February 13, 2015

“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor.” Romans 12:9

“I had a man in my parish in Indiana, who was a very (rude) fellow. He had a wife and daughter…who needed instruction. I went to see and talk with them. He heard that I had been in his house, and shortly afterwards I passed down the street in which he lived. He was sitting on the fence, and of all the filth that was ever emptied on a young minister’s head, I received my share. He threw it out, right and left, up and down, and said everything that was calculated to harrow my pride. I said to myself, “Look here, I will be revenged on you yet.” He told me I should never darken his door again, to which I responded that I never would until I had his invitation to do so. Things went on for some time. I met him on the street, bowed to him, spoke well of him, and never repeated his treatment of me to any one. I always spoke kindly of him. Very soon he ran for the office of sheriff, and then I went into the field and worked for him. I canvassed for voters; I used my personal influence. It was a close election…but he was elected. When he knew I was working for him, I never saw a man so utterly perplexed as he was. He did not know what to make of it. He came to me one day…and undertook to “make up”, as the saying is. He said he would be very glad to have me call and see him. From that time forth I never had a faster friend in the world… Kindness killed him. I won his confidence.”
Henry Ward Beecher (1813 – 1887) Yale Lectures on Preaching

If our love is genuine, then we love all people, not just the ones who love us back. Hopefully someone in your life has told you at some point that it is far better to “Kill someone with kindness” then to seek vengeance. It is amazing how kindness gives your enemy nothing to hang their anger on – while venom toward your enemy just empowers them to hate even more. Let love be genuine Paul says. So what is genuine Love? Genuine love is a love one lives out, demonstrates on all people, shares with everyone they meet – not just with those who love them back. The love the Good Samaritan shows the man who was left for dead is genuine love. Paul will go on to write, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor…” And the Prophet Muhammad said “Anyone who believes in G*d…should entertain his guest generously” – or like the Good Samaritan, show extravagant hospitality. Yes, it isn’t easy, but where does Jesus ever say that they way of the cross would be easy?

Pastor Dave

February 12, 2015

“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus…said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” …they went away, one by one…and Jesus was left alone with the woman…” John 8:3ff

“One day a woman was brought to Jesus. The spokesman for the group who brought her said she was caught red-handed and that according to the law she should be stoned to death. To them the woman was not a woman, or even a person, but an adulteress, stripped of her essential dignity and worth. Jesus said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.” After that, he implied, any person may throw. The quiet words exploded the situation, and in the piercing glare each man saw himself…In that moment each was not a judge of another’s deeds, but of his own. Jesus met the woman where she was, and he treated her as if she were already where she now willed to be. He placed a crown over her head which for the rest of her life she would keep trying to grow tall enough to wear.” Howard Thurman (1900 – 1981) “For All The Saints”, volume III

It is always easier to point out the sins of another, than to look within and see the sins that exist within us. Our view is clearer, more observant, and often much sharper when assessing the weaknesses of others. But Jesus reminds us that we all carry some secrets, some hidden sins that none of us would care to have aired in public. The ability of Jesus to set the example for us – to see this woman as Thurman suggests, as the person she hoped she might be – is remarkable and, I think, has been under-valued in this text. So Jesus’ refusal to condemn the woman, well, that is what gives us all hope. Jesus says in John 3:17 “The Son did not come into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world should be saved through him.”

Why do we spend so much time condemning and judging others? It is because we all have insecurities – and the best way to feel better about ourselves is to put others down. But, no matter what we do, Jesus is the one to give us all value – as chosen children of G*d through our baptisms, and as beloved children, loved because G*d created us. If we live as if G*d is always judging us, and others, we live life in fear – critical of all we encounter. But, if we live in faith, a gift to us through the Holy Spirit, then we can live into Christ’s love for us, dropping the need to judge others, and living into the crown Christ has set above each one of us.

Pastor Dave