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This is Us: A People Who Love

August 25, 2019 This Is Us: A People Who Love 
Scripture: Matthew 17: 34-30 

Last week we began a sermon series called This Is Us, and during this series we’re exploring three core words that define the type of people God has called us to be at Lakeside. We wrestled last Sunday with the idea of knowing God, setting aside some time to be present with God and to learning how to trust Him. But knowing God is only half the story, because if we know God, our lives should begin to take a new shape, the shape of love. If you have your Bibles…


I smiled a few night’s back when our youngest daughter, Carmyn, pulled up beside me and asked if we could read a story. I love those moments. And so I quickly said yes and thought that this would be like any other night- I would do the reading and she would do the listening, because that’s how we’d always done it. But my assumption was wrong. Before I could grab the book, Carmyn turned to a page and began to read…at least that’s what she told me she was doing. But in reality, as cute as it was, Carmyn wasn’t actually reading. She was guessing. She knows her letters, but she doesn’t quite know how to string them together as words. She can tells us what she sees in the pictures, but she has no way of understanding whether or not what she sees is the author’s intent. And she is fully aware of the words on the pages, but she doesn’t have a clue as to what they mean. But that didn’t stop her from reading. And so she confidently read me a story, fully trying to convince me that she knew exactly what she was doing. Honey I love you, but you’re getting it wrong. 


In our passage for today, we’re once again introduced to some people who just keep popping up for all the wrong reasons. They’re known as the Pharisees and Sadducees, and by most accounts, they are well-educated and well-versed in the ancient traditions of their faith. They’ve spent the better parts of their lives tediously studying the Scriptures, especially the Law of Moses, this ancient collection of commandments and laws that were meant to help them live a godly life. And it was their prized possession. But here’s the problem: Jesus was messing with it. He was toying with their most valuable asset. He heals on the wrong days. He eats with the wrong types of people. He makes claims that sound absurd. He invites the outsider to come in. And the Pharisees are livid. 


Prized possessions are interesting, aren’t they? They excite us and give us meaning. They put a smile on our faces. But if we’re not careful, our what we prize can change us. They can morph into unhealthy obsessions, which can morph into sacred cows, and when we enter into “sacred cow” status, we can be sure we’ve drifted into dangerous territory. When I was a college student, my life, like many Western Pennsylvanians, revolved Pittsburgh Steeler football. And by the way I used to watch those games, you would’ve thought my life depended on the outcome. And if I can be brutally honest… sometimes it did. I never missed a Monday morning class because of a Steelers’ loss, but I’d have what I would call a “dark cloud” syndrome. You couldn’t make me happy if the Steelers lost. And it was a horrible, immature way to live. Everything began to change one day, when after screaming and yelling at the tv, my mom finally turned to me and said, “What are you doing? It’s just a game!” And she was absolutely correct. I had found a way to turn that game into something it was never meant to be. I had found a way to suck all the joy out of something that was meant to be fun and entertaining. And I had to be shown a new way. 


Sometimes we get things wrong and just have to be shown a new way. And that’s what Jesus does for us. For these Pharisees and Sadducees and all of us who have become experts in missing the point, Jesus essentially asks, “What are you doing?” You’re getting this thing all wrong! And he helps us begin to see that God’s intent all along was to show us how to love. The greatest commandment, says Jesus, is simple; the one desire God has for us is love. Every law, every command, every directive God gives has at its very essence the practice of love. And that’s what lies at the core of who we are and what we do. We love God. We love others. This is who we are. Now we just have to go out and do it.


Like most good things, we’ve found about every means conceivable to completely butcher one of the most important words in our vocabulary. If you were to poll people on the streets, you would probably get at least a hundred different understandings of love. Love has become the way we talk about the things that make us happy; love has become a euphemism for sexual intimacy; love has become a synonym for passion, and so on. But for those of us who have chosen to follow Jesus or are on the verge of making that decision, our understanding of love is rooted in the life of Jesus. First John says that God is love, so if we want to know what love looks like, we have to look to Jesus.


When we take a panoramic view of Jesus’ life, when we study the way he goes about his day to day business, we get a first hand glimpse of what biblical love looks like. With Jesus, we see love embodied in a way that changes everything we know about the world. This type of love, the love that Jesus reveals as God’s preferred way of life, changes relationships; it changes outcomes; it changes conversations; it changes mindsets. It changes unforgettable pasts, and undesirable presents and inconceivable futures. And it’s this way of love that is meant to be our way. So if you want your life defined by love- not just any love- but the love demonstrated by Jesus, here are three things you need to know about that love and apply in your own life.


First, the type of love that changes the world is a love that goes where love is most needed. This is how Jesus enters the world, as an innocent child in a dark place, and this is how he engages the world. Every time we see Jesus, he’s moving towards the people and places who most need his love. And the results are beautiful. The sick are healed, the outcast are brought near…even the dead are resurrected. But we have to be willing to go, even to those places and people that seem a bit scary, rough and uncomfortable. My good friend Bill received a panicked call one night from a young man who had hit rock bottom. For years, he drank himself silly, and now he was closer to death than ever before. Bill had worked with dozens of people through their addictions before, but nothing ever seemed to work with this young man. He had already been through dozens of rehabs and treatment facilities and AA groups, and was almost (almost!) A hopeless cause. But Bill went and found him, then he took him home, cared for him throughout the night and prayed that this time might be the moment God would break through. And you know what? It was. Today, that young man has been clean for over three years and is enjoying a highly successful career! That’s what love can do if love is willing to go where it’s most needed. And that’s the type of church we want to be here at Lakeside. 


As we continue to look at Jesus’ life, we also begin to see that love surrenders to God’s desires. John 3 tells us that God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son…And that’s great, unless you're the one who is sent. As much as Jesus was on board with the Father’s plan, it still wasn’t easy. He still had to surrender, to obey and to trust. On the night of his arrest, just before heading to the cross, we see just how much Jesus struggled and wrestled with what he was asked to do. Father, if it’s possible, take this cup from me. In other words, if there’s any other way, any easier path to get the job done, any alternatives, then show me. But if not, Your will, and not my own, be done. That’s the prayer that signals Jesus’ complete buy-in to God’s plan, a love that surrenders to God’s desires. Because on that cross, which was the ultimate act of love, God opens the door to redemption and reclaims a creation that was lost and broken. It’s not too hard to see God’s desires for us in Scripture, but it is hard to always want the same thing. When your friend stabs you in the back, God wants nothing more than the type of love the seeks forgiveness and reconciliation. When you’ve been taken to the woodshed by your boss, God wants nothing more than the type of love that still prays to bless instead of curse. And when you’ve been the source of someone’s else pain, God wants nothing more than to give you the strength and courage to own up to that mistake, to say you’re sorry, and to let healing begin. If we believe that God’s plans are good and faithful, then surrendering to his desires just makes sense, no matter how difficult it may be. Surrender is such a difficult word, but it leads to healing and hope. And that’s what God wants for you and me.


Finally, a good look at Jesus’ life reveals that love is always life-affirming action. Every day we wake up, we have the opportunity to speak life into the world or to speak death. And we always have that choice. The first community I served in was a rather dark place. When I first pulled in to that small village, I experienced what I call a “dark cloud” moment. It was as if I had entered into a hopeless existence, and for good reason. This little community was filled with generational poverty, drug problems and was haunted by a troubled past. Older members of the church told me stories about how their parents would never let them outside at night, and it still carried a rough reputation. But I didn’t realize how extensive that reputation was until one evening at the park. That evening I went for a walk with Reagan, who was just a year old, and we happened to bump into a couple from a nearby town. They gave me a strange look and asked me why I would ever want to live in this community. Then they said word that I could never forget, now matter how hard I tried: “Don’t you know this place is scum and it always will be?” The Holy Spirit did something in my heart right then. Inwardly I began to vacillate between anger (how could they treat people this way) and sadness (God created these people and they’re His). And from that moment I was determined to do whatever I could to help make this small town a little less dreary. And so we tried. We looked for every opportunity to bless and offer life. And I think we honored Jesus by doing so. 


We have a choice, brothers and sisters, to affirm life or death with every thought, word and deed. Every conversation you have can either lift up or tear down. Every thought can align you closer with God’s will or drive you further from His heart. Every action you take or refrain from taking can either bring life to a creation God loves or just continue to add to the darkness. And there are plenty in our world who are doing their part to let the world be a dark place. Let’s be a different kind of people. Let’s be a different kind of church. Let’s be a people of love, and let’s love in the Jesus way. Amen.


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