your heart, mind, and strengthand Love your neighbor as yourself are the two most important things in life (the greatest commandment of the Jewish Torah, according to Jesus - c.f. Gospel of Mark chapter 12, verses 28-34).

Paul the Apostle glorified love as the most important virtue of all. Describing love in First Corinthians in a poem made famous by so many weddings, Paul wrote,

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres." - 1 Cor. 13:4-7 (NIV)

John the Apostle wrote these words, popularized at football games and sports arenas around the world,

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." - John 3:16-18 (NIV)

John also wrote,

"Dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." - 1 John 4:7-8 (NIV)

Saint Augustine said that one must be able to decipher the difference between love and lust. Lust, according to Saint Augustine, is an over indulgence, but to love and be loved is what he sought for his entire life. He even said, “I was in love with love.” Finally, he did fall in love and was loved back, by God. Saint Augustine said the only one who can love you truly and fully is God, because love with a human only allows for flaws such as, “jealousy, suspicion, fear, anger, and contention.” According to Saint Augustine to love God is “to attain the peace which is yours.” (Saint Augustine Confessions)

Christian theologians see God as the source of love, which is mirrored in humans and their own loving relationships. Influential Christian theologian C.S. Lewis wrote a book called The Four Loves.

Pope Benedict XVI wrote his first encyclical on God is love. He said that a human being, created in the image of God who is love, is able to practice love: to give himself to God and others (agape), by receiving and experiencing God's love in contemplation (eros). This life of love, according to him, is the life of the saints such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and is the direction Christians take when they believe that God loves them.

Some Love Quotations:

"Attention is the most basic form of love; through it we bless and are blessed." - John Tarrant

"Love stretches your heart and makes you big inside." - Margaret Walker
"Love has no awareness of merit or demerit; it has no scale... Love loves; this is its nature." - Howard Thurman

"Love is more than three words mumbled before bedtime. Love is sustained by action, a pattern of devotion in the things we do for each other every day." - Nicholas Sparks

"To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven." - Karen Sunde

"Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence." - Erich Fromm

"In the final analysis, love is the only reflection of man's worth." - Bill Wundram, Iowa Quad Cities Times

"Love doesn't make the world go round, love is what makes the ride worthwhile." - Elizabeth Browning

"To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving. Therefore to love is to suffer, not to love is to suffer. To suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy then is to suffer. But suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be unhappy one must love, or love to suffer, or suffer from too much happiness. I hope you're getting this down." - Woody Allen

"The more I give to thee, the more I have.'' - William Shakespeare

"Give your hands to serve and your hearts to love.'' - Mother Teresa

The key ingredient in interpersonal relationships is love—God's love (agape). This kind of love is a self-sacrificial love, a love that cares for the well-being of others. All the gifts that are exercised in the body should be expressed in this love. This love is the most accurate indicator of spiritual health in the body of Christ. To the Ephesians Paul wrote, "Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work" (Ephesians 4:15-16 NIV). Believers have God's love within because "God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (5:5). For our love to be different from most of what is called "love" in the world, it must be genuine—without hypocrisy, deceit, falseness. Sincere love is genuine love. Jesus was referring to this kind of love when he said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35 NIV).

Agape received a broader usage under later Christian writers as the word that specifically denoted "Christian" love or "charity" (1 Corinthians 13:1–8), or even God (1 John 4:8, Theos ein agape, "God is Love"). The New Testament provides a number of definitions and examples of agape that generally expand on the meanings derived from ancient texts, denoting brotherly love, love of one's spouse or children, and the love of God for all people.

The Christian usage of the term agape comes almost directly from the canonical Gospels' account of the teachings of Jesus. When asked what was the greatest commandment, Jesus said, "'Love (agapao) the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love (agapao) your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-41)

At the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

You have heard that it was said, 'Love (agapao) your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love (agapao) your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?

GENUINE LOVE

Most people know how to pretend to love others—how to speak kindly, avoid hurting their feelings, and appear to take an interest in them. We may even be skilled in pretending to feel moved with compassion when we hear of others' needs, or to become indignant when we learn of injustice. But God calls us to real and sincere love that goes far beyond politeness. Sincere love requires concentration and effort. It means helping others become better people. It demands our time, money, and personal involvement. No individual has the capacity to express love to a whole community, but the body of Christ in your town does. Look for people who need your love, and look for ways you and your fellow believers can show your Christian love to others.

Romans 12:10a
• NIV: Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
• NLT: Love each other with genuine affection.

I am a bit of a poet and a songwriter, although I don’t really demonstrate those talents here on Sunday mornings. Most of my stuff is a little dark – the pain of lost love or unrequited love. Romantic love can be quite painful. The most powerful love I ever felt was when my daughter was born, our first child. My wife experienced a extremnely prolonged labor with our daughter two weeks overdue. She tried to accelerate the process by mowing the lawn on a hot summer day. We went to see the movie Terminator, thinking that a scary movie might kick something into gear. After several attempts to induce labor, my daughters heartrate began to drop precipitously, and so she was born by Emergency Cesarean Section. Perhaps all other parents can empathize how the first time I saw my little girl, the first time I held her, I was filled with a powerful, overwhelming love that penetrated ever fiber of my being. I can still call upon that earth-shattering, life-changing moment. I know that when my son was born 18 months later, I was again filled with the awe and wonder of it all, but I don;t remember ever feeling so overwhelmed with love as I was the day Emily took her first breath. 

Imagine if we could generate that kind of agape love - powereful, unearned and unconditional - for strangers, for our enemies. In the words of that great R&B hit composed by Herb Alpert, Sam Cooke and Lou Adler and performed by Sam Cooke, “What a wonderful world it would be.”

Michael R. Martin – August 31, 2008
First UMC of Saranac Lake, 8:30AM

Jesus Walks on Water • August 10, 2008

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28;Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon by Michael R. Martin
First United Methodist Church of Saranac Lake, NY

Matthew 14:22-33 (NLT)

Jesus Walks on Water
22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. 23 After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.

24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here! ”

28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink.

“Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

~~~
Christ had to constrain His disciples to leave and go to the other shore. They argued against going. There were several reasons why the use of constraint was necessary.

First, right after Christ had fed the crowd, they wished to take Him by force and make Him King. Christ knew the popular view of Messiahship. The Messiah was to lead Israel in revolt against the Roman conqueror, freeing the people and establishing a theocratic government, that is, the rule and reign of God over all the earth. The disciples were caught up in the excitement. Christ had to send them across the lake and disperse the crowd in order to calm the disciples and keep them from making a serious mistake. Of course, Christ knew that they would be fighting a storm, and having to strain against a storm and fight for survival would calm their excitement. His calming the storm would also prove His Messiahship and again show that He was in control of all things. It would show that He knew the best way to proclaim His Messiahship.

Second, it was time for Christ to move on, for others needed His ministry. He wanted the disciples to make use of what little daylight remained for crossing the lake.

Third, and so important to see, Christ needed time alone for prayer.

Fourth, and just as important, Christ wanted the disciples to begin learning one of the most important lessons of their lives: His presence would always be with them, not necessarily His physical presence, but His spiritual presence. What they needed was great trust in Him.
The Lord's presence makes all the difference in the world.

1. Preparation, Personal— Prayer: Christ's presence is assured by personal preparation. This fact is demonstrated by what Christ Himself did, and the lesson is forceful. He got alone for prayer. There are times when long sessions of prayer are needed—no matter the circumstances. If Christ sensed the need how much more should we.

Christ sent the disciples across the lake and dismissed the crowd; then He got alone to pray. So much had happened, Jesus was just drained and exhausted. The tempter had confronted Him once again, offering the easy way to secure the loyalty of the people (see Deeper Study #1—Matthew 4:1-11,. The people were ready to acclaim Him king, but He knew that human proclamation was only the way of the devil. He had to secure salvation for men through death and the resurrection. He needed time alone with God.

• He needed to be renewed and strengthened. He was physically exhausted.
• He needed to recover a clear perspective of His mission. He was mentally exhausted; His mind was so tired, it was probably like ours after intensive thought and labor—foggy.
• He needed to be recharged with God's power and with the singleness of heart to do God's will. So much power had gone out of Him He was spiritually drained.

Several lessons on prayer can be gleaned from this experience of Christ.

He prayed on top of a mountain. The believer who stands on top of a mountain and thinks, viewing the awesomeness of the country below, sees the massiveness of God: His power, majesty, and glory. The believer gains a new perspective of God and man.

Christ prayed in the evening. The evening is a tender and warm time, a time when a person who has worked ever so hard is very much aware of being drained and needing renewal. It is a time when a review of the day and a look ahead to tomorrow can take place. Christ prayed all alone; He needed to share with God face to face.

He prayed "until the fourth watch" (3-6 a.m.), probably seven or more hours.
He prayed in a storm. A storm arose at some point, apparently long before 3 a.m. or the disciples would have already crossed the lake. The importance of prayer to Christ is strikingly seen in the fact that He prayed for so many hours in the midst of a storm.

Thought 1. We are mere people. We get tired so frequently; exhausted so often; tempted so much; pressured so tightly; strained so painfully. We fight to keep our minds on Christ and struggle to maintain a moment by moment consciousness of His presence. We war to keep at our task. Such takes its toll, wears us down mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Our only hope is to learn that Christ's presence, a consciousness of His presence, is assured by prayer—much prayer. We must learn to spend much time alone with God.

Thought 2. A dedicated person lives in a mad rush and is attacked time and again by distraction after distraction. It is impossible to remain strong and faithful to Christ without getting alone for prayer and renewal. Such is the way God has chosen to teach us to trust. We are not self-sufficient. If we want the assurance of His presence and if we are going to do what He has sent us into the world to do, we must spend time alone with Him.
This is one of the basic laws of spiritual growth and ministry.

Christ's presence conquers fear. This is the point seen in the storm and the disciples' experience in the storm.

1. 1. A storm arose while they were crossing the lake. The word "tossed" (basanizomenon PWS: 4019) means to be tossed about with great force. The picture is descriptive: the boat was tossed about so ferociously that it was in pain and anguish. The storm arose while the disciples were working. They were doing exactly what Christ had told them to do, but the storm still came. How true of life: storms come upon the just as well as upon the unjust (Matthew 5:45).
2. 2. Jesus went to the disciples, but note how: He walked on the sea. However, He did not go to them immediately. Why?
3. a. Because He needed to teach them to trust Him and to obey His command no matter what happened to them. They were doing what He had told them to do, so they could trust His care and His will.
4. b. Because He needed to teach them to go about conquering the storms of life by using their own skill and strength. They needed to learn to use all the gifts they had in struggling against the storms of life. He would step in only after they had done all they could. Once their own strength and skill had been exhausted, the praise for salvation would go to God and His delivering power, not to man.
   
5. 3. The disciples were stricken with fear, they thought they were seeing a ghost. The physical and mental condition of the disciples is important at this point. They were physically exhausted, having struggled against the storm for hours, and they were mentally drained from using all the skill at their disposal. Their lives were threatened, and they were struggling for survival. All of a sudden out of nowhere they saw a figure, an apparition (ghost) walking on the water. They were frightened, perhaps bordering on going into shock—perhaps thinking that the "death angel" or a premonition of their death was at hand (Peter's impulsive request seems to indicate this). Then all of a sudden a voice shouted out: "It is I; be not afraid." Exhausted, frightened, shocked—fearing and struggling for their lives and being face to face with a real apparition—the disciples were suffering an almost unbearable experience.
6. 4. Jesus gave assurance of His presence. Christ's sudden presence on the water was a great encouragement to the disciples, yet they were not quite sure it was Him: "Lord, if it be thou." His words and His presence are a marvelous revelation of His care and power to save us through the storms of life (see Deeper Study #1—John 6:20).
   

Thought 1. We should not turn back when storms arise, no matter how terrible the trial (cp. Matthew 13:5, 21). Christ is able to take the trials of life and make opportunities out of them. They give us experience in the life of faith.

Thought 2. This is human distress at its height, a terrifying experience. The thrust of the point is clear: we are helpless when caught in the greatest storms of life. Christ's presence alone can save us through those storms. His presence alone can conquer our fears and give us hope and security.

Thought 3. Storms can be moments of sorrow, self-conflict, temptation, decision making, or any adverse circumstance. Christ is ever so near and ready to help those who will call out to Him. His presence is most assuring, comforting, and strengthening to the true disciple.
Peter's faith faltered. Peter saw Jesus, his hope of being saved. He knew Jesus cared and loved and had the power to save him. He had his eyes upon Jesus. It was when he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the storm that his faith began to weaken and he began sinking. Note that Christ saved him despite weak faith: "Lord...help thou mine unbelief" (Mark 9:24). There is some faith in the cry, "Lord...help."

Thought 1. There is a picture of salvation in this scene. A man's hope is stirred: Christ's presence can save him. He asks to join Christ and Christ commands "Come." The man begins to walk toward Christ, passing over the turbulent waves of life. All of a sudden, he turns his attention away from Christ to the storms of life and begins to sink. He cries out in desperation, "Lord, save me," and Christ reaches out and saves him.

14:30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"NRSV Peter started to sink because he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the high waves around him. His faith wavered. His faith was strong enough to trust that he could walk on the water. But when he realized that he was in a terrifying storm, his faith did not stand up to the storm. Although we start out with good intentions, sometimes our faith is weak.


Michael R. Martin – August 10, 2008
First UMC of Saranac Lake, 8:30AM