Love is the central ingredient of all relationships. But if God loves us for who we are, why do we tend to be our worst critics? In order to be in a loving relationship with others, we need to love ourselves first.
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May our Advent journey together this season and our life together as a church equip us to act towards others with hope and in the spirit of joy, peace and love. May we trust and find comfort that God is with us on this journey and in this difficult season. May we gather in hope, knowing that pain and suffering and fear are not the end of the story. Though the way is rough, God is close and our home in God is real.
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It’s a human thing to struggle with love for those we do not know or like. In scripture, we often lose sight of the fact that Jesus is not only fully divine, he is also fully human. And as fully human, He would have had the human proclivity to see the world in terms of insiders and outsiders, friends and enemies. But Jesus didn’t just teach this love of neighbor, he lived it, concretely, healing and breaking bread with those he met, even those considered outsiders and enemies.
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Jesus, in his attempt to bring love into the world, sat down with people who the world hated – the roman soldier, the tax collector, the prostitute, the leaper and the daemon possessed. Jesus broke down the walls of hate by bringing others with him so they too could help uproot and kill the plants of hatred from within. We can break down the roots of hatred, too. It starts with hearing the story of those whom we hate.
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Transfiguration Sunday was also Valentine’s Day and served as a reminder of love in all its forms, including love for yourself. It starts with an assessment of your inner voice. This inner voice is the coach that will be with you for your entire life. Your coach speaks to you about everything, and the more you hear it the more it shapes you. What do you want your coach to say?
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Martin Luther once wrote, “You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say.” We all have the moral obligation to use words and actions—God’s word and our voices, hands and feet—to serve our neighbors and proclaim the gospel. The world is truly chaotic, and we are only now beginning to realize the extent to which we are connected to one another. Now is the time to speak. Now is the time to be the church that speaks God’s reign into reality.
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The significance of the story this week is the focus on God’s ability to provide love, grace, and forgiveness, even to the black sheep of the family. For many who have caused great harm or pain to others, especially family members, the opportunity to reconcile or to atone for their mistakes can be incredibly powerful.
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While following the rules of Sabbath is important, there has to be a rule above all other rules and that is the law of love. If someone is in need of care, and you or I have the opportunity to help, then the law of love is our greatest commandment.
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This love for the neighbor that Jesus mentioned just before telling this story is not a friend-kind of love or an intimate-kind of love, it is the love for the other that is expressed by sacrificing one’s own resources for the well-being of another.
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Let me tell you a story of discipleship… A 70-year-old, seriously mentally ill woman with a long history of homelessness, reappeared after being missing for six months. She was in terrible shape. For days we tried to engage with her, to encourage her to bathe and change, to go into a shelter and get a bed, all to no avail.
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