(Mark 12.28-34)
A reflection by Dave Shull and the Congregation
Spirit of Peace United Church of Christ
Sammamish, Washington
The First Sunday of Lent: February 21, 2010
One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: "Which is most important of all the commandments?"
Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these."
The religion scholar said, "A wonderful answer, Teacher! So lucid and accurate—that God is one and there is no other. And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that's better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!"
When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, "You're almost there, right on the border of God's kingdom."
After that, no one else dared ask a question (from The Message Remix © 2003 by Eugene Peterson).
President Calvin Coolidge was called Silent Cal because he didn’t waste words. As President Coolidge walked out of church one day, a reporter asked, “Mr. President, what did the preacher talk about today?” Silent Cal replied, “Talked about sin. He was against it.”
There are some topics it’s hard to say something new about. You preach about sin. You’re against it. You preach about love. Hopefully, you’re for it … at least in some way.
In the story Michele just read, Jesus is as clear as he can be. He says, If you want to follow me, there’s only one way to live. My followers live love. God made you because God loves you. God knew you before you were formed. The only way to say “thanks” to God for loving you is to love others and love yourself. That’s it, says Jesus.
That’s really all Jesus is saying in this story. There’s not much I can say that’s new about his invitation to love God, and let God’s love for us free us to love others and love ourselves.
That’s why I e-mailed you all last Thursday night. I invited you to read the words Michele read. And to read the words of a hymn we’re going to sing in a minute. And see if a story comes up about love that you’d like to share. I don’t know how to preach about the kind of love Jesus invites his followers to live. All we can do is live love. And inspire each other with stories of people who show us how to love.
The song “Do Not Retreat” is the wisest song about love I know of. The hymn is in your bulletin. Let us sing it together.
Do not retreat into your private world,
that place of safety sheltered from the storm
where you may tend your garden, seek your soul,
and rest with loved ones where the fire burns warm.
To tend a garden is a precious thing,
but dearer still the one where all may roam;
the weeds of poison, poverty and war
demand your care, who call the earth your home.
To seek your soul it is a precious thing,
but you will never find it on your own;
only among the clamor, threat and pain
of other people’s need will love be known.
To rest with loved ones is a precious thing,
but peace of mind exacts a higher cost;
your children will not rest and play in quiet
while they still hear the crying of the lost.
Do not retreat into your private world,
there are more ways than firesides to keep warm;
there is no shelter from the rage of life,
so meets its eye, and dance within the storm.
(Words by Kathy Galloway © 1983 GIA Publications, reprinted under Onelicense.net #A-714452; sung to the tune “Sursum Corda” by Alfred Morton Smith)
I love this song because it speaks to the deep love Jesus says we receive and give when we’re alone, when we’re snug and safe, when we’re nurturing life, when we’re with loved ones. Jesus spent time doing all these things. And he knows his followers find love doing these things. And this song invites us to love in a deeper and riskier way than these. Living the love of Jesus means letting him lead us into places we never thought to go. We let him lead us into places of deep suffering, pain, and need … places where we feel we have nothing to offer. Because in those times when I feel most inadequate and incompetent, I admit, “Jesus, I need you!” And that’s when miracles happen. That’s when Jesus Christ becomes most real to us. That’s when we find the life we’ve been looking for all along. Following Jesus into those places where we don’t feel like we have anything to give, we also open ourselves to receive the friendship of people we’d never get to know because their needs leaves us feeling so inadequate. So we come together as equals … as needy, hungry, scared, beautiful sisters and brothers of Christ. And love is found. And we are never the same again.
This song is the “story” I have to share that calls me to a deeper love. What story have you brought about something or someone that makes real for you the love Jesus invites his
followers to live?
* * * * * * * * *
I was driving with my partner to St. Louis for Christmas to be with her family. We were in our Ford Explorer. It was totally filled with Christmas packages. We were driving through the middle of Illinois … when we hit some black ice. Suddenly, we were sideways … rolling. All the windows were blown out. The dog was nowhere to be found. We called out, “Sidney!” Then we saw her. She was sitting in the median. Perfect. We looked around. One of our tires was in a tree.
An Econoline van pulled over. The people asked, “Are you okay?” We said, “We think we’re okay.” They said, “Where are you going? Is there any way you can help?” We said, “We’re going to St. Louis.” They said, “That’s where we’re going.” We said, “We’re going to Webster Groves.” They said, “We’re going to Webster Groves!” So we loaded everything into that car. We filled it totally. There was still black ice. It was still treacherous. Angels lifted our van. These people gave a ride to total strangers. When we got back home, I said I need to thank these people. I owe them so much. But I lost their name. I lost their contact information. I can’t thank them. But for me, I will thank them every day. That’s what love is about to me.
* * * * * * * * *
I thought a lot about what Dave wrote us. I believe it’s not hard to love people who are lovable in our congregation and our families. It’s not hard to have love for your friends. That’s natural. Yet Jesus calls us to love those who are unlovable. It’s been hard for me personally. When we’ve gone through some tough times in the past here at the church … when I see someone who has offended me or someone in my family … and the I know I’m called to love someone enough to pray for them …. We’ve been through some tough times here … and I realize the only way to get past that is to ask forgiveness from someone who totally disagrees with me. When we can bring ourselves authentically to love another person who has hurt us … to pray for their welfare … not to pray that they’ll change (which I want them to do) but to pray for their goodness and their welfare … something pretty magical happens. I think our church has survived because we’ve been able to do that.
* * * * * * * * *
I’ve been spending time at a fundraiser the Mulims are putting on because they want to build a mosque in Redmond. I believe we need to embrace other cultures and religions. When we were preparing for it one night, I was the only woman there without a headband … I did wear my Texas baseball cap! It was amazing how they welcomed me. I was clearly not part of them. It was amazing to see how they conduct themselves. Is it different? Not really. Do they do a better job? Probably not …
Last night was the actual fundraiser. There were people from all over the world. Their imam is from Indonesia. We were not to eat until 8:45. They knew how much money they needed. Then a gentleman got up and proceeded to collect money … we couldn’t eat until we raised everything we needed. He asked, “$25,000?” And two people said they’d give that much. Then he asked, “$20,000.” In a little over an hour they raised a million dollars. I was very well accepted. Last night I wore an actual dress hat. I sat beside a lady from Pakistan. The food was great.
* * * * * * * * *
My cousin Yad lives on the West Bank in Palestine. After my divorce, I was going through a really rough time as a single mom. He came to visit us in Portland, and I got to know him a lot better. After he went back to the West Bank, we’d periodically call each other and check in. When I’d gotten through the hardest parts after the divorce, I’d call him when things were really bad there … when there were blockades and curfews on the West Bank. I was really worried about him and his family. So I called to ask if they were safe, and if they were okay. He’d say it was sad because his kids wanted to play outside … but he felt it wasn’t safe. I tried to ask him more … and he kept saying to me, “I’m worried about you. How are you? How are your kids?” I finally realized he needed and wanted to hear how we were doing. His expression of love was remarkable to me. What he’s gone through is more profound than anything I’ve ever gone through. And yet he made me believe he thought my troubles were the worst. And he wanted to show his love for me.
* * * * * * * * *
I was 39 years old and I was cynical. I went to church but didn’t really believe. One day I went into a veterinary clinic. It was crammed full of people because it was a low-cost clinic. Suddenly I was filled with this amazing love. I was just filled with it. I felt like I could have gone up to anyone in there and given them a hug. And there were some really scraggly looking people there! But I had that much love in me. And I never doubted God again.
* * * * * * * * *
The Italian priest Arturo Paoli spent his life working in Argentina with the poor and the young. His loving friendships with these people often led to conflicts with the government. His life of trying to give and receive the love of Jesus led him this conclusion:
Being a Christian is not a problem of the will, or of instruction, but of love. Christians are
persons who discover that they are loved, and find that the best response they can give,
the only way to say ‘thanks’ for the love they receive, is the response of loving. The very
need to love leads them not to refuse any proposal, any path that seems to them to be
a good one for building communion …. If you really love, if you’ve been captured by the
love of Christ, you throw yourself into the battle for communion, but you’re on the
lookout not to lose the essential thing: love for human beings. The problem is difficult,
and we can’t escape it (Gather In My Name, Orbis Press, 1987, pp. 137-8).
Amen.
*The title is adapted from a chapter in Arturo Paoli, Gather In My Name, Orbis Press, 1987
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