Rooted - Healthcare

Today I am wrapping up a series on what it means to have a faith that is rooted. As I have mentioned over the past few weeks, our church is in the beginning process of something called the Church Renewal Lab. It is a two-year process that is intended to sharpen our vision and focus as a church and help identify for us some of the things that need changing in order to move forward together in our vision and mission as a church. Yet even in a culture where many things seem to be changing, there are always going to be a few things that must remain securely rooted. And so, it is good for us to pause and consider some of the ways our faith stays rooted and secure in a world that seems to be wrapped up in so much change and transition.

In particular, today I want us to focus on what it means for us to have a faith that is healthy. Perhaps January is a good time to consider a topic like health. I have a membership at the YMCA. At least three times a week I try to get over to the gym and do a workout to stay physically active. For others of you who are regular gym attenders, maybe you notice this too—January always seems busier at the gym. All these people who made New Year’s resolutions to get in shape start up a routine at the gym in January. And by February it starts to taper off and go back to the regular crowd. But right now, while it is still January, many more people are perhaps focusing some intentional attention on their own health.

what does it look like for you to have a faith that is kept healthy?

And so, this is the question I am coming with to you today. What does it look like for you to have a faith that is kept healthy? To have a healthy body I think we know that several things are required. It involves not only physical exercise, but also a nutritious diet of what you eat, a proper amount of sleep and rest, a nurturing of peace and contentment (because it is shown that excessive anxiety impacts a person’s physical health), regularly seeing your doctor for a routine physical checkup. And that just names a few; we could probably name more items that go into maintaining a healthy body.

maintaining health is holistic

My point is this: maintaining your physical health is holistic. When I say it is holistic what I mean is that there are many interconnected parts that all work together to become the whole. If all I do for my physical health is go see a doctor for my checkup, but never pay any attention to my diet or my physical exercise, then I am not staying healthy. In at least some measure, all the parts of physical health must be attended in order to be healthy. I have to pay attention to the whole thing.

Let’s look at a passage today which has something to say about the holistic nature of a healthy faith. And even though this is a description of living out a healthy faith that has many interconnected parts, those parts all connect together within one theme.

Mark 12:28–34 (NIV)

Mark 12:28–34 NIV

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” 32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

cannot talk about what it means to be a Christian without also talking about love

love is something which not only keeps our faith rooted and secure, but also provides a path for our faith to remain healthy

It maybe seems so simple that it should go without saying. Of course you cannot talk about what it means to be a Christian without also talking about love. The mission statement of this church is summarized with the three words Love, Grow, Serve. We intentionally state the word love as the first action word of our mission statement. And you have probably heard sermons before about love. Of course you have; so much of the Bible talks about love, how could not have heard sermons before about love. We talk about what it means for us to be people of love. We talk about what it means for us to engage the activity of loving. We talk about what it means for us to be people who are loved by God. Today in particular let’s consider the way that love is something which not only keeps our faith rooted and secure, but also provides a path for our faith to remain healthy. Holistic love is like healthcare for our beings.

Let me put just a little bit of a frame of reference around this passage in order for us to understand the way that Jesus is applying this healthy holistic love for our lives. Notice that the conversation begins with a question. A teacher of the law asks a question to Jesus. Mark fills in the detail that this exchange happens in the midst of a debate between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders. On the one hand, they are trying to trap Jesus in his words. But on the other hand, Jesus uses these conversations as an opportunity to reveal the truth of God.

Jesus is questioned about the law

613 commandments (248 positive, 365 prohibitions)

The question itself has to do with the law. The Jewish people at the time of Jesus lived according to a rather strict legal code of commandments and regulations that come from the books of the Old Testament. Scholars note that Jewish leaders during that time went to the level of scouring over all the scriptures and listing out every single commandment there is. The number they came up with is 613. They said there are 613 separate commandments that every single Jewish person was supposed to remember and perfectly obey. They broke that list apart into 248 positive commands (something all people should do) and 365 prohibitions (something all people should avoid). That’s a lot for a person to remember and do, so I suppose it might seem a natural question to ask if there are some commandments more important than others.

how exactly is a person supposed to stay right with God when there seems to be this impossible list of regulations attached?

every commandment is supposed to point us towards loving God and loving others

The thing that makes this a trick question is that any answer which implies excluding even one of these 613 commandments would fall short. The question itself explains something of the predicament that all Jewish people found themselves to be in during the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry in Israel. Just how exactly is a person supposed to stay right with God when there seems to be this impossible list of regulations attached? Jesus answers by pointing out the way in which every single commandment in all of scripture has an arch which all point in the same direction. Every single commandment and regulation in the Bible is meant to point people toward loving God and loving others. Jesus doesn’t pick one commandment out as more important than all the rest; Jesus gives an answer to the question which perfectly summarizes exactly what each and every commandment is supposed to point us towards: loving God and loving others.

Jesus is giving a prescription for healthy faith

holistic love is like healthcare for our beings

Let me pull in what we noted back in the introduction. For many of us who have been Christians for a while the whole topic and idea of love has become something of an obvious Sunday school answer. Yup, love God and love neighbor; I’ve heard that all my life; I already know that; move on. But not so fast. By being a summary of what all the commandments in the Bible point us towards, this is not just another commandment to follow, it is as though Jesus is giving a prescription for healthy faith. I’ll say it again, holistic love is like healthcare for our beings.

Let me move on to take a look at what I mean by holistic love. It is a love that has many interconnected parts. Just like holistic healthcare for our bodies pays attention to our physical needs, our emotional needs, our mental and intellectual needs, and even our spiritual needs (remember, I used to be a chaplain in a hospital), so to Jesus describes the holistic love prescribed by God as being physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. The Bible says love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Look at each one of these.

heart — emotional

faith that stays healthy is a faith that feels what God feels

Love with all your heart. This is reference to our emotions and passions. A faith that stays healthy is a faith that feels what God feels. When God’s heart breaks over the sin and evil in the broken world around us, our hearts should break too. When God feels the injustice that comes before him because of people being abused and mistreated, we should feel the weight of that injustice too. When God rejoices over the return of one of his prodigal children, then our hearts should rejoice too.

All the commandments of the Bible are meant to help us love God and others with all of our heart—all our emotions.

soul — spiritual

faith that stays healthy is a faith that recognizes we are all created in God’s image

Love with all your soul. This is a reference to our spiritual beings. A faith that stays healthy is a faith that recognizes we are all created in God’s image and we—all people—bear that image of our creator. We are created with a soul that is meant to live with God forever. Loving God with all our soul means we recognize that there is something so much bigger than just this life in this world. Loving God with our soul means that we recognize we were created for so much more than this broken and sinful world shows. Loving do with all our soul means we recognize that every other person we meet carries that same value and priceless worth before God because they all carry that same image of our divine creator too.

All the commandments of the Bible are meant to help us love God and others with all of our soul—all our spirit.

mind — mental/intellectual

faith that stays healthy is a faith that recognizes we can learn and grow in knowledge of God and his world

Love with all your mind. This is a reference to our intellectual beings. A faith that stays healthy is a faith that recognizes we have mental abilities. We can learn and grow in knowledge. We can solve problems and come together to dream and create plans. To love God with our minds means that we recognize all this knowledge begins with God. It is a love which takes seriously our ability to organize resources and plan agendas which bring people together, not tear people apart; which equip and build people up, not steal and take away; which cares for and nurtures our world so that it can flourish and thrive, not pollute our world and strip it bare of all that sustains life. To love God with your mind is to use your intellect and mental abilities to pursue the shalom of God in the places where we live.

All the commandments of the Bible are meant to help us love God and others with all of our mind—all our mental intellect.

strength — physical

faith that stays healthy is a faith the recognizes love shows up in real-world physical action and activity

Love with all your strength. This is a reference to our physical bodies. A faith that stays healthy is a faith the recognizes love shows up in real-world physical action and activity. Beside love being something we feel or think about or behold, love also has to do something; it must show up in what we do. To love God with your strength is to seek out ways in which the grace of God can have a real-life tangible physical expression in the way we act and behave with one another.

All the commandments of the Bible are meant to help us love God and others with all of our strength—all our physical activity and action.

healthy faith means all four of these expression of love interact

Now then, healthy holistic love means all four of these expressions necessarily interact in the way we pursue a life of faith. And when we do live in ways in which this kind of holistic love takes expression, it results in a faith that grows increasingly healthy because it places our lives on a trajectory that come in closer and closer proximity to the will of God.

it is not our love for God which gets us to him, it is God’s love for us that brings God to you

To close, we shouldn’t neglect to note that this is the same holistic love that God has for each one of us. God loves each one of you with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. That being, God loves you with all his feeling and emotion; God loves you with all his image and being which exists throughout all eternity; God loves you with all his wisdom and knowledge; and God loves you with all his action and power. Don’t ever forget that it is not our love for God which gets us to him, it is God’s love for us that brings God to you.

because you are wholly loved by God, you are able to wholly love in return

Because you are wholly loved by God, you are able to wholly love in return.