Mountain top
Martin Luther King said once that the church is like a great extended family that receives a tremendous bequest: they receive an inheritance of a wonderful, beautiful, spacious, luxurious home to share. There is only one stipulation. All must live in it together.
And throughout the history of mankind that has proved a very difficult task ! There’s the obvious history of wars, the injustice of the haves and have nots throughout different parts of the world, there’s the arguments and jostling for positions of power – arguments which we have seen all too clearly even in our own country in recent weeks. And that election campaigning shows perfectly how difficult it is to live together with a plan upon which everyone can agree !
But above simple agreement Jesus asks for more – he asks for love – and he asks for a compassion which displays a true concern for everyone…
Both in the reading from Leviticus (19:1,2, 9-18) and in the Gospel of John (13:31-35), we receive the command to love – and in the gospel, Jesus reminds us that it is by loving one another that people will know that we are his followers…
The command to love indiscriminately is so difficult that it is a command that many of us, perhaps all of us at times, ignore as a kind of optional extra for the Christian faith – but Jesus makes it clear that this is no extra – this is our faith…
I’ve used the quote before and it is one that is a huge challenge, "I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least." That is the measure of our love for God, and viewed in those terms it can be quite painful…
But this is the command that is so important that in his last meal with his disciples, Jesus emphasized to his followers – this is the command which was so important that it took him to the cross as he demonstrated the most selfless indiscriminate love possible.
There’s another story which I know I have used before but which describes this sort of love so well - It's a story about a man who got back to his car and found a little boy looking with great admiration at it. The little boy said, "Does this car belong to you?" And the man said, "Yes, in fact my brother gave it to me for Christmas."
With that the little boy's eyes widened. He said, "You mean to say that somebody gave it to you? And you didn't have to pay anything for it? That it came without any strings attached?" And the man said, "That's right. My brother gave it to me as a gift."
With that the little boy let out a long sigh and said, "Boy, I would really like..." And the man fully expected the boy to say, "I would like to have a brother like that, who would give me such a beautiful car," but instead the man was amazed when the little boy said, "I would really like to be that kind of brother. I wish I could give that kind of car to my little brother."
The job of the Church and the role of us as individuals is not to convert the world – it is to love and to serve… Jesus offered a ministry of love and service – yes, at times he asked people to follow him, but more importantly he made people want to follow him because of his incredible power and the love that he showed.
He didn’t preach long sermons about trusting in him and joining his group of followers – instead he spoke of justice and fairness, he spoke of equality and hope, he spoke of love creating a better world – a world that is possible for everyone to enjoy…
And this is the world that is described in the reading from the Book of Revelation (21:1-6). In that reading John writes of the new Jerusalem – it is the vision of the completed kingdom of God – not a distant vision, but a vision that is possible for all people, not in a distant land, but here today and for evermore.
The kingdom of God begins on earth, with the people of God gathering together to love and serve the world and it is in that way that we bring the kingdom a little closer to everyone. It is not about a world where we are waiting to go up into the sky and join God, it is about a world where God is ready and waiting to join his people.
A world where death will be no more, and mourning and crying and pain will be no more…
Returning to Martin Luther King again; on the night before he was shot he gave a speech in which he talked of going up to the mountain top and seeing the promised land – of course, he spoke of a world where there would be racial equality, a world where black and white people would live together – but all of us have the chance to see that promised land – it is the land Jesus spoke of when he offered hope for everyone, when he spoke of fairness and justice, when he offered the chance of new life…
The promised land – the kingdom of God - is all around us, and we are part of making that vision a reality for people everywhere – God has done his part – he has shown us the kind of love that can make it a reality, he has shown us that hate and violence and anger and hurt can never win over love – he has shown us that however dark a place or a situation may be – his light can offer strength and comfort….
Jesus said, ‘I give you a new commandment, that you love one another… just as I have loved you, you should also love one another. By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another…’
In our Churches and in our lives may we have the will and the courage to live out the kind of love Jesus has shown and continues to show in the world today, and may we be ready to stretch out the kingdom of God a little further… AMEN
And throughout the history of mankind that has proved a very difficult task ! There’s the obvious history of wars, the injustice of the haves and have nots throughout different parts of the world, there’s the arguments and jostling for positions of power – arguments which we have seen all too clearly even in our own country in recent weeks. And that election campaigning shows perfectly how difficult it is to live together with a plan upon which everyone can agree !
But above simple agreement Jesus asks for more – he asks for love – and he asks for a compassion which displays a true concern for everyone…
Both in the reading from Leviticus (19:1,2, 9-18) and in the Gospel of John (13:31-35), we receive the command to love – and in the gospel, Jesus reminds us that it is by loving one another that people will know that we are his followers…
The command to love indiscriminately is so difficult that it is a command that many of us, perhaps all of us at times, ignore as a kind of optional extra for the Christian faith – but Jesus makes it clear that this is no extra – this is our faith…
I’ve used the quote before and it is one that is a huge challenge, "I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least." That is the measure of our love for God, and viewed in those terms it can be quite painful…
But this is the command that is so important that in his last meal with his disciples, Jesus emphasized to his followers – this is the command which was so important that it took him to the cross as he demonstrated the most selfless indiscriminate love possible.
There’s another story which I know I have used before but which describes this sort of love so well - It's a story about a man who got back to his car and found a little boy looking with great admiration at it. The little boy said, "Does this car belong to you?" And the man said, "Yes, in fact my brother gave it to me for Christmas."
With that the little boy's eyes widened. He said, "You mean to say that somebody gave it to you? And you didn't have to pay anything for it? That it came without any strings attached?" And the man said, "That's right. My brother gave it to me as a gift."
With that the little boy let out a long sigh and said, "Boy, I would really like..." And the man fully expected the boy to say, "I would like to have a brother like that, who would give me such a beautiful car," but instead the man was amazed when the little boy said, "I would really like to be that kind of brother. I wish I could give that kind of car to my little brother."
The job of the Church and the role of us as individuals is not to convert the world – it is to love and to serve… Jesus offered a ministry of love and service – yes, at times he asked people to follow him, but more importantly he made people want to follow him because of his incredible power and the love that he showed.
He didn’t preach long sermons about trusting in him and joining his group of followers – instead he spoke of justice and fairness, he spoke of equality and hope, he spoke of love creating a better world – a world that is possible for everyone to enjoy…
And this is the world that is described in the reading from the Book of Revelation (21:1-6). In that reading John writes of the new Jerusalem – it is the vision of the completed kingdom of God – not a distant vision, but a vision that is possible for all people, not in a distant land, but here today and for evermore.
The kingdom of God begins on earth, with the people of God gathering together to love and serve the world and it is in that way that we bring the kingdom a little closer to everyone. It is not about a world where we are waiting to go up into the sky and join God, it is about a world where God is ready and waiting to join his people.
A world where death will be no more, and mourning and crying and pain will be no more…
Returning to Martin Luther King again; on the night before he was shot he gave a speech in which he talked of going up to the mountain top and seeing the promised land – of course, he spoke of a world where there would be racial equality, a world where black and white people would live together – but all of us have the chance to see that promised land – it is the land Jesus spoke of when he offered hope for everyone, when he spoke of fairness and justice, when he offered the chance of new life…
The promised land – the kingdom of God - is all around us, and we are part of making that vision a reality for people everywhere – God has done his part – he has shown us the kind of love that can make it a reality, he has shown us that hate and violence and anger and hurt can never win over love – he has shown us that however dark a place or a situation may be – his light can offer strength and comfort….
Jesus said, ‘I give you a new commandment, that you love one another… just as I have loved you, you should also love one another. By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another…’
In our Churches and in our lives may we have the will and the courage to live out the kind of love Jesus has shown and continues to show in the world today, and may we be ready to stretch out the kingdom of God a little further… AMEN
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