Emulate the Love

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 12/24/17

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^NRS John 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. ² He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³ You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹ I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. ¹² "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back, he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved! In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the woodpile only to see his Sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch the next day Grandma said, 'Sally, let's wash the dishes'. But Sally said, 'Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen....' Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?' So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, 'I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.' Sally just smiled and said, 'well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help? She whispered again, 'Remember the duck?' So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's; he finally couldn't stand it any longer.. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, 'Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you'. 

I wonder how many times we allow the world to make slaves of us because of something we have done that the world will not allow us to be forgiven for. How many times must we forgive? Jesus said that the answer to that question is 70 times seven or in the ancient world, an infinite number of times. We come to this place today to celebrate the birth of Jesus, a gift of God. We come to this place because God loved us so much that we can never repay that love, only live into it. What do I mean by that, well listen up as I tell a story.

God created us in perfection. God created us in harmony with the world, gave us sufficient food to eat, and we were created in the very image of God. What does that image look like? Glad you asked. God created us to love God, to love one another unconditionally and to love the world in which we live so much so that we would take care of it as if it was our own, which in a way, it is. We were created to be a blessing to those who follow us. Yet, in the understanding of perfect love, a love without binds, strings or abuse, we were given the choice to do something different than what God intended. Yet, God never stopped loving us even when we stopped loving God. Therefore, God sent Jesus so that we might see what perfect creation looked like, how we might interact with one another and how deed that love permeated the creation story. So Jesus came, taught, healed and shared. Then Jesus took on our sins, died on the cross and was resurrected in three days so that we might share in the creation story again for all of eternity. You like my story?

God sent us Jesus so that we might learn from it and become it. I love the Discipleship journey that suggests that we must learn to be part of the Body of Christ. That means that must learn to share with one another, love one another and yes, forgive one another seventy times seven times. We must learn how to support one another in the valleys and overflowing rivers that will come into our lives and rejoice when we climb to the top of the mountain and see the beauty below. I remember years ago being on a retreat with one of my best friends. We climbed to the top of the mountain and there below us was a beautiful valley even though we could not see it. It was shrouded in fog as the sun rose in the east and as we sat there contemplated the beauty of creation; the fog began to burn off allowing us to see the valley below. Life is like that you know. You meet someone and if you allow yourself to get to know them, you realize that there is a whole person under that fog of introduction.

After we get what it means to be part of the Body of Christ, after we explore the person we are building a relationship with and begin to truly love one another unconditionally, we must share a new journey. It is becoming Christ for the world. What does it mean to become Christ? I used the word emulate to describe it. The dictionary defines it as to match or surpass usually through imitation. So we are asked to match the love of Jesus through imitation. In other words, we become Christ for the world by imitating Him. When we are confronting with those who are ill, we bring healing. When we are confronted with those who are angry, we find ways to bring peace and harmony. When we are confronted with those wish us harm, we love them unconditionally. Becoming like Jesus means that we find ways to live into the love that God gives us every single moment of every day. Richard Rohr calls it an inner restlessness that sends us looking for our true self. He says that our task is to embody heaven now. Therefore, when someone encounters us they experience heaven, maybe not yet complete, but they get a foretaste of that God intended in the beginning.

So how do we emulate Christ? We do that by first realizing that heaven is not a future experience but the Kingdom of God is here with us. So we begin to release ourselves to this experience. We begin to open ourselves to the reality that Christ is within us and we begin to explore what the fruits of this experience might look like to others. We begin to genuinely love one another. That is a difficult thing to do but it is achievable because Christ showed us how. We find ways to build relationships with one another rather than focusing on the differences in us. We find ways to share and uplift one another, even on the difficult days. Jesus shared this kind of experience with everyone He encountered, why then can’t we? Jesus fought for the underdog, for the marginalized and the oppressed. Can we then do anything less? Jesus shared bread with everyone He encountered. Can we do anything less? Jesus shared His life with us on the cross so that we might experience the freedom to live our lives in relationship with God and one another. Can we do anything less? Emulating Jesus means that we spend our lives imitating Him every day.

We join Jesus where He is already working. We might find Him in the lowest of places where people are hurting the most. Becoming like Jesus means that fruit are evident to those around you. Maybe it is because of the way you deal with adversity. Maybe it is because of the welcome you give to everyone. Maybe it is because of the abundance you share with those in need. Maybe it is because in you there is a spirit that is experienced by those around you that shares that love even if they cannot recognize it or its source. Joining Jesus means that you reach outside your comfort zones to bring God into the places where people have forgotten or forsaken God. Why? Because that is precisely what Disciples do and what we are called to do.

In the city of Chicago, one cold, dark night, a blizzard was setting in. A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner; the people were in and out of the cold. The little boy was so cold that he wasn't trying to sell many papers. He walked up to a policeman and said, "Mister, you wouldn't happen to know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight would you? You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and down the alley and it's awful cold in there for tonight. Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay." The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, "You go down the street to that big white house and you knock on the door. When they come out the door you just say John 3:16, and they will let you in."

So he did. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door, and a lady answered. He looked up and said, "John 3:16." The lady said, "Come on in, Son." She took him in and she sat him down in a split bottom rocker  in front of a great big old fireplace, and she went off. The boy sat there for a while and thought to himself: John 3:16....I don't understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm. Later she came back and asked him "Are you hungry?" He said, "Well, just a little. I haven't eaten in a couple of days, and I guess I could stand a little bit of food." The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn't eat any more. Then he thought to himself: John 3:16... Boy, I sure don't understand it but it sure makes a hungry boy full. She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub filled with warm water, and he sat there and soaked for a while. As he soaked, he thought to himself: John 3:16... I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean. You know, I've not had a bath, a real bath, in my whole life. The only bath I ever had
was when I stood in front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out. The lady came in and got him. She took him to a room, tucked him into a big old feather bed, pulled the covers up around his neck, kissed him goodnight and turned out the lights. As he lay in the darkness and looked out the window at the snow coming down on that cold night, he thought to himself: John 3:16... I don't understand it but it sure makes a tired boy rested.

The next morning the lady came back up and took him down again to that same big table full of food. After he ate, she took him back to that same big old split bottom rocker in front of the fireplace and picked up a big old Bible. She sat down in front of him and looked into his young face. "Do you understand John 3:16?" she asked gently. He replied, "No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to use it." She opened the Bible to John 3:16 and began to explain to him about Jesus. Right there, in front of that big old fireplace, he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there and thought: John 3:16. .. .. I do not understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe.

You know, I have to confess I do not understand it either, how God was willing to send His Son to die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I do not understand the agony of the Father and every angel in heaven as they watched Jesus suffer and die. I do not understand the intense love for ME that kept Jesus on the cross till the end.

I don't understand it, but it sure does make life worth living.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.