Romans 12 March 1, 2009
First Sunday of Lent
40 Days of Community – Part 1
“The Community of the Cross”
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer
I just love pecan turtle sundaes. I love standing in front of a fire after coming in from the cold. I love putting on my sweatpants after a long day in dress clothes. I love the way the trees look on the top of the mountain after an ice storm. I love golden retriever puppies, and the feel of a newborn baby sleeping in your arms, and the funny little faces they make in that deep sleep. I love putting on my dad’s old shirt and thinking about him while I do stuff around the house. I love the sound of a stream in the mountains, and the silence that falls with the snow. I love it when I’ve lost 5 pounds and my jeans fit better. I love it when the newsletters are done each month, and I love hearing you laugh in small groups and meetings. I love the fact that my car is still working really well and that it will be paid off in 5 more months! I love playing the piano, and I love hearing you sing songs of praise to God.
Take a few minutes right now, and think of one thing you love. It can’t be a person – it has to be a non-person thing. Now, turn to someone beside you, and tell that person something that you love. Go ahead.
Let us pray: O God, as an act of worship, we come to submit ourselves to your word today. We come giving our time, our attention, and perhaps giving to you a way of thinking that needs corrected by your word. Thank you for your beautiful words of life, and for the gift of the Holy Spirit who brings your words to life – our teacher, our counselor, our comforter, the Spirit of Truth. This we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
We said, “I love this,” or “I love that.” What did we mean when we said to each other, “I love ____?” Do we mean that this thing I say I love, let’s say a pecan turtle sundae is something I look forward to – something that makes me happy – something that makes me feel good inside? I’ve heard it said, “I hate the dentist.” I’ve said that before. But, one of our best friends is a dentist. So, I try to say, “I hate going to the dentist,” instead of saying that I hate the dentist. When you told each other something that you loved, did anyone say, “I love going to the dentist?” I doubt it. We don’t really look forward to going, it doesn’t really make us feel happy or good inside to go to the dentist – or to go get a colonoscopy – or a mammogram – or to go have our braces tightened – or - well, you get the point.
So, is this what love is – an excited feeling of anticipation about something or someone, feeling happy or good inside about something or someone? Does the fact that I don’t love the challenge it is to try to get to sleep some nights with a fellow who twitches and snores mean that I don’t love my husband of 31 years? (I don’t look forward to it and it doesn’t make me feel happy or good inside.) What is love?
We heard last Sunday what the Bible says about love. The Bible says that love is a command, that love is a choice, that love is a commitment. My husband says that love is a discipline – which let’s face it, it doesn’t make us feel really happy or good inside to think about love being a discipline or a command. It sounds sort of emotionally detached, I think. But it’s true. Love is a discipline - like brushing your teeth, like practicing your foul shots, like exercising. The more you do it, the better you get at it. The more you do it, the more natural it becomes. John 13:34 tells us, “A new command I give you, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
Listen now to God’s word as proclaimed by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:
1I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Paul is saying here that choosing to obey God, and in the context of our teaching about love, we can say that Paul is telling us that choosing to love each other as God commands, choosing to remain committed to each other, not because of mercy we have within us, but through the mercies given to us by God, choosing to love each other is an act of worship – it is a way of expressing our love for God. Just coming in here on Sunday mornings isn’t the only time of worship we have in a week – this is group worship of God – but every minute of our lives 24/7 is supposed to be an act of worship in thanksgiving to God for what he has done for us. And so, to choose to love others around us, even those we don’t particularly get along with, qualifies as an act of worship – because you’re saying to God, “I trust what you tell me to do more than I trust the way I feel.” “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. So, don’t allow the messages of the world to define love for you (and by the world I mean that realm of understanding that is not based on God’s truth as revealed to us in Scripture). Listen to some lyrics from popular songs:
Believe In A Thing Called Love (composer unknown)
Can't explain all the feelings
that you're making me feel
My heart's in overdrive
and you're behind the steering wheel.
Love is a Many Splendored Thing (Frank Sinatra)
Love is a many-splendored thing,
It's the April rose
that only grows in the early spring,
Love is nature's way of giving
a reason to be living,
The golden crown that makes a man a king.
Once on a high and windy hill,
In the morning mist two lovers kissed
and the world stood still,
Then your fingers touched my silent heart
and taught it how to sing,
Yes, true love's a many-splendored thing.
What Is This Thing Called Love (Cole Porter)
I was a humdrum person leading a life apart
when love flew in through my window wide
and quickened my humdrum heart
love flew in through my window
I was so happy then
but after love had stayed a little while love
flew out again
what is this thing called love
this funny thing called love
just who can solve its mystery
why should it make a fool of me?
I saw you there one wonderful day
you took my heart and threw it away
thats why I ask the Lord in heaven above
what is this thing called love?
what is this thing called love
this funny thing called love
just who can solve its mystery
why should it make a fool of me?
2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. It is difficult not to be conformed to this world – not to believe that love is all about feelings that fly in and out of the window of our heart as frequently as a mother bird flies in and out of her nest.
True love, as exhibited by Jesus evokes feelings (that’s why people followed him, he stirred up all sorts of feelings in people) – and so we are not emotionless when we love according to the will of God – but we must understand that God’s command to his people is to choose to love each other in word and deed even when we do not feel like it.
3For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment (definition of sober: judgement that is based on facts and rational thinking) which in our case here means based on biblical truth, not irrational feelings, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
So, according to rational biblical truth, why should we choose to love in such an unnatural way?
4For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We should choose to love because we belong to each other. Like it or not, when we gave our lives to Jesus Christ, we became part of the one body of Christ, forever. (Turn to the person beside you and say, “You’re stuck with me forever.) And it’s hard because we’re so different. Listen to the next several verses that accentuate our differences:
6We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Paul then goes on to give us some practical ways to show love:
9Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. 14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
“A new command I give you, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
How did Jesus express his love for us? He presented his body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Apart from his sacrifice for us as the perfect sacrificial Lamb, we could not know God. We could not know God’s peace in the midst of trials, we could not attain God’s hope when things seems hopeless. Apart from Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross, we would live lives that would be filled with a lot of emotion – a lot of happy, a lot of sad, a lot of laughter, a lot of tears – but those lives would eventually wind down to final days and final hours and final moments. It is said often that at the end of our lives it will not be the hours we spent at work that we celebrate. It will not be the hours we spent raising money for any sort of good cause. It will not be the hours that we spent doing this or doing that that will pass before our eyes in our final hours. At the end of our lives what will matter most to us is our relationships – who did we love well and who loved us well, in spite of our sinful ways.
Will you – will I choose to learn and practice loving each other in more intentional ways during these 40 days of Lent? Will we look for ways we can encourage each other and build each other up? Will we let go of past hurts and choose to live and love right here, right now? On the cross Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”
If we’ve been coming to church for any length of time, if we’ve read some of the Bible, if we have received Christ as our Savior, meaning that the Holy Spirit is alive within us, and we choose not to love each other, choosing to remain isolated in our faith, let’s be clear: Jesus’ words, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing,” do not apply – because we do know – don’t we? We know it when we’re not loving as Christ calls us to love, and making the choice to continue to live that way will eventually either drive us away from the church out of shame, guilt, or anger, or drive us deeper still into the arms of a merciful Father. I always pray for the latter.
Love is a command. It is a choice. It is a commitment. It is a discipline. Love, as shown to us by Jesus, is a many splendored thing – It is like a diamond – sparkling in a very rough and tough world. Biblical love shown in Christian community is like a magnet. It draws people. It is majestic. It takes your breath away as you watch others choosing to lay down their own agendas for the sake of caring for others – to the point that the whole church becomes reflective of the cross itself - a community of the cross – compassionate, compelling, real, life-giving, and eternal. May it be so of us by the mercies of God. Amen.
First Sunday of Lent
40 Days of Community – Part 1
“The Community of the Cross”
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer
I just love pecan turtle sundaes. I love standing in front of a fire after coming in from the cold. I love putting on my sweatpants after a long day in dress clothes. I love the way the trees look on the top of the mountain after an ice storm. I love golden retriever puppies, and the feel of a newborn baby sleeping in your arms, and the funny little faces they make in that deep sleep. I love putting on my dad’s old shirt and thinking about him while I do stuff around the house. I love the sound of a stream in the mountains, and the silence that falls with the snow. I love it when I’ve lost 5 pounds and my jeans fit better. I love it when the newsletters are done each month, and I love hearing you laugh in small groups and meetings. I love the fact that my car is still working really well and that it will be paid off in 5 more months! I love playing the piano, and I love hearing you sing songs of praise to God.
Take a few minutes right now, and think of one thing you love. It can’t be a person – it has to be a non-person thing. Now, turn to someone beside you, and tell that person something that you love. Go ahead.
Let us pray: O God, as an act of worship, we come to submit ourselves to your word today. We come giving our time, our attention, and perhaps giving to you a way of thinking that needs corrected by your word. Thank you for your beautiful words of life, and for the gift of the Holy Spirit who brings your words to life – our teacher, our counselor, our comforter, the Spirit of Truth. This we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
We said, “I love this,” or “I love that.” What did we mean when we said to each other, “I love ____?” Do we mean that this thing I say I love, let’s say a pecan turtle sundae is something I look forward to – something that makes me happy – something that makes me feel good inside? I’ve heard it said, “I hate the dentist.” I’ve said that before. But, one of our best friends is a dentist. So, I try to say, “I hate going to the dentist,” instead of saying that I hate the dentist. When you told each other something that you loved, did anyone say, “I love going to the dentist?” I doubt it. We don’t really look forward to going, it doesn’t really make us feel happy or good inside to go to the dentist – or to go get a colonoscopy – or a mammogram – or to go have our braces tightened – or - well, you get the point.
So, is this what love is – an excited feeling of anticipation about something or someone, feeling happy or good inside about something or someone? Does the fact that I don’t love the challenge it is to try to get to sleep some nights with a fellow who twitches and snores mean that I don’t love my husband of 31 years? (I don’t look forward to it and it doesn’t make me feel happy or good inside.) What is love?
We heard last Sunday what the Bible says about love. The Bible says that love is a command, that love is a choice, that love is a commitment. My husband says that love is a discipline – which let’s face it, it doesn’t make us feel really happy or good inside to think about love being a discipline or a command. It sounds sort of emotionally detached, I think. But it’s true. Love is a discipline - like brushing your teeth, like practicing your foul shots, like exercising. The more you do it, the better you get at it. The more you do it, the more natural it becomes. John 13:34 tells us, “A new command I give you, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
Listen now to God’s word as proclaimed by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:
1I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Paul is saying here that choosing to obey God, and in the context of our teaching about love, we can say that Paul is telling us that choosing to love each other as God commands, choosing to remain committed to each other, not because of mercy we have within us, but through the mercies given to us by God, choosing to love each other is an act of worship – it is a way of expressing our love for God. Just coming in here on Sunday mornings isn’t the only time of worship we have in a week – this is group worship of God – but every minute of our lives 24/7 is supposed to be an act of worship in thanksgiving to God for what he has done for us. And so, to choose to love others around us, even those we don’t particularly get along with, qualifies as an act of worship – because you’re saying to God, “I trust what you tell me to do more than I trust the way I feel.” “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. So, don’t allow the messages of the world to define love for you (and by the world I mean that realm of understanding that is not based on God’s truth as revealed to us in Scripture). Listen to some lyrics from popular songs:
Believe In A Thing Called Love (composer unknown)
Can't explain all the feelings
that you're making me feel
My heart's in overdrive
and you're behind the steering wheel.
Love is a Many Splendored Thing (Frank Sinatra)
Love is a many-splendored thing,
It's the April rose
that only grows in the early spring,
Love is nature's way of giving
a reason to be living,
The golden crown that makes a man a king.
Once on a high and windy hill,
In the morning mist two lovers kissed
and the world stood still,
Then your fingers touched my silent heart
and taught it how to sing,
Yes, true love's a many-splendored thing.
What Is This Thing Called Love (Cole Porter)
I was a humdrum person leading a life apart
when love flew in through my window wide
and quickened my humdrum heart
love flew in through my window
I was so happy then
but after love had stayed a little while love
flew out again
what is this thing called love
this funny thing called love
just who can solve its mystery
why should it make a fool of me?
I saw you there one wonderful day
you took my heart and threw it away
thats why I ask the Lord in heaven above
what is this thing called love?
what is this thing called love
this funny thing called love
just who can solve its mystery
why should it make a fool of me?
2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. It is difficult not to be conformed to this world – not to believe that love is all about feelings that fly in and out of the window of our heart as frequently as a mother bird flies in and out of her nest.
True love, as exhibited by Jesus evokes feelings (that’s why people followed him, he stirred up all sorts of feelings in people) – and so we are not emotionless when we love according to the will of God – but we must understand that God’s command to his people is to choose to love each other in word and deed even when we do not feel like it.
3For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment (definition of sober: judgement that is based on facts and rational thinking) which in our case here means based on biblical truth, not irrational feelings, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
So, according to rational biblical truth, why should we choose to love in such an unnatural way?
4For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We should choose to love because we belong to each other. Like it or not, when we gave our lives to Jesus Christ, we became part of the one body of Christ, forever. (Turn to the person beside you and say, “You’re stuck with me forever.) And it’s hard because we’re so different. Listen to the next several verses that accentuate our differences:
6We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Paul then goes on to give us some practical ways to show love:
9Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. 14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
“A new command I give you, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
How did Jesus express his love for us? He presented his body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Apart from his sacrifice for us as the perfect sacrificial Lamb, we could not know God. We could not know God’s peace in the midst of trials, we could not attain God’s hope when things seems hopeless. Apart from Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross, we would live lives that would be filled with a lot of emotion – a lot of happy, a lot of sad, a lot of laughter, a lot of tears – but those lives would eventually wind down to final days and final hours and final moments. It is said often that at the end of our lives it will not be the hours we spent at work that we celebrate. It will not be the hours we spent raising money for any sort of good cause. It will not be the hours that we spent doing this or doing that that will pass before our eyes in our final hours. At the end of our lives what will matter most to us is our relationships – who did we love well and who loved us well, in spite of our sinful ways.
Will you – will I choose to learn and practice loving each other in more intentional ways during these 40 days of Lent? Will we look for ways we can encourage each other and build each other up? Will we let go of past hurts and choose to live and love right here, right now? On the cross Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”
If we’ve been coming to church for any length of time, if we’ve read some of the Bible, if we have received Christ as our Savior, meaning that the Holy Spirit is alive within us, and we choose not to love each other, choosing to remain isolated in our faith, let’s be clear: Jesus’ words, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing,” do not apply – because we do know – don’t we? We know it when we’re not loving as Christ calls us to love, and making the choice to continue to live that way will eventually either drive us away from the church out of shame, guilt, or anger, or drive us deeper still into the arms of a merciful Father. I always pray for the latter.
Love is a command. It is a choice. It is a commitment. It is a discipline. Love, as shown to us by Jesus, is a many splendored thing – It is like a diamond – sparkling in a very rough and tough world. Biblical love shown in Christian community is like a magnet. It draws people. It is majestic. It takes your breath away as you watch others choosing to lay down their own agendas for the sake of caring for others – to the point that the whole church becomes reflective of the cross itself - a community of the cross – compassionate, compelling, real, life-giving, and eternal. May it be so of us by the mercies of God. Amen.
