They will know we are Christians by our Love

April 28, 2013 Acts 11:1-18 John 13:31-35 Fifth Sunday of Easter Year C They will Know we Are Christians By our Love Updated version of 5/2/10 – Sharing our Differences The sandwich swap as a story of how food separates us Salma and Lily were best friends at school. They drew pictures together. They played on the swings together. They jumped rope together. And they ate their lunches together. But just what they ate was a little different. Lily ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch. Salma ate a hummus and pita sandwich every day for lunch. And although Lily never said it out loud, she thought Salma's sandwich looked weird and yucky. She felt terrible that her friend had to eat that icky chickpea paste every day. EW. Yuck. And although Salma never said it out loud, she thought Lily's sandwich looked strange and gross. She felt just awful that her friend had to eat that gooey peanut paste every day. EW. Gross. That is an excerpt from a childrens book coming out by the Queen of Jordan called the “sandwich Swap”. It is about her experiences as a child, where she at one type of food and her best friend ate another. Both felt uncomfortable with what the other was eating. But it was through food that they came to understand one another and developed a closer relationship in the process. It is a cute little story that talks about how food separates us, and keeps us apart. The realize that their feelings about food is deeper than that, our feelings about food oftentimes harbor our personal predjudices about certain people. In the end, as they come together as friends and agree to try each other’s food, they get the whole school involved in a sandwich swap, in order to learn to be more accepting of each other. This story is a perfect example of how what we eat is one of the greatest expressions of who we are. Food can divide us and tear us apart. And food can bring us together in a very special way. When God says that we will come together in heaven with him, he says that it will be around the table at a great feast, where we share each other’s food. Scripture says that God’s greatest expression of love and care for us is to feed us. This is a perfect story for our scriptures this morning. Peter prided himself on being a good jew and making sure that everything that he ate was kosher. He considered that to be a part of what God called him to do – that is until he heard from God – which told him something different. That in the name of trying to understand others, he was free to eat whatever god’s people ate. There was nothing wrong with it But not everyone of the disciples heard that same voice, and they criticized Peter, until he explained it for them. Once again this is a demonstration of how the holy spirit works in our lives It takes something that makes sense to us (in this case food- we all understand food) in order to explain something that doesn’t make sense to us. (in this case how to get along with other people) This fits in with the gospel lesson which talks about love- Jesus tells his disciples to strive to love one another as you have been loved. – we know that there are 10 commandments – many say that this is the 11th commandment from God – to love. Love is not a concept unique to Jesus – because there are many commandments to love – love the lord the god with all of your heart, mind body and soul. Love your neighbor as you love yourself, there is even a commandment for Esau and Jacob to love one another as brothers. Jesus is just trying to get them to follow the law of love in a brand new way. Not to love because you are supposed to, but to love because you have been loved. Not to guess what love means, but to know what love means. To realize that love is not about what you do – it is about the relationship that you have. In order to love somebody, you have to identify with that person, get into their lives and know what it going on, and be willing to eat with them. For instance Peter could very well have refused to eat with the gentiles and kept his kosher habits. But somewhere along the way he realized that his relationship was more important than his beliefs. And that it was the relationship that changed him and transformed the situation. The gentiles became a part of the family, the outsiders became insiders. All because the holy spirit took something that made sense and used it to teach something that they otherwise would not have understood. Commentators point out that the story of how Peter met Cornelius and baptized his whole family is one of the longest stories in the book of Acts. It shows just how close Christianity came to being just another faction of Jews. If Peter had not had the dream, if Peter had not listened to God to try something different, If Peter had stuck to his tradition – we would have no access to the good news of Jesus. This is an important story in my own faith life also. I have been intentional about following in Peter’s footsteps. One of my values has been not to set up any restrictions on things that I eat. As a minister of God, I want to make sure that wherever I am in the world, when I an invited to someone house, to make sure that I can eat whatever is put in front of me. One of the greatest expressions of someone’s love is to invite you to their house to eat. I want to make sure that I am always in a position to accept that love, and eat what is put in front of me. Doesn’t scripture say that it is not so much what we put in our mouths that pollute us, but what comes of our mouths that causes the trouble. Even though I do have to say that I am grateful that McDonalds shares my philosophy. It is great comfort to know that whatever I may have to eat, and wherever I may be in the world, if all else fails, I can find a Mcdonalds – and know that they have an American hamburger on the menu. Learning how to accept love and be loved is an important mark of what it means to be a Christian. If you read and listen to the book of Acts this Easter season, you will learn the marks of a true Christian as one who follows Jesus, who trust in the teachings of Jesus, one who looks for the presence of the holy Spirit in their lives and is willing to follow it, and one who puts Christ as the center of their lives, allowing the spirit of Christ to dwell and live in them. Love is the 11th commandment. Moses gave the 10 commandments to the children of Israel so that they could live together in a community of peace. Jesus gave the 11th commandment to his disciples. – love one another as I have loved you. Love can be painful – but it still makes a difference, it still transforms people – one relationship at a time. Love is a way of speaking, a way of doing, love is who you are in Christ. Love is the one mark of a true Christian. And yet it is hardest thing in the world to love one another. Have you noticed that as Christians, we are like the two girls in the sandwich swap story – we claim to like each other and yet we find things to continue to keep us apart. And what is Jesus doing with his disciples as he is teaching them love – he just fed them as the host of the Passover. Eating is such an important part of our faith. WHEN WE COME TOGETHER Dr. J. Vernon McGee told a story about a little community where there were three churches on the same corner, a Presbyterian church, Methodist church and Baptist church. One Sunday night, all the windows were open and they could hear each other singing. They didn't get along very well. The people in the Presbyterian Church were singing this song, "Will There be Any Stars in My Crown?" When they finished, the Methodist church sang, "No, Not One." Then the Baptists sang, "Oh That Will be Glory for Me." Dr. McGee said that all three of those churches ought to sit down together and sing the doxology of praise to God. That's what the world needs to see. They need to see us together. Jesus said, "When we come together, that's when the world knows that God has sent us." (From a sermon by Bob Joyce, Like Lucy, 8/4/2011) But seriously, we truly have to be careful about how we treat one another as Christians, especially within these walls. We forget that the world is watching us. they are watching how they treat one another, and coming to a decision about whether they want to be associated with us. Love is not about who we feel about one another. It is a commandment. It is an act of obedience. Jesus had some reason for pointing to the disciples and telling them that if you don’t learn anything else from me, you need to learn how to love one another. Love is not a feeling it is an action. You cant tell someone how to feel about a situation, but you can tell then what to do and how to act. Jesus commanded us to love one another – to pay attention to our actions toward one another. A woman got a divorce and lost her family. She sank into a deep depression, and was in desperate need. The people in her church only shook their heads and pointed their fingers at her failure, so she left and began frequenting a bar. One day the preacher came and asked why she had done this. She replied, “The people at the bar smile when they see me.” We have to do the same when we come to church. Finally I just want to say – that learning to love one another is not a new commandment. We are all taught from an early age to learn to love. As jews the disciples would have been taught the importance of love for others in your community. Even as Jesus was talking – he didn’t say that you needed to love the whole world – he just said love your fellow disciples. There is nothing new about love- it has been around from the beginning of love. What is new about the commandment to love is that Jesus says to love as I have loved you. Jesus gave everything he had, so that you would know how to love. You may not have to love everyone in the world, but The world is watching us, so that they can see that example. What is it that they see – Let them know we are Christians by our love. Let is pray…. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬____________________________________________________ WE REQUIRE LOVING A little girl was making but poor progress toward recovery, though the ailment had been checked and there seemed to be no reason why she should not rapidly improve. But it didn’t happen, and the doctor in charge was keenly interested to know why. She was a very sensitive child, easily scared, responding quickly to kindness. Perhaps she was afraid of Nurse or Sister or her unfamiliar surroundings. The doctor decided it was the lack of understanding which was retarding recovery, and so wrote a directive upon the temperature chart: "This child requires loving every four hours." God is even better than that: He says, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." (Winship Storey in his Methodist Recorder. From a sermon by Bill Butsko, God’s Infinite Love, 12/25/2010) ATHERINE LAWES: A STORY OF COMPASSION Max Lucado relates this story. When Catherine Lawes’ husband, Lewis, became the warden on Sing Sing prison in 1921, she was a young mother of three daughters. Everybody warned her never to step foot inside the walls. But she didn’t listen to them. When the first prison basketball game was held, in she went, three girls in tow, and took a seat in the bleachers with the inmates. When she heard that one convicted murderer was blind, she taught him Braille so he could read. Upon learning of inmates who were hearing impaired, she studied sign language so they could communicate. For sixteen years Catherine Lawes softened the hard hearts of the men of Sing Sing. The prisoners knew something was wrong when Lewis Lawes didn’t report to work. Quickly the word spread that Catherine had been killed in a car accident. The following day as the acting warden took his early morning walk, he noticed a large gathering at the main gate. Every prisoner pressed against the fence. Eyes awash with tears. Faces solemn. No one spoke or moved. The warden made a remarkable decision. "All right, men, you can go. Just be sure to check in tonight." These were America’s hardest criminals. But the warden unlocked the gate for them, and they walked without escort or guard to the home of Catherine Lawes to pay their last respects. And each one returned. Real love changes people. That’s genuine love. That’s true love.