Love of bear or of man
Notes
Transcript
I saw that there is a tic-tac-toe-toky thing, toc-tic or whatever the kids are calling it these days going on in which women are asked if they would rather be alone in the woods with a bear or a random man. Most women have sadly responded be alone with a bear. Shocking responses. One woman said, “at least if a bear attacked me, people would believe me.”
There’s a lot to unpack there, but there is real hurt, real fear of others, and anger there too.
My daughter is taking a small new job soon and as part of it she will need to walk about 9 blocks in the middle of the day in Stockton. Women near us talking about it were petrified that I would ask her to walk at all, then they started listing scenarios from every crime show they’ve ever watched. She’s going to be kidnapped, murdered, chased. You can’t do that, bears! Mr. Yates!
It’s more than women.I just happen to be around more women than most in the other job I work as a teacher.
Men will get more mad about what “they” are doing. You know them, they, like the them raising gas prices, or ruining our country, or them spreading their hate or lies. They taking away the jobs, ruining the future.
At the root of all of it, anger. fear. It’s everywhere. Might have stirred in your heart some.
Yet, in the midst of all of that, all this anger, fear, division,
we as a church call a vision from God, something very, very different. We just said it together right before I started, and it’s worth looking at closely.
1 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,
2 fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal.
3 Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.
4 Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
5 Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus,
I just want to look at one little part of the whole thing in
Philippians 2:2 (HCSB)
2 fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal.
You see it there, all bolded. Let me put it in the Greek for you to make it more clear. I’m kidding, but looking at the Greek to remind us that it isn’t all about us, their have been people reading this for 2000 years.
τὴν αὐτὴν ἀγάπην ἔχοντες
Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 2)
the same love having
Ten ow-teign agapien eh-ck-hontes. Having the same love or to translate it keeping the word order as it is in Greek, “the same love having”
What kind of love are we calling for, in agreement with God, in the midst of a world where people are afraid to walk down the street and would rather be alone in the woods with a bear than a man? This love has to be different than what we see around us. What love is this same love that we are told to have?
This kind of love is defined by another part of the Bible we read every single week,
16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
Now the sermon could stop right here. Love others. And people will often say, “Yes, I will lay down my life for another. I will jump in front of a bus for someone. I will push them out of the way.”
To which I say, good but shouldn’t we talk about bus safety. Why is that you’re go to, because bus drivers should really be better than running over people. You really should never have to do that.
I’m kidding but the random act of bravery in a spontaneous situation is wonderful but that isn’t the love we are talking about because usually jumping in front of a bus for someone is a once in a lifetime experience. Spontaneous acts of bravery can be instilled when we meditate on loving others but they are rare and incredibly hard to train for. Instead, dealing with someone on an everyday basis and loving them is more than just being willing to save their life.
It’s as Jesus said,
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
31 The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”
Love your neighbor as yourself. Love others. It’s so nice. Especially when you think of others showing you love. Saw a little video this week of a football coach who met a young boy out in foster care. He was on his team and the coach adopted him. He raised the boy and the boy became a very talented player, played in the NFL. When the boy became a man he took a dna test hoping to learn about his birth father’s medical history only to discover that the man who had adopted him was actually his birth father. Neither knew anything, because the mother had hid it from him, giving the boy up for adoption and the man was active in the community coaching kids. He had no idea she was ever pregnant. They were thrilled to learn that they were father and son and continue to grow in their bond together. Such a lovely story of love and payback, so nice.
It’s so interesting that as people think about verses like this, Loving your neighbor here amazing stories of love like that and think it is so nice.
Until we start thinking about all the people around us. Stories around us don’t always go so pretty. When we have to love people we realize that means all the people. Then we look at these verses, we really study them, meditate on them, think about them and look for how we put them into our lives. Very, very quickly the average person becomes a lawyer.
Well um, who is my neighbor?
Well, um I don’t love myself, first you have to love yourself.
Seriously, even the very first people to talk with Jesus about it tried to find a way out.
29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Come on Jesus, Let’s name this person Jesus. Be specific. How many doors down. If the neighbor is worthy, than loving them is better. If the neighbor is someone near by than I just need to be careful to whom I am live near. Loving people like a lawyer. But Jesus goes into a story. A story that becomes the most famous story Jesus tells.
It changes the world. He tells the story of the Good Samaritan.
30 Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead.
That’s right it’s Biblical crime scene right here. Jesus began a story just like the women telling me not to let my daughter walk around because someone gets left for dead, but the story takes a different turn, not an investigation but who helps.
31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
There were all kinds of reasons these men, officials in the Jewish religion, could pass by. To touch blood or the body of a dying person would make them unclean, they would have to go through cleansing rituals to be able to work and be around their families because they would be unclean and if he happened to be dead, they would be unclean longer. none of that matters because this is all Jesus says about them. It’s a story, I don’t want to spend to long here but we could. Let’s keep listening to Jesus’s story
33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion.
34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’
A Samaritan was from a hated race. Jesus was referring to an enemy. Whatever group you can’t stand, ANTIFA or MAGA, management or worker, old or young, Palestinian or Jew whatever group it is Jesus labeled the hero of the story from that group.
The hated person, the Samaritan, gave up everything, his stuff, his time, his transportation, his money and even took the wounded man’s future under consideration.
Jesus story went on
36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”
Do that. That’s all Jesus said. I have done more explaining of the story than Jesus did. He said, “do it.: He didn’t criticize the Levite or the priest. The story just ends with, who was a neighbor. Do that.
So are their people who fall out of being a neighbor? Not really. the followers of Christ determine who is the neighbor, by the way we treat others. The treatment determines who is the neighbor. We are to love with the same love, everyone.
When we start to look at Jesus’s radical call of love, outside of just obeying Jesus and instead with the eyes of a lawyer and how can I get out of this, how can I love less, Jesus consistently will answer love more.
27 “But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Love your enemies. Love can’t be spread to a harder person to love than this.
It is the exact same word used in our vision for “with the same love”
Luke 6:26 ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν
Phil 2:2 τὴν αὐτὴν ἀγάπην ἔχοντες
The only reason the spelling is different is because the verb tense is different. Its the same love.
Radical, intense, different. Samaritan type love for our enemies. The same kind of love that we are to treat others with, that kind of love where we love others the way we want to be loved is the same way we are to love our enemies.
In fact when this part of the Bible, that our vision verse is from ,is translated into some other languages, scholars have to make it clear for the other language and it is difficult.
A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (Philippians 2:2)
This concept must be expressed in some languages as “loving in the same way,” but since in many languages it is essential to indicate the goal of an emotion such as love, it may be necessary to translate “having the same kind of love for one another,” or “loving one another in the same way.”
Loving one another in the same way: a stranger is a neighbor is an enemy all deserve the same love. Please, please, please Move beyond hearing Jesus in the Bible and then with a lawyer mind asking how can I get out of this.
Sit and wrestle with the radical-ness. Sit and wrestle with not knowing how to love someone. Sit in prayer radically calling on God for the power to love someone as He calls on you to love them.
Some of you might say I have to love myself first. I would say that loving yourself is the most infantile thing a person does. It’s important but it’s natural, it is one of the first things that all people do. They care only about themselves, not their mothers. Love of others takes brain development and maturity. Most people love themselves still. I could go into a long statements about people being depressed because others don’t like them or who do self-destructive things but in the middle of that you will find a person trying to be happy, they may not be skilled in getting others to like them or getting lasting pleasure but their concerned with themselves, totally in love with themselves to a fault.
Some though, and you might be one of these, hate themselves because of what they have done or can’t do.
I want to speak to you, you who were told that because of a disability, gender or not having a talent that you aren’t good enough. Look up, Look to the first thing Jesus said,
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
31 The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”
The first thing is Love God. Why did I tell you to love God. I want you to focus on a bigger truth. God is your creator.
If you have one arm and no eyes, God made you, and you bring him glory. God is your creator.
The old metaphor is this, if you walk into an art gallery and see a sculpture, you insult the sculpture, talk crap about how ugly the sculpture is, value it less, did you insult the sculpture or the artist?
You insulted the artist. You are a work of God for God’s work.
When God’s own followers asked if someone was disabled because a person sinned.
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.
4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
You are valuable to God. Since you are valuable to God you are valuable. God loves you. You have value because God works in you. But God works in all of us. If you can’t throw or run fast. Do math in your head or hold a decent conversation. God finds value in you. I’m serious, he chose Moses to lead his people and the guy couldn’t talk right. But God loves him so much he called him out just like he was. Moses freaked out and God even gave him an accommodation because Moses demanded it not God.
God loves you, so love you too.
God even loves you sinners. Those of you that are still beating yourselves up for the horrible stuff you have done. He doesn’t tell you that its ok. Doesn’t say it wasn’t that bad. Instead says, you messed up bad but I will pay the price. Live a guilt free life by believing knowing that I delivered you.
16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Love others because God loves you first. Love others like God loves you. He came for you. He died for you. In his glory he rose again, follow Him and love like him.
It won’t be easy. Remember you have enemies.
27 “But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Jesus didn’t say you wouldn’t have enemies.He didn’t say you would win them over.
Friends, I’m constantly working on loving with that kind of love. I have not perfected it. When I think I love others I often find that I love those I like or I love those who are easy to love. As a special education teacher people often think I have a big heart but when you get close to people of any place in life you realize that all people have sin ugliness. Kids are just learning thier sin ugliness. Some people come close to my students and think oh their so darling, such little angels. I love my students but they are not darlings. If they are anything like angels, I remind people that the devil was an angel too. Yet the little ones I am gifted to teach are worthy of love because God says to love them. They are God’s delight and worthy of all my love and effort because God says so.
Those who are unhoused, homeless, the addicted, the prisoner, the elderly, these people might be nice but often they are not. Yet we are to love because Jesus said love them. We are to live different than what we see around us. Its as ancient as it is to be a follower of God. To put God first, so that we can love others with the same love, God like love for each other.
A Hundred years after Jesus told the good Samaritan story, 100 years after Jesus went to prepare his return, early Christians dealt with enemies including the government, who were killing them, they dealt with the Roman government by trying to defend their faith to the Roman emperor.
Philippians Bridging Contexts
the Christian philosopher Athenagoras pleaded with the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Aurelius Commodus to stop their policy of persecuting Christians. Both emperors encouraged the study of philosophy within their realm, and Athenagoras made the most of this in his plea. At one point he asked the emperors to consider whether any philosophers of their acquaintance, despite their good educations and quick minds, “have so purified their own hearts as to love their enemies instead of hating them; instead of upbraiding those who first insult them (which is certainly more usual), to bless them; and to pray for those who plot against them.” Then, in a memorable passage, he described the demeanor of the persecuted Christians:
With us, on the contrary, you will find unlettered people, tradesmen and old women, who though unable to express in words the advantages of our teaching, demonstrate by acts the value of their principles. For they do not rehearse speeches, but evidence good deeds. When struck, they do not strike back; when robbed, they do not sue; to those who ask, they give, and they love their neighbors as themselves.
This is to be us. To love so radically our faith cannot be denied.
That is to describe you. You aren’t on the outside. This is you. To love like this.
Philippians 2:1–2 (CSB)
1 If, then, there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,
2 make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love,
To be a part of New Day is to follow Jesus. To follow Jesus is to love like He loves, in a way that no one can explain.