Love (Advent)
Notes
Transcript
I love watching as children learn, grow, and change.
We get to see children develop from babies that can’t feed themselves or communicate, into semi-self sustaining beings. Throughout that development, there are many things that change. Children become mobile, their vocal expressions start to have an understood meaning. They are able to eat different foods and begin thinking deeper than before.
As you all have probably figured out by now, Larissa and I do not have kids. If this is a surprise to you, oh boy...
Well, I do have a younger brother.
My brother, when he was about 5, learned his new favorite word…any guesses?
Why
That’s right.
Why.
He would ask “why” to anything and everything. Ethan, does this sound familiar?
Well, we would be in the car and my brother would say...
“Dad, why do we stop all the time? Why are we in the car? Why does it move? Why is there yellow on the road? Why is the sky blue?”
The “why” questions would go on, and on, and on.
But, what eventually happened was that my brother learned more and more about how things functioned. When he was old enough to go to school, probably up until he graduated, he asked: “why.”
While “why” questions can become annoying after a bit of time, they are how we learn about new things, or reinforce old ideas. All through high school, college, and now seminary I have asked why.
“Why do we do it this way? Why did that person think that way?” and so on.
So, with that being said, I want to set up today’s sermon with this “why” question...
Why did Jesus come?
At first, when we hear this question we think, “Well it’s pretty obvious. He came to forgive us of our sins, to defeat death, and to restore us.” And, I agree. Those are many reasons as to why Jesus came. But, I think there is more to.
The story of the prodigal son really tells us why Jesus came. Here, listen.
Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”
Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
This is why Jesus came, for moments such as these.
Those moments in life where someone you love betrays and hurts you, and you welcome them back despite their mistakes.
It’s for those moments where someone is hurt and you stop to help them, or when someone can’t afford to buy their groceries so you step up and take on the debt.
Jesus came to this world to teach us how to show God’s love.
You see, God loves His creation. He loves us, you, and me. And, I think it’s sometimes hard for us to fathom that love, to feel it, to recognize it is there. There are times where God’s love seems so distant from us, as if it isn’t real or if it is it must be out of reach.
But, Jesus’ life on this earth serves as a reminder to us about this love. You see, if we take our relationship with Christ seriously, and I mean seriously, it changes who we are. We begin to have a change of heart, of character, of mind...
We stop seeing other people as nuisances, mistakes, awful, annoying…and we start seeing something beautiful that God had formed. Something beautiful with mistakes, sure. But, wonderful none the less.
And, increasingly, I think we get stuck as the brother in the story of the prodigal son. Here’s the rest...
“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”
We know that God came to this earth as Jesus because he loves us and everyone, yet when we hear about God loving people we do not like, it causes us pain. We become angry, vile, vindictive, and sometimes even hateful.
I once had a kid in school who was incredibly mean to me, and I mean incredibly mean. I couldn’t stand this guy throughout high school, and I made sure I never talked to him afterward.
Well, one day I had a friend request from him on Facebook, shortly after high school, and it was from this guy. He knew that I was an active Christian, and knew that I didn’t much care for him. Well, he sent me a message apologizing for all of the awful things he did/said to me. He added in that he started going to church after High School and that he was a faithful believer in Jesus.
Do you know what I felt in that moment? It wasn’t joy, or pride, or happiness, or a sense of peace…I was angry. I was angry that his life was going well and that I now had to call him “brother.” And, when I look back at that moment, years later, I wish I knew then what I knew now of God’s love.
When those moments come up now, I rejoice in them. I am thankful that because of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, God’s love is ever-present in this world, and sometimes I have to be the person to remind others of that.
In fact, Jesus even commands ut to love one another, no matter what. Here’s what he said in ,
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Our actions, words, and ways of living will show others who/what we worship. Jesus says that those who worship Him will live a life that is kind, humble, loving, peaceful, and caring. He says that we will show the world that we are His disciples by our love for one another.
Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”
How amazing is that?! We profess our belief in Jesus Christ every time we show God’s love to other people. Every time we are kind, loving, caring…they scream out to those around us that it is because of Jesus Christ that we are this way.
As we prepare our hearts and minds for the celebration of Jesus’ coming, I think we all need to reflect on how we show God’s love to other people. Do we speak with harsh words, or with gentleness? Do we love one another, or only those who look/act/think or feel the same ways we do?
I am the prodigal son. I have run away from God, and His goodness many times. But, every single time I have, he has run to me on the road accepting me with a warm embrace. He has said to me, “It’s ok that you have done these things. It’s okay you thought those things or said these things…I still love you.” I need to make sure that I do this as well. When those in and around my life fall, I need to run to them and help them up, no matter who they are or how they fell to begin with.
We need to stop being the older brother who grumbles at God’s grace and be the father, the one to accept those who are hurting and defiant with open arms.
So, when someone asks you, “why did Jesus come,” you can say to them, “because He loves me. And because He first loved me, I love you.”
Let us pray...