What’s to You? 1 John 3:16-24 April 22, 2018

INTRODUCTION A few months ago, I came across a reference to a movie being made about the life of Mr. Rogers. For those of you may not have known about him or watched him on TV, Mr. Rogers was the host of the very popular children’s show Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood. He came across as friendly, compassionate, and real. His message was that people – children – were special – they were worth something just as they were. You might say that he exhibited in his dealings with people. It was a shock then to discover that some Americans see him as an “evil man” who “ruined a generation of children” because of his message. If they were special just as they were, then why should they work harder or try to do better? But Mr. Rogers was preaching – no, living – Christianity. He was doing exactly what Jesus did – and treating children they way Jesus treated them. The core message of Christianity is that God is love and that God so loved us that he sent his only begotten into the world to save us. Jesus laid down his life for us – because his love was so deep. We didn’t deserve God’s love. We didn’t earn God’s love. We have it as gift – through grace. Our Scripture lesson today tells us to love one another with actions and in truth, and that’s exactly what Mr. Rogers was doing. So we might wonder, why don’t those Americans who see him as an agent of evil get it? We might also ask, why don’t we?

WHAT IS LOVE ANYWAY? What do mean by “love”? If you have read C.S. Lewis’ book, the Four , then you know the Greeks had four different words that we tend to translate into English with the one word – “love”. There were : - –  – or brotherly love; - –  – passionate or romantic love; - –  – love; and - –  - selfless love, in older translations of I Corinthians 13. Of course, in English, we use the word “love” for a lot of other things too: - I love reading. - I love hot fudge Sundaes. - I love it when someone makes me laugh. - I love wearing myself out doing something I enjoy. So, what do we mean by ”love” is anyone’s guess. What is God telling us to do in today’s Scriptures is sometimes difficult to recognize.

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Christians Are Not the Only Ones Who Love So let’s start with one important note: Christians are not the only people in the world who love. You don’t have to be Christian to know what love is. I emphasize this because I know I used to think just that. I used to think that other religions emphasized laws or rituals or certain practices but only Christianity talked about love. That’s just not true. Let’s admit it. You don’t have to be a Christian to understand sacrificial love. Good know all about sacrifices. They sacrifice constantly for their children. They’ll postpone an evening out on the town to be home with their children. They’ll postpone new clothes for themselves to make sure their children have what they need for school. If you have pets instead of children, you also know what sacrifices are. I used to laugh at our next door neighbours who fed their dog prime rib while they ate hamburgers … until my developed allergies and I fed him roast duck while I ate hamburgers! Laying down our lives for our children – or pets – is a nightmare no wants to face. We don’t want to have to choose ourselves or our children/pets because we know we would likely chose them. That’s love. Not just an emotion but action. We care for our . We want the best for them. We are willing to put ourselves on the line for them. But God is asking us to do more than that – to reach beyond our children and pets and families. God is asking us to put ourselves on the line for people who have no relationship per se with us. They are not our families. They are not even our friends. They may even be people we think of as “wrong” in some way. And God calls us to love them and accept them just as they are … because that’s what God did with us. That’s the Gospel Jesus preached with his life.

WHY DO WE FAIL SO OFTEN? But, if so, then why do we so often fail? Why was it possible for Montesquieu, the 18th century French philosophe, to write: I can assure you that no kingdom has ever had as many civil wars as the Kingdom of Christ (Lettres persanes #29) We talk about love – God is love, Jesus is love, the Church is love – and yet our history is full of events like the Inquisition, the Crusades, the Holocaust, Canadian residential schools, slavery and so many others. Let’s not forget the Reformation when Roman Catholics tortured and killed Protestants, and Protestants tortured and killed Roman Catholics, and both Roman Catholics and Protestants tortured and killed fringe groups such as the Mennonites. So much for Christian love! There were and are, of course, lots of reasons. We can talk about attitudes of the time, ignorance, racism, petty jealousies, hurt feelings, fear.

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The fact is that we are a torn people – even if it weren’t for all those failings – we’d have a basic one of how do we do what’s best? - which brings us back to Mr. Rogers and why so many Americans – predominantly conservative Americans – are against him. We are called to love one another – but we are also called to be Shepherds and Shepherds have to watch out for hidden dangers and enemies. Shepherds have to be on guard against those who might come to steal a sheep or two. - If we teach children they are special no matter what, will they feel entitled and become narcissistic –focused only on themselves? - What is best for them? And so the Church has always had this split perspective: pastoral and loving vs judgmental and demanding. - Is it better for children to believe they are special and loved no matter what OR - Is it better for children to believe they are special and loved when they do well… How do teach children to excel – to strive to be the best they can be? How do we teach them that the world is not always a friendly place and that they will not always get what they want? If we believe we’re right, don’t we have the obligation to defend the group from those we believe are wrong? If we don’t do that – aren’t we failing as Shepherds? Are we demonstrating sacrificial love when we punish children for their own good? We don’t want to hurt them, but realize that we need to, in order to teach them whatever? Of course, sometimes we cross the line – talking about “tough love” when love has nothing to do with whatever is gone on … when our prejudices, racism, selfishness, and fears are leading us far away from any notion of sacrificial love. Sometimes the problem is compounded because we don’t really believe the Gospel. We haven’t accepted unconditional love from God. We know God loves us – but at the same time feel somehow that we deserve to be loved. We’re basically good people and it’s “natural” to love good people. When we mess up – and we all do – we don’t really forgive ourselves. We can’t. If we can’t forgive ourselves, than how can we believe God forgives us? All of this – this whole discussion – leads us back into the dilemma of knowing we called to live a life of love but wondering how do we put that love into our daily lives? The answer is simple – at least simple to say or recognize – keep focused on God. What does God want of us to do? What would Jesus do? What is the best way to show the same love God showed us in Jesus?

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? That’s a hard call because the answer will vary for each of us, depending on our own faith journey with God. But here’s a few suggestions or guidelines:

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- Keep our eyes focused on God. What does God want us to do? How does God want us to express his love in the world? o This is more than turning to the Bible because the trap is to become as legalistic as the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. o We want God to speak to us directly (which is much harder to discern). - There has to be truth – truth that we have failed. o We have failed to live up to our calling as Christians. o We have too often left love as an emotion – not action – we have said the words but not done the deeds. o We have failed to love others as God loves us. o We have failed to believe in God’s unconditional love for us. - Secondly, is repentance which is essentially turning back to God. o To draw closer to God through prayer (talking with God), through study of God’s Word- the Bible, through actions o To practice God’s presence in our lives, learning to take time for God – time to think about God – to thank God… - To strengthen our relationship with God … with others What’s love to you? Where do you find yourselves on the journey of faith?

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