Sermon: Are we worthy?
Barry W. Szymanski
Minister of Pastoral Care
First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa
23 October 2011
Matthew 22, beginning at verse 34

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. Teacher, which commandment

in the law is the greatest? Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’

SERMON

This has been a historical week in the life of this church. There have emotional upheavals – even a few personal earthquakes But we are together. Here.

Before the cross. In God’s house. This is where we should be to continue to gather. This is where we come as one congregation. This is where unity and forgiveness begin. This is where we look to and plan for the future.

However, right now, now, is the time to worship our Lord To listen to the Lord’s words. Once we realize what Jesus is saying to us, then our focus returns to God. Our efforts are re-energized. The emphasis we place on what is happening is given new focus. It is perhaps too easy to want to recall what had transpired in this building just some nights ago.

But Jesus is telling us to narrow our focus. Jesus is talking about love. Love is an abstraction. We can’t touch it. We can’t wrap our arms around it. We can touch a person; and we can wrap our arms around a person. But the concept of love is just that - a concept.

In today’s passage there is so much loaded material. My initial focus is on who shall love. For Jesus said, you shall love. This is what he told the lawyer. Lawyers. Users of words. Often twisters of words. And word smiths. The lawyer came to Jesus to trap him. That lawyer was probably the Harvard Law School graduate of his time. He was probably the most brilliant debater of his peer group, the Pharisees.

What was recorded just before this passage occurred was that the group called the Sadducees was testing Jesus about what happens in the afterlife? Jesus answered them by telling them that “in the resurrection. they are like angels in heaven.” And that God is of the living, not the dead. Mt. 22:30,32.

So Jesus responded to this lawyer. Jesus said, “You shall love” You. You and me. You and me shall love. Where does love come from?

Does my little grandson, King Eddie, love? Do you love? Am I capable of love? Where does love come from? It is just a feeling? A wild emotion? Can there be intellectual love? Can I force myself to love?

When Jesus told the lawyer that “You are to love your neighbor as you love yourself,” Jesus could have written a book. There is a significant leap in that sentence. The presupposition in thought process is that a person loves herself or himself. Do you love yourself? Really? Really, down deep, feel that you love yourself? That you are loveable? That you have worth? That you should be loved? Because if you do not feel that you are worthy of love, then you might not be loveable.

If you feel that you are somehow inadequate, then any overtures of love toward you will be rejected by you. That rejection may be conscious – or might even be unconscious. You might be given a gift by a friend, and protest too much.

Instead of graciously saying a simple ‘Thank you’ you might begin to argue with the giver about the price, the thought, or the circumstance. But, down deep, you may not feel worthy of that gift.

Where did Jesus come from when he made that statement? How could he have made this leap: that everyone has self-esteem? The springboard that everyone knows, deep down, is that they are a loved child of God.

Did Jesus feel so much that he was a child of God that he presumed that everyone else felt the same way? Perhaps, did Jesus think that because he loved everyone he came in contact with, including those Pharisees and Sadducees that wanted to trap him, that we all love each other?

Or did the people like those Pharisees and Sadducees teach Jesus that there were some who did not like others --- even Jesus himself? In my life I was a loved infant and toddler. My grandparents doted over me. I remember that – and there are family photos to prove it. My parents loved me. Each in their own way.

My mother gave me unconditional love. My father offered very conditional love – but it was, nevertheless, love. I have been married now for 42 or 43 years – I should know the number, but what is important is my wife, Sue, loves me. Not necessarily always unconditionally, but close enough. Actually 99.9% but don’t we all want 100%? My daughter loves me – as a daughter does. And little Eddie wants to be with me – but he cannot love just yet. What is the difference? It is not the object of their love — by the way, that’s me! I am the same person they all love. The difference is because of the lover. The background of the lover. Each lover loves differently.

Each of us is different. We have our own backgrounds, experiences, genetic make-ups, and talents, and we who are loved are each unique. We have our own upbringings, encounters we have undergone, DNA, aptitudes and gifts. Therefore, when Jesus asks us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, a lot of ‘however’ and ‘but’ and ‘yet’ thoughts enter our minds. What Jesus learned is that there were people who disliked him; people who wanted to ridicule him; people who wanted to trick and fool him; and, eventually, people who wanted him killed.

Jesus also experienced love. And he was able to accept the love of those who loved him. Then, because of that love, he was able to die for all of us – for each of us. When Jesus said that we are to love those around us, and even those not around us, as we love ourselves, Jesus was taking for granted that we are striving to be whole people.

By whole I mean healthy, healed, fit people. Healthy in mind and heart. That is often difficult, but we work at it. ‘Healed’ in our soul and our heart and our mind, which means that they are all in accord with each other within us. In right relation to each other.

We cannot be so unhealthy that we are tipping over because we are so weighed down by the baggage of life. That baggage we have willingly bought into and deliberately want to carry around with us. By the way, the picture I want to give you, especially those who fly are the passengers who have a backpack on, carrying a man-purse or woman-purse, and a briefcase, with a carryon.

That is the picture of those of us who have willingly wanted to carry the baggage of life. And, fit, because we exercise ourselves to think about, and help our neighbors – next to us in these pews – now in need; and members of our church who are not here – now in need [reach out to them]’ and those in our greater community – so, so many in dire need; and those in the world – who have needs beyond what we, in our country, can even imagine.

Jesus told the tricky Pharisee lawyer to love his neighbor as he loved himself. That sounds so easy – but, in practice, is not. The corollary is that Jesus told us, that we, neighbors, are to accept love. How is this all possible?

Because Jesus said that the first, the very first, of all commandments, is that we, who have hearts, and who have souls, and minds, are to love the Lord God with all that we are.

With all that we are. All – that we are.

Whether sick or unhealthy, healed and mended, fit or ill, burdened with baggage or dressed for a 95 degree August day, we are who we are, and we can love our God.

When we love God, and accept the love of God, then love of self becomes easier and easier. Then love of neighbor grows proportionally.

I can’t help but think that as Jesus grew up, from infant, to toddler, to gawky pre-teen, to teen, to a mature young man, he grew into who he was, and grew in his ability to love, which blossomed when he began his ministry. His love of God, his closeness to his Father, and his ability to accept love, gave him self-worth as a child of God. This is the same self-worth that we are heirs to.

There are many in this church now who need someone to reach out to them. They need to be called back to this congregation. They need to know that they are worthy of God’s love, and your love. But they will not know of God’s love, until they know that you care for them. That is just one area of outreach.

Are there members of your family who need you to reach out to them? Are there friends who should be contacted? We are in an age of Facebook and other social sites, we have Twitter and email, but yet we are more separated than ever, because there is little human touch interaction by cell phones and computers.

Let’s then take this church as an example: become involved, if you can, in even one activity, whether on or off campus. If you can. Show you care. Show that you love your Lord God with your heart. And your mind. And your very soul.

Know that God loves you, and recognize that you are loved by those around you. Graciously accept their love. Graciously give your love. That will make your family life most enjoyable. That will make this church powerful beyond belief.

If, as a congregation we love God with the enormous soul of this Church, and love God with all of the incredibly good hearts of this Church, and love God with the intellectual brilliance of our members, we will be well serving God.

And if we, individually, deep down, know that we are worthy, that we are precious in God’s eyes, and in the eyes of each other, then we can give so much not just to each other, but in outreach to all we encounter both individually, and as a church.

Individually we must love ourselves because we are who we are – whether sick or unhealthy, healed and mended and, as a Congregational church we must love ourselves because of who we are, fit or ill, and however burdened with baggage. Then, we will live the greatest of the commandments.

Let us pray, Lord, God, we know that you accept us for who we are, as we are. You love us unconditionally. We receive your love, and love you in return. We receive your love and love our neighbors in return. We receive your love and we love ourselves. We take your love to help heal, and give health to all around us. We take your love and reach out to those who are hurting, --- to those in need. We need you love. And we willingly embrace you, and ourselves, and those whom we meet in our life’s paths – and we seek out to those in need. We pray this in Jesus’ name, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.