1 Corinthians 13 13
##
“Gifts given in love with love”
nineteenth sunday after trinity
matthew 22: 34-40
1 corinthians 13:13
01/01
Introduction: John’s family endured life together in a Nazi death camp. In addition to John and his wife, their two children, Jacob and David, John’s aged parents were imprisoned too. The first to die in the ovens were his parents. They were in their 80’s and unable to work the long grueling hours. Under Nazi policy they wee unable to earn their livelihood in the camp. Therefore they forfeited their right to life. John feared that the next to go would be David, the youngest, who was crippled. Every morning as the members of the family went their separate ways, John feared it might be the last time he would see David.
Upon returning home one day, his greatest fear had been realized. David was nowhere to be found. He quickly scanned the crowds of people and saw his other son Jacob huddled in a corner crying. Where is David? Did they take David today? he asked. Yes, Jacob replied between sobs. But where is mother? She was well. She could work. Where is she? Jacob looked at his father with tears flowing down his cheeks. Papa, he said, they came for David, and he started to cry. And so, mother pleaded to go along, and they let her. I saw them go Papa. Mother was holding David in her arms so that he wouldn’t be frightened.
What motivated her to go along? What motivated Jesus to die -- according to John 3:16?
I. The Greatest Commandment - Love
1. A Set of Rules. Most of us are familiar with the ten commandments. In our gospel lesson for today the Pharisees are confronting Jesus with a question. Which commandment is the greatest? When they asked Him this question, they didn’t just have the tem commandments in mind. In addition to the ten 613 other rules and regulations had been added. Some of them were from God, but many of them were man made. Do this, don’t do that! Do this and don't do that! Rule upon rule was heaped up in an effort to please God and appease His wrath.
B. Summed up in one Word. What is Jesus answer? Love God with all your heart, soul and mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. All of the law and the prophets rest on these two. Jesus sums it all up in one word -- LOVE!!!! That’s easy enough isn’t it? Or is it?
II. Our Response -- People normally respond in two ways.
A. Is That all - I can do that. On the one hand we might be inclined to thank Jesus for simplifying the matter. All we have to do is love God and our neighbor. We might consider that we are able to do this. After all many of us have worked hard at being religious at one time or another. We may have even put great effort into serving God on a continuing basis. We too may feel that we have loved our neighbors also, giving money, volunteering, doing good deeds, sometimes at great sacrifice to our own lives.
B. I can’t do that - My Whole Heart, Soul and Mind.
There is another response to Jesus’ command to love. It is made up of sorrow and contrition. It is the right response. Faced with Christ’s demand, sinners can only cry out, “I can’t do it.” Lord, who can love God with all their heart, soul, and mind. It seems barely possible to love Him even in a single moment of time. That moment to is filled with lack of concentration.
Who can love their neighbor either. Perhaps a person could do it from time to time for a person they like and has done well by them, but God demands more. He would have us love people that treat us poorly, who persecute us. He would have us turn the other cheek. He would have us show true love. What is that. John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. On the other hand there is The Law as mirror. Jesus law of Love ends up being no more easy to accomplish then all the commandments of God.
III. God’s Solution - “What think Ye of the Messiah”
A. God’s Law Shows Our Need. Just as all the Laws and decrees of God, the Law of Christ, commanding us to love, shows us our need for God’s grace and mercy. We can not do what God commands. We will always fall short. Our righteousness before the Lord is like filthy rags.
B. There is only one man who could please God. Christ alone is able to fulfill God’s Law and its demands. Christ alone could love the Lord with His whole heart, soul, and mind. It was for this purpose that He came into the world, born of a woman under the law, (Gal 4:5) to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
C. That would not be enough though. We had transgressed God’s Law. Each one of us has gone our own way in rebellion, trying to please God the way we thought was right, but not in the way that God demands. Our penalty was to be death. Jesus did not only fulfilled the Law on our behalf. He received our punishment. It was a criminals death on the cross.
D. God's Laws are just. Today He commands us to follow them and obey His decrees. How can we do this. Apart from God’s grace we cannot do it. Baptized into Christ’s life, death and resurrection we are able to love God. through Faith in Christ and His atoning work on our behalf we are able to love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind.
E. By God’s grace and mercy you are also able to love our neighbors. You are able to do this through Christ’s Spirit and God’s strength which has been given to you. When you fail and you often will, your Lord is merciful to you. For the sake of His Son He forgives you.
Conclusion: Go now then and love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all you soul, and with all your strength, and you neighbor as yourself -- Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
* Love is a command - how could that be? Not rules but love.