Where do your Loyalties Lie?

October 26, 2014 Where do your loyalties lie? Matthew 22:34-46 Year A Proper 24 The world series is going on now. I have paid attention to the world series in a while. But the church of the resurrection in Kansas City is excited that the Kansas City Royals are in the world series, and they talk about it on face book quite a bit. And then they made a big deal about the song Royal – San Francisco refuses to play the song as long as the world series is FIRST THINGS FIRST When Coach Bobby Bowden played baseball in college, he never hit a home run. His senior year at Howard College, he was the only player not to hit a home run. One day, he hit a line drive against Auburn. As he approached third, the coach was waving him on. As he made his turn, he heard his third base coach say, "But hurry!" When he touched home, the team was ecstatic, slapping his back and shaking his hand back in the day before "high fives." The first baseman yelled for the catcher to throw him the ball. The umpire yelled, "out." When he ran the bases, Bobby Bowden never touched first. Maybe that's why he became a football coach. Anyway, you can probably imagine he told his players, "If you don't take care of first base, it doesn't matter what you do." Our sermon for today is about first things first. All of the scholars of the time have been questioning Jesus, testing him. In today’s lesson, Jesus is being questioned by the pharisee’s. Jesus if you were to summarize the most important thing in the bible what would it be. Jesus says – First – you must love the lord you god with all of your heart, your mind and your soul. And then you must love your neighbor as you love yourself. The first thing about being a Christian is love. And if you don’t get that right, you can be the best person in the world, your can sing the most beautiful song, you can give the most wonderful gifts – but if it is not done in love, it means nothing. So the first question we may have is what does love mean? Why do we love? How do you love someone? ________________________ What Is the Will of God? "What, positively, is the will of God? The demand for love. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself!" as the second greatest commandment belongs together with the first: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Mk. 12:28-34) There is no obedience to God which does not have to prove itself in the concrete situation of meeting one's neighbor, as in Luke (10:29-37), probably unhistorical but with the right of correct understanding of the subject matter, makes clear by combining the illustrative narrative of the Good Samaritan with Jesus' discussion of the greatest commandment. The demand for love surpasses every legal demand; it knows no boundary of limit; it holds even in regard to one's enemy (Mt. 5:43-48). Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, p. 18. Whatever the will of God is, that is also the will of Jesus. I think that it is interesting, that as the concept of love goes beyond our cultural understandings of love. I think that it interesting to note that the middle eastern culture of Jesus would have heard this commandment much different than we do. In the middle eastern culture – love means loyalty. It is not about how you feel inside, it is not even about your actions. When Jesus says love God – he is saying make sure that you are loyal to god in all that you do. To love someone, is to be loyal to them, and to hate them meant to be disloyal to them. To have no relationship with them, to not care about them, to not listen to them. But when you are loyal to someone, you take them into account in everything you think, do or say. So when Jesus asks Peter, do you love me – will you take my commandments into account in everything. Do you plan to be loyal to me. Jesus says if you do, them you will feed my sheep. Jesus made that challenge to Peter and Jesus makes that challenge to each of us. Do you love me? Where are your loyalties in life? What will you forsake, and what will you stick to no matter what. I think that it is important part of our faith to be clear about our loyalties. What is most important, and what do I need to let go of. When I come to church, when I am in service – why am I doing that and what does it mean. What does it really mean to love to the lord with all of my mind, my heart, my soul? And what does it mean to love my neighbor as I love myself? How do you love God with everything, when you are at church, at work, in your family, out in the world. What activities do you do because you love God? Do you sing in the choir? Or work with the kids? Or help to cook meals. Do you learn to forgive others? Do you depend on God for your strength? Do you feed Jesus Sheep? What does it mean to love God, and at the end of the day where are your loyalties – with God or with something else? In talking with Pastor Forbes, she pointed out that there was not just two commandments, but three. Love God, Love your neighbor, but to love yourself. You can only treat others the way you treat yourself. If you don’t love yourself, then you cant love somebody else, not even God. It has been said that a lot of suffer from poor I sight. Not eyesight with our eyes, but I sight with our heart. Text Illustration: POOR I-SIGHT We suffer from poor I-sight. Not eyesight, a matter of distorted vision that lenses can correct, but I-sight. Poor I-sight blurs your view, not of the world, but of yourself. Some see self too highly. Maybe it's the PhD or pedigree. A tattoo can do it; so can a new truck or the Nobel Peace Prize. Whatever the cause, the result is the same. "I have so many gifts. I can do anything." Brazenly self-assured and utterly self-sufficient, the I-focused have long strutted beyond the city limits of self-confidence and entered the state of cockiness. You wonder who puts the "air" in arrogance and the "vain" in vainglory? Those who say, "I can do anything." You've said those words. For a short time, at least. A lifetime, perhaps. We all plead guilty to some level of superiority. And don't we also know the other extreme: "I can't do anything"? Forget the thin air of pomposity; these folks breathe the thick, swampy air of self-defeat. Roaches have higher self-esteem. Earthworms stand taller. "I'm a bum. I am scum. The world would be better off without me." Divorce stirs such crud. So do diseases and job dismissals. Where the first group is arrogant, this group is diffident. Blame them for every mishap; they won't object. They'll just agree and say, "I can't do anything." Two extremes of poor I-sight. Self-loving and self-loathing. We swing from one side to the other. y bump us back and forth. One day too high on self, the next too hard on self. Neither is correct. Self-elevation and self-deprecation are equally inaccurate. Where is the truth? Smack-dab in the middle. Dead center between "I can do anything" and "I can't do anything" lies "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13). Neither omnipotent nor impotent, neither God's MVP nor God's mistake. Not self-secure or insecure, but God-secure -- a self-worth based in our identity as children of God. The proper view of self is in the middle. [Lucado, M. (2012). Life to the full: 3-in-1 featuring. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.] What are the things that I do to love myself, those things help me to love God. The things that I do to love God help me to love others, in spite of their unlovability. But I have to put first things first. Love – myself, God and others. If my I sight is right –it all falls into place. People say that you cant make someone love you. And Yet Jesus commands us to love. How can he force us to o something that we may not want to do? How can he command us to love? 3218 Love Makes Obedience Love makes obedience a thing of joy! To do the will of one we like to please Is never hardship, though it tax our strength; Each privilege of service love will seize! Love makes us loyal, glad to do or go, And eager to defend a name or cause; Love takes the drudgery from common work, And asks no rich reward or great applause. Love gives us satisfaction in our task, And wealth in learning lessons of the heart; Love sheds a light of glory on our toil And makes us humbly glad to have a part. Love makes us choose to do the will of God, To run His errands and proclaim His truth; It gives our hearts an eager, lilting song; Our feet are shod with tireless wings of youth! —Hazel Hartwell Simon 3219 He Chooses To Be Seraphim It is said that the young son of Bishop Berkeley once asked him the question, “Papa, what do the words, “Cherubim and seraphim” mean?” The bishop took time to tell the little questioner that cherubim was a Hebrew word meaning knowledge, and the word seraphim stood for flame, explaining that it is commonly supposed the cherubim are angels that excel in knowledge and the seraphim are those who excel in love for God. “Then I hope,” the boy said, “that when I die I will be a seraphim. I’d a lot rather love God than to know everything.” —Evangelistic Illustration Finally, I have one more illustration. Perceptions of Church: There for the Right Reasons In her book, Memories of War, Promises of Peace, Sister Mary Jo Leddy writes about her parents' World War II experiences. Her father, Jack, was a surgeon in the Allied army. Jack, stationed in a French town, often went to a nearby church for rest, refuge, sanctuary and prayer. For him it was a special and holy place. Forty years later, he returned to the village with his wife and daughters, insisting that they all visit the precious chapel. When they reached the church, Leddy was delighted and wanted to go inside right away. But the family was horrified by the homeliness of the building. Ugly was the word. The walls were beige stones, stained and covered with fungus. On the roof was something that looked more like a chimney than a bell tower. In any case, there was no bell to ring. Not a single flower or blade of grass grew in the grim clay ground around. Mother and daughters criticized the church's appearance. They remarked that it was like a scene from a Gothic horror movie. Leddy's Dad looked at them rather blankly. In 1944, he had never really noticed what the church looked like. "It looked pretty good at the time," he said. "It was a place to go and pray." Leddy eventually came around to her father's viewpoint. Speaking of the church she writes: "This was where he was at home in the world, where he knew who he was with God." It is amazing how much better a church looks when you are there for the right reasons. Some people use putdowns, and criticism to keep from confronting their own spiritual poverty. When we are in the church for the right reason, and when know where our loyalties lie, when we put love before all other acts, then God promises that we will be happy and live a good life. God’s commandments are always for our own best interest and I sight. King Duncan, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com Jesus lesson on love is part of a much bigger story. As I said at the beginning of the sermon – the Pharisees were intentionally testing Jesus. They were asking questions in order for him to slip up. After he gave them the most important lesson on love – scripture says the they could not argue with him and they did ask him any more questions. The stopped talking to him and started plotting against him. Obviously they did not get the message. We can be grateful that we did. Let us pray…. The Greatest Commandment by Brett Blair Passage: Matthew 22:34-40 • Lectionary: Proper 25 Item 4 of 14 | Back to Results Exegetical Aim: A working understanding of the Greatest Commandment. Props: None Lesson: I need your help this morning. I am trying to figure something out. Jesus said we need to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. First of all who can tell me about love? What do we do when we love someone? (response) If they answer by describing feelings ask the question again. You have just described feelings of love can you tell me what you DO when you love someone? (response) Now, can you tell what you do when you love God? (response) Maybe this will help: Can you tell me what it means to love God with all your strength? Hold your arms up like your making muscles. (response-if needed, help them with ideas) What does it mean to love God with all your brain? Point to your mind. (response) Alright, what does it mean to love God with all your heart? Hand over your heart. (response) Last one, what does it mean to love God with all your soul? Cross your arms over your chest.(response) Use your strength to help someone this week. Love God with your mind and memorize the Ten Commandments this week. Use your heart and care for someone by telling them you like them. And, love God with your soul this week and pray for someone that is sick or in trouble. These are all things we can DO to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Let's Pray: Lord we love you and we want to love others. Show use how to use every part of body to do your will. Amen. Brett Blair, ChristianGlobe, 2000

A Good Deed

Englewood and Rust United Methodist Churches
July 11, 2010
Amos 7:1-7
Luke 10:25-37
A Good Deed
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Year C



Examples of the Great Commandment

I know that the gospel lesson is from Luke this morning, but I want to take us to some other scriptures.

In Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to Love the Lord you god with all of your heart, your soul, and with all of your mind. That is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it – Love your neighbor as yourself. All of the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.
Every Israelite would have known these commandments and would have followed them. Jesus is quoting the greatest commandment and prayer, the golden rule.
Jews were and still are commanded to pray at all times, and to remember the great commandment – Deuteronomy 6:4 – hear o Israel: the lord our God, the lord is one. Most important. And then Deuteronomy6: 5 – love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your strength.
Jesus says love the lord with all of your mind, and the law says love the lord with all of your strength. The New Testament is written in Greek, and the Hebrew Scriptures are written in Hebrew – so it is difficult to tell why there is a difference in wording. Actually the Hebrew word that is interpreted as strength is meod – which actually means your muchness. Which means your being, your will, your abundance.

Alice in Wonderland as an example of muchness
Did anyone see the new Alice and Wonderland? Anything with Johnny Depp in it is a good movie to me. This movie is not a remake of the old – but a sequel. Alice has been to wonderland before, and they are now in crisis and need Alice to come back to save them. Once they get her to return – the characters get into a debate – which they have to wrong Alice. They called her back because they knew that Alice was the only one with enough nerve to do the right thing and to do what needs to be done to save them.
It’s the wrong Alice – no she insists I am the right Alice – what’s wrong with you then? What do you mean she asks – you have lost your muchness - you are not you anymore. For some reason, your nerve, your commandment, your guiding principle seems to be missing.
For us, we know that the guiding principle of our lives, the great commandment – to love to Lord our God is our muchness.
Repeat after me: Love the lord with all of your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all of your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it – repeat after me Love your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus is challenged

Jesus taught that message to us in many ways. He had been teaching is disciples to go out into the world and to give that message, when a law scholar overheard him as he told them to have joy that their names were written in the annuls of heaven.
Feeling this was a good chance to challenge Jesus and stop the mad talk – he asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life – to live with god forever.
Jesus was not only smart – but he was wise enough to beat the scholar at his own game – you know the law – what does it say? Why are you asking me? We all know the greatest commandment.
The lawyer not wanting to be beat just yet continues his question – who is my neighbor –


Story of the Good Samaritan
A Jesus answer is one of the most well known stories in the bible – the story of the Good Samaritan. Society has co-opted this lesson so much that we don’t even realize that nowhere in the scripture does it say that the Samaritan is good. Or that he even did the right thing.
According to the law – the two men who passed by the man in the ditch were doing to right thing. They were in service for the lord – they were the good ones.
What we also may not realize is that this is not a story about how we treat strangers – it is about how we treat family members.

Samaritans are family members
Samaritans and Jews were part of the same family. Samaritans were confused Jews. As a matter of fact, they were Jews who refused to pray the Shema – they did not believe that the Lord was one. The worshipped other god in addition to Yahweh. They did not want to travel all the way to Jerusalem just to worship the one god, so they built their own altars. For a real Jew – to disrespect the shema – was the ultimate disrespect – it didn’t matter who you – that you were family.
When Jesus would have told this story and asked who was a true neighbor – he was counting on his audience to shutter. To get this sick feeling in their stomachs when they would have had to open their mouth and say Samaritan.
But Jesus to realize that charity starts at home. Sometimes the way we treat our own brothers and sisters is worse that how we treat enemies and strangers. We like to think about how good we are – and we totally ignore the sins we commit at home. A misunderstanding ensues – we don’t understand why our sisters and brothers act the way they do, we think that they can do better, do different, we wonder why they are so lost that they don’t even bother to speak anymore. We get comfortable in our self righteous hole – and we don’t speak to one another or even bother to work out our differences.
Jesus was a Jew – trying to bring his family back together again. In the process – he probably experiences the rejection like that of the Samaritans many times. I remember when I was in Israel – our tour guide told us – it is not that we don’t like Jesus – we don’t understand him –why would he disrespect our tradition so much and change it so much.
Because he realized that the love of the tradition and heritage has started to stand in the way of learning how to love one another. Tradition and beliefs had started to take precedence over unconditional love. Jesus knew the sick feeling any Jew would have gotten in having to admit that an alienated brother – the Samaritan was a true neighbor in this story. Maybe it was time to forget about the law and the prophets and to remember the great commandment - which is? And the second…. Perhaps love should be our guiding principle.

Story of boy wanting to be a brother
8-
I recall a story I read about a man
who had just received a new car from his brother. He went to visit a client in a poor neighborhood and as he returned to his car he noticed a boy with leg braces sitting on the doorstep of a nearby apartment building, admiring his car.
“That sure is a nice car mister! You sure must have a lot of money to afford a car like that!”
He replied, “No, not so much! My car was a piece of junk and my brother gave me

-9-
this one!”
“You’re kidding, he GAVE it to you. Like for FREE! You didn’t have to pay nothin’ at all for it?”
The man smiled, “Yes it was for free. I didn’t have to pay anything at all! ”
What the boy said next blew the man right out of the water, “Wow, I wish -
I wish I could be a brother like that.”
(Pause)
The man quizzing Jesus, according to Luke, was seeking to justify himself.


Most of us would have said I wish I had a brother like that. Jesus is trying to tell us that it is not about the brother you have – it is about the brother you are.

So what would life be like if we could love the lord with all of our abundance – our muchness.



We are the neighbors
Neighbors are not the people out there – neighbors are the people in here. We are the neighbors. In how we treat others in our own family. If can’t love one another in here – what is it that those out there really see in us? The reality is that we treat others the same way that we treat our family. We have to love one another – in spite of our differences. We love those whom god places in our lives – we don’t get to pick our family.
I am not going to touch on Amos too much this morning – other than to say that it echoes the lesson of the gospel. Amos takes a plumb line amongst the people to see if they are really following the great commandment of loving the lord and loving your neighbor. And Amos too needed to point out that the religious establishment had gotten so caught up in doing the right thing – they had forgotten the simple rule of love. It is not so much that the rule for us is love – love is the rule of how we respond to others.
That plumb line – that rule in our lives – is to remind us that love controls every aspect of who we are and what we do.
Love is our muchness – our abundance, our nerve, our strength, our heart, our soul and our mind.
The greatest commandment is…… the second……
We all know that – we have to just remember to live that.
Let us pray…..