A sermon by Senior Minister John B. McCall, November 11, 2007
Luke 10:25-28
We all ask questions every day:
• What’s going to happen next in the stock market?
• How much higher can heating oil prices go?
• Are there really 62 grams of fat in that thing?
• Who needs 113 different kinds of breakfast cereal on the grocery shelf?
Those are the kinds of questions that rattle around the back of my brain; all the time, it seems. I’d guess you’re the same way. Then, every once in a while, we ask the Big Questions:
• Why can’t so many good and able people really solve the world’s problems?
• Will we ever achieve peace?
• Why do good people suffer?
• Is God really there?
Questions like these aren’t ever really answered. We ask them over in each generation. In today’s Gospel reading Jesus answered one of the really big questions for us. A lawyer came to Jesus and tried to lay a trap. Jesus had been making remarkable claims about himself and his ministry and the lawyer intended to put him in his place. So the lawyer posed a question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” That’s a Big Question.
I’d phrase it a little differently: “What can I do to live in harmony with the will of God, to find abundant life – starting now and lasting forever?”
Remember that there was no separation between religious and civil laws at this time. So the Lawyer was an expert in Torah and Jewish Law governed every aspect of life. In a favorite attorneys’ ploy, Jesus answered the question with a question. “You know the Law very well. What do you read there and how will you put it into practice?”
The lawyer did, in fact, know that answer. He first quoted Deuteronomy 6: love God with your whole being – heart, soul, mind and strength. Then he quoted Leviticus 19: “and love your neighbor as yourself.” Three loves: love of God, love of neighbor, love of self.
“Right,” said Jesus. “Do this and you will live!”
Notice, first, that Jesus really heard the question. The Lawyer wasn’t asking what he had to believe, or claim to believe. He asked what he had to do. So, Jesus didn’t waste any time prescribing a certain doctrine, or liturgy, or exploring the three persons of the Trinity.
Notice, second, that the lawyer knew the answer before he asked the question. He knew there were two commandments that rested right at the heart the Hebrew Scriptures. Maybe he was testing to see whether Jesus knew them, too.
Notice, third, that the ability to quote scripture doesn’t equal the desire to live out God’s will. There are a lot of Bible-pounding preachers who quote verses from here and there and who then compromise in real life.
Notice, fourth, that there’s a certain vagueness here: while the question is about earning eternal life, Jesus points to the love that’s the key to abundant life right here, right now.
No one can guarantee you what heaven is, what it looks like, and who’ll be there. But Jesus guarantees that if you’ll focus on these three loves, you’ll experience a transformation in your very heart.
Love God with your whole being. Love your neighbor. Love yourself – in that particular order. Love God. Love your neighbor. Love Yourself. Now if you manage to do all three and keep them in balance, I want to hear from you. We have an open preaching date on December 30th!
More likely, you’re much better at one of these loves than the others. It’s easy to become so single-minded we’ll sacrifice everything else to achieve one goal:
• the world-class athlete who sacrifices everything for the sake of the Gold medal
• the soldier who sacrifices everything for the sake of the nation
• Paris Hilton who won’t sacrifice anything, even for the sake of Paris Hilton
• the parent who sacrifices everything for the sake of her children
• the monastic monk who sacrifices everything for the sake of God.
We may admire that single mindedness. But Jesus calls us to strike a balance: all three loves, all interwoven, but each distinct. And we know that his Truth is just as true today as it was then. Do this… love like this… and you will live.
We start at the core: love God with your whole being. The upward journey. {I know God isn’t only above us but is within and all around us. Still the image of reaching up to God is powerful for me.} Notice that the law from Deuteronomy doesn’t just say “Love God” period. No, it adds words that intensify the idea. Love God with your heart, soul, mind, and strength… your whole being.
Every day you and I face the pretenders, competing for our affection and our allegiance. Every day we’re bombarded by the tempters that want to be our god. You know the ones. And every day, every moment, we have to decide whether we’ll let something else step into God’s place in our lives. When we let money, sex, or power get a toe hold everything gets turned upside down.
The best way to build a relationship is to spend time together. If you’ve ever loved someone hundreds or thousands of miles away you know how hard that can be. Building your relationship with God means spending time together.
I’m often surprised at how many people believe God is hanging around waiting for you to need something. Then, in a crisis when you cry out God is supposed to say – here I am. Tell me what you want.” No healthy relationship works that way. There needs to be give and take, conversation, maybe even wasting time together.
Sunday worship is an essential starting place. Whatever else we do, here together we set aside the other voices and try to focus on God’s place in our lives. Worship is important but not sufficient. Make time for scripture, prayer and reflection each day. Chisel out some time to be still and to know God. There really isn’t any substitute.
Seek to know and love God with your whole being. You’ll likely stumble and fall short, but this one step will put you on the right path.
Then, says scripture, love your neighbor. The outward journey. This is the expression and extension of our love of God. The New Testament letter of James says that anyone who claims to love God but who hates neighbor is a liar. Do you need more specifics? The Lawyer in today’s reading did. Remember that in the next few verses beyond today’s lesson we read that the Lawyer wanted to justify himself and said “But who is my neighbor?” Again, it seems he wanted more information. Jesus told the story we call the Good Samaritan.
So if you’re tempted to ask “but, Jesus, who is my neighbor,” just turn it around and ask instead: “Jesus, is anyone NOT my neighbor”? Loving God always points us to loving our neighbor.
Third, we’re instructed to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. This is the inward journey. It doesn’t refer to narcissism, or selfishness. It speaks, rather, of a healthy awareness that we are the beloved of God. We are holy because God has made us that way.
You may have caught the speech by environmentalist Bill McKibben to a conference at the University of Southern Maine recently. He talked about doing research for his latest book, Deep Economy, and he was startled to discover that only 25% of people answered “yes” to the question “are you happy with your life”?
That number has been in steady decline since its peak in 1956 – even though the standard of living has tripled in the same number of years. “The data shows Americans are not particularly happy — and that more stuff doesn’t make them happier. I believe that to be true. That Sunday school upbringing that told us that money does not bring happiness is now being affirmed by economists.” [See also – http://wholelifetimes.com/2007/04/mckibben0704.html]
So where does this leave us? What do we need to do to inherit abundant life, eternal life? Well, friends, we don’t need more information.
We need transformation – a shifting of the heart. You and I are here together because we share that common desire. We want to shape our lives according to these three loves.
Could it be that our struggle is simply this: that the more complicated and wired our lives become the easier it is to get pulled off the path? Could it be that the more so-called “conveniences” we have, the harder it is to remember what really matters? Could it be that the more the world seems to cater to us, the harder it is for us to keep our balance?
It’s nothing new. The toys are different but the idea is unchanged from the time of creation. And when we ask the question the Lawyer asked Jesus so long ago, we really don’t need more information. We just need another nudge to get our lives back to the center. We need each other – the community of disciples helping us to maintain our balance and perspective.
Jesus, what do we need to do to gain eternal life? Love God; love your neighbor; love yourself. Do that and you will live.