You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Invitations to Participation ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Sticks and Stones ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
Dear Love People,
John’s
gospel reminds us about Jesus’ purpose:
“ Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. ” John 13:1
Jesus’ love
…is his legacy.
We know
that the Easter story is the story of God’s love—the extent to which God loves
us—in that God raises Jesus, and we believe God raises us. …That’s at least part of it! The other part is Jesus’ love, and his loving
us through to the end.
When we
love …we emulate Jesus. Jesus, both
loved us and was God’s love. When we
love, we become what Jesus was and we are also God’s love.
Easter …is
about resurrecting Love.
The Apostle
Paul, writing in response to reports of bickering and infighting among
believers in Corinth said that if one doesn’t have love, one is a noisy gong
and a clanging cymbal, that if one doesn’t have love, one has nothing. …Easter has to do with Love.
I think Love
is sometimes one of the things or ideas that gets lost as we often focus mostly
on “believing in Jesus. We want so badly
to be delivered to salvation and heaven we try and make it transactional. “Yes Lord, I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). If “believing” can punch our ticket, then, “we
believe!” So, while we busy ourselves in
believing, the things that Jesus did in loving people, gets moved to the back
burner. Easter …is about resurrecting
Love.
Jesus,
knowing the Love of God …changes the world by loving it!
Jesus
doesn’t change the world; the Love of God …changes the world. Jesus allowed God’s Love to flow through
him. When we Love …it happens, too. This isn’t about semantics; its
actionable. When we choose Love it
activates and transforms—us …and others.
As Paul
testifies, “Love never ends.” We don’t
get “finished,” it’s not “completed,” Love and life never end. It’s not a thought in our head, or a trust,
or a knowing …it’s a doing thing—Love.
Love is doing something.
In our
world of “might makes right,” Love is out of place, out of step, out of
practice. Love …lifts up. Love …doesn’t insist on its own way, isn’t
arrogant or rude …Love is patient and kind.
I believe
our world can use this …Love. Jesus-people
can provide it. I believe others can,
too; but for Jesus-people, it’s clear, isn’t it? It’s supposed to be written in our DNA.
Love
People: Easter should be an empty tomb filled with Love …in each of us! …And our job is giving it away! Unlike possessions or wealth, we will never
run out of it! Love never ends and Love
won’t fail. With the love of God already
in us …neither do we.
Love is Jesus’
legacy. It must also be ours.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Following A Long Lost Voice of Jesus ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Resurrection AND a Jail-Break! ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Be Afraid! Be Very Afraid! ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the third scripture reading, the Passion Narrative, and my Meditation on the reading
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
Dear People Loved by God,
The world’s a hot mess right now. That’s probably putting it mildly. There’s no question it’s HOT—climate data
shows decisively that 2015-2025 was the hottest time on record in the history
of the planet! And, do you know anyone
who would disagree with the assessment that the world’s a mess?
This isn’t the first time people have thought
that the world was “messy.”
In fact, we know from reading our bibles that
this whole dust-up in Jerusalem with Jesus came about because even “back then” religious
people looked at the world and saw it was a mess.
We know that wasn’t even the first time religious
people had disagreements about the state of the world and worldly power; we
know too many times since then, people have disagreed over politics or religion,
or both—resulting in mess, after mess, after mess—including violence and
destruction of life and property.
Yet we know that God is undeterred! We know that God saw the world in chaos and
darkness—a mess—and declared, “let there be light.” We know that our future began in those first moments
of God discerning and assessing, and we know that God still holds the future,
and our future, and because of Jesus …Love wins.
My colleague Jan Edmiston, the recently retired
General Presbyter for the Presbytery of Charlotte, wrote recently about experiencing
a pastor leading a traumatized congregation in prayer: “O God, love us through
this,” the pastor prayed. …Jan believes deeply
that God has loved us …when we feel it, and especially when we don’t!
“O
God, love us through this.”
There’s a lot about our world that’s deeply
disturbing. Human beings aren’t perfect. Despite our best efforts, we lose our cool,
shout unkind words, say mean things, react defensively, our frustration often gives
way to anger and resentment, our patience caves in and impulse rules our hearts. If not, sometimes we just make mistakes. And in a world where we truly rely on one
another for just about everything we need, this is bound create messiness.
Praying for God to love us through …well, we
might be better off if we started there!
God …who loves us enough to send us Jesus. And Jesus, who loves us enough, to …well …be
the exemplar of that love in Jerusalem. Jesus
lets the world administer its messiness; and God, once more, solves chaos and
darkness with resurrection glory—calling the world back from chaos, again.
“O God, love us through this”—whether its
something that you’ve said or done, or heard others say or do, or if you’re
just exasperated by the ways the world is or has become—is a prayer that
reminds us that Easter’s coming and has already happened.
And …Love wins.
You are the Beloved of
God. When you feel it; and even when you
don’t.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ From Mortified to Vivified ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Seeing and Sinning ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
