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What Does Love Look Like?

Maundy Thursday is a day we come together to hear God tell us to do two things; remember and remember. In our story from Exodus, God was ready to free his people and he commanded them to prepare a feast to celebrate their freedom and then to do this every year, so that they would remember. Every time they had this feast they were to remember that it is God who offers them true freedom. To this day, the Jewish people still celebrate this meal and remember. This year, this festival began this past Monday and will end next Tuesday.

But, when Jesus came along, we are told for those who followed him, he offered a change in the meaning of this meal. Now, we don’t hear this part of the story in the gospel of John, but Matthew Mark, and Luke all tell of the Last Supper and Paul in his letter to the Corinthians tells us how Jesus gave a new set of instructions to be followed for this meal. In this meal, Jesus took bread and wine from the table and offered them to his disciples. When he did this he told that that these elements were now his body and blood and that his followers were to eat this bread and drink this wine as often as they gathered so that they would remember him. But in doing this, we not only remember who Jesus was, and is, but we also remember what he did for us and that we are forgiven.

But, there is one other thing we are called to remember and that is what John reminds us of in his gospel. In John’s version of Jesus’ last night with his disciples, John tells us that as an act of love, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and then after explaining what he did he said to them, “Where I am going, you cannot come. I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:33-35). Each time we eat this meal we are to remember the command to go and love as Jesus loves us.

Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? Now, I don’t know about you, but I am a visual person, so I really need to see things in order to really understand them. So, when I hear Jesus say, “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another,” I have to ask, what does that kind of love look like?

To love as Jesus loves, looks like sitting with those who are sick, and or dying. In a world that has developed specialists for dealing with people who are ill, Christ-like love is a love that says, I may not be a medical expert, but I will be with you in your time of need. I may not know what to say, or what to do, but will I make time to be with you.

Christ-like love looks like one who offers a healing presence. No, I am not saying we have to be able to pray away the illness, but Christ-like love is being willing to openly and honestly talk with people about their situation. One of the comments I often get when I go to visit with someone who has been recently diagnosed with an illness, especially something that is life-threatening, is that the person is mad at God and then then they go on to tell me how sorry they are about being mad. My response is usually, why are you sorry? Do you think God isn’t mad about this, too? God understands your anger and is here, whether you know it or not.

Christ-like love looks like those who are willing to stand with the marginalized and oppressed. Doing this actually is a way of offering new life to those who have felt dead. This congregations willingness to become an Reconciling in Christ congregation, that is to be a place that is open and welcoming to everyone regardless of their sexuality, their race, their economic statues, etc., is Christ love in action. In fact, the folks at RIC are so impressed that we have done this, they want to come and interview some of you to see why it was important to you to be a welcoming community and they want to film us in worship. I hope you will be here on April 27 for our leaders meeting and on April 30 for worship for these events.

Christ-like love is being willing to stand with the homeless, the immigrant, and the outsider. This isn’t a political statement but a command from God. “For the LORD your God is God of gods and LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the stranger/immigrant (ger), providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger/immigrant, for you were strangers/immigrants in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:17-19). And it isn’t just in the Old Testament, this concept continues in the New Testament. In his letter to the Romans Paul says we are to offer hospitality. The Greek word for hospitality is “philaoxenos” which in a literal translation means love for the stranger/immigrant. Christ-like love looks like “philaoxenos.”

Christ-like love is kind. Please notice I didn’t say it is “nice.” We are all good at being nice, that is saying and doing what others want us to do. But being kind is about doing what is right and is needed. Jesus was kind, but hardly nice. When the Pharisees needed to be called out for their actions and teachings, he did so, he even called them hypocrites (Matthew 23:13) and “children of the devil” (John 8:44). Jesus didn’t condemn the adulterous brought to him, nor the Samaritan women at the well, but he did tell them both they needed to change their ways. When the rich man wanted to know how to get to heaven told Jesus that he kept all the commandments, Jesus challenged him and said he needed to sell his stuff (Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21). When the man turned and walked away, Jesus let him go. Jesus didn’t chase him down and try to coddle him, or change his mind, he spoke truth to him and then he let it go.

Christ-like love looks like our Pantry Pack Program, our Children’s Memorial ministry, our Meals on Wheels ministry. Christ-like love looks like people being willing to share God’s word and being willing to invite people into our faith, our practices and our worship. It is being willing to step pout of our comfort zone and speak about our faith.

Christ-like love is being sacrificial with our time, our talents and our resources. As we celebrate this week, may we remember that Christ sacrificed his whole life for our sake. Can’t we sacrifice some of our life for his sake.

And lastly, Christ-like love looks like forgiveness. It is being willing to always find a way to let go of the actions and words others have used against you so that you might always be able to focus your life toward God and God’s was.

To love as Christ loved is hard and it is not an easy way to live. If you are sitting there saying I don’t think I can do all that, remember, Christ knows this and we will fail more than we succeed, but that it OK, because we don’t do this alone and we don’t do this for our success. We do this for God’s sake and we do this because as our first commune students learn every year when they study what it means for God to offer us this incredible meal, we do this because, God Loves Us! Praise be to God, Amen.

Tags: Sermons