Sunday, July 29, 2012

Mere Words

Leviticus 19:9-18
Matthew 5:17-20



Did you ever, as children, invoke "love" toward a friend, particularly a friend of the opposite gender, and rather than say "I love you" would instead say, "I love you in God's way"?  It was an innocent, child-like way of expressing the understanding that even if we did not "love" someone the way they may have preferred to be loved, say as a boyfriend or girlfriend, we as children nevertheless understood the fundamental commandment from our Lord to "love one another".  I don’t remember, however, whether we considered the spiritual compulsion to "love our neighbor as ourselves" because kids rarely think in terms of such selfless giving - especially toward the ones who break our stuff!  Surely the Lord could not have meant THAT mean kid!

Ah, but in fact He did mean “that” kid - especially “that” mean kid who broke our stuff.  This careless booger probably never had his own stuff and was likely jealous of our stuff - or so our parents may have said.  This kid may not have had as nice a home as we had, he may not have had supper waiting for him when he got home - well, you get the idea.  The mean kid who broke other people’s stuff may have been constantly reminded by our stuff that sometimes life just isn't fair and that his lack of respect for others was just a passive-aggressive manifestation.  This mean kid who broke stuff discovered over time, however, that it wasn't just that life was unfair; it was people who made life unfair.

It wasn't my fault the mean kid didn't have nice stuff, and it surely wasn't my fault that whatever stuff he had was already broken because he just didn't take care of his stuff - and it also wasn't my fault that maybe his stuff was broken and discarded long before he ever saw it ... but it was all his parents could afford.  Yes, it is true enough that life is not fair - but it is equally true that "fair" is relative because humans generally understand "fair" only within a personal context and boundary.  That is, if it works for "me", it's fair.  If it does not work for "you", well, that's just life - and life is not always fair.

Such a complacent and self-centered mindset does not fit AT ALL within the Divine Law, that same Law which revealed to us not only our Holy God and Creator but our Creator’s design for how His people must live with AND for one another, "mandated" rather than "recommended".  You know how some folks are fond of saying, "These are not the TEN 'SUGGESTIONS" - well, I assure you there are many more than just "TEN"; and they are indeed "commandments".  There is nothing within the Law that suggests even for a moment that "fate" or "destiny" plays a part in the unfairness of life.  Things happen as they do according to what we understand about our Lord - AND - according to what is most important to us as people of the Lord.

Love Dare© #11 says that "Love cherishes", which is to say that our understanding of "love" assigns value to the things and the persons in our lives.  To understand this lesson, then, requires we are first mindful that the "Greatest Commandment" as revealed to Moses and affirmed by Jesus is that we are to "love the Lord our God ... FIRST ... with all we are and with all we have".  And Jesus reminds us that our love for our Lord is expressed by our willingness to obey Him ... without question and without hesitation; "If you love Me, obey My commandments".  Our love for our Lord is not expressed by the ways and words we use to excuse ourselves from the obligations of the Divine Law; that Law which requires the people of the Lord to watch out for and protect the "least" among us; those for whom "life is not fair".

A careless rendering of Christian theology continually proclaims that "grace trumps everything".  Well, it is true enough that Divine Grace is by the Lord's hand.  It is equally true that the “merciful will be shown mercy” as it is true that “those who forgive will be forgiven”.  What is NOT TRUE is that Divine Grace is an excuse for Christians - a cheap word - by which we may excuse ourselves from the obligations of the Divine Law as revealed to Moses and affirmed by Christ.  Jesus Himself reminds us He IS "the Law and the prophets".  In other words, Jesus is THE WORD of the Holy and Almighty God -not just some of the words; the words we "like" or only the words that suit our own purposes.

So what we cherish - that is, what is of great value to us - has everything to do with how we understand our relationship with one another through the Lord and His Holy Church, biblically defined as “The Body of Christ”.  If life is not fair - and there are many who will attest to this reality - what does such a proclamation say to or about the Church, the Body of Christ? 

We have spoken before about "church language", things we say and words we use that make a little sense to those in the Church but that make virtually no sense to those outside the Church.  And the reason for this is simple: what we cherish, what is of great value to us, can often defy the language we use.  Our love of "our stuff" invalidates our "church language" because our love of "our stuff" is in fact our public testimony.  Those outside the Covenant, outside the Church might "hear" the “mere words”, but they will believe what they actually "see".

Now it would be easy for us to say if those outside want to know and understand what is going on inside the Church, they should just come.  They should bring themselves to worship, and they should join a Bible study class - IF - they really want to know.  If they would only give us a chance, they could discover for themselves what the fuss is all about, and they could eventually come to understand "our" language.  Maybe.  Maybe not.  It would all depend on whether our "church language" matches our "real life" - you know, the life we have apart from the Church. 

Now we would - and should - welcome all who would join us for worship and fellowship, but we must “meditate upon the Law”, as the psalmist writes, to understand what the Lord means about "righteousness" - especially as an essential component of "commandment".  Like "love" and "grace", however, "righteousness" has become another of those $20-dollar "church words" that is carelessly tossed about, not clearly understood, and certainly not lived ... not to its fullest, God-given, and God-COMMANDED potential – especially if we acknowledge that “life is not always fair”. 

The short passage from Leviticus sums up and clearly states what Jesus Himself affirms: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself".  So if worship and Bible and fellowship are important to us as they should be, we should understand these things to be of equal importance to others.  And IF we "love neighbor as self", we would not simply wait for them to show up to get what we know they need - we would DELIVER!  Just as we would hope someone would deliver to us what we "need".

"Righteousness", then, as it comes from the mouth of the Almighty God and Father, means that life had better be fair!  And it better be fair BY THE HANDS OF those who claim themselves to be "righteous" before the Almighty God and Lord!  The proclamation is emphasized by the declaration, “I AM THE LORD”: "You shall not [deny the poor] their fundamental need for food; I AM THE LORD ... You shall not profane the name of your God; I AM THE LORD ... You shall not put a stumbling block before the blind; I AM THE LORD ... You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I AM THE LORD."

The emphasis “I AM THE LORD” is reminding the Lord’s people exactly who He is, and it means we better be paying attention because these are “commandments” of the Law.  More than this, however, we better be doing that "love thing" rather than just claiming it for ourselves because the two commandments - to love God and to love neighbor - are inseparable.  "Whoever does not love abides in death.  All who hate a brother or a sister are murderers ... we know love by this; that [Christ] laid down His life for us - and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.  How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?" 1 John 3:14b-17  We must not make the mistake of believing this passage only applies to the so-called “One-percenters”, the super-wealthy who seem to have money to burn.  This word is for the Lord's people, rich and poor alike.

We are redeemed by the "Word made flesh", but discipleship - that is, life in Christ, "doing" for our Lord and His people - is far more than "mere words" and cheap talk.  We are called to something much greater, and we are expected to bring guests!  And we invite these guests by deeds of "righteousness", proclaiming and living faith that is perfected, sanctified - that is, justice; doing right things - making life "fair".  For our Holy Father.  For our neighbors.  For Christ’s Holy Church.  For the sake of our immortal souls.

In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

No comments: