As
soon as the newlyweds returned from their honeymoon, the young bride called her
mother, who lived a couple of hours away. "How did everything go?"
her mom asked.
"Oh,
mother," she began, "The honeymoon was wonderful! So romantic, we had
a terrific time. But, mother, on our way back, Andy started using really
horrible language. Stuff I'd never heard before. Really terrible four-letter
words. You've got to come get me and take me home. Please, Mother!" the
new bride sobbed over the telephone.
"But,
honey," the mother countered, "What four-letter words?"
"I
can't tell you, mother, they're too awful! Come get me, please!"
"Darling,
you must tell me what has gotten you so upset.... Tell mother what four-letter
words he used."
Still
sobbing, the bride said, "Mother, words like dust, wash, iron, cook."
When
we speak of four-letter words we are referring to words that are considered
"dirty" or "nasty" . . . they are negative words that
derive bad feelings in us. They are also
words that we use to express dislike and anger.
They are offensive words.
Whatever the case, they are words that our mommas taught us not to say .
. . especially if we were proper ladies and gentlemen. I think that most of us here know what the
four-letter words are; and, if you don't we can meet up later after the worship
service and I can give you a quick lesson.
In
our scripture reading this morning Jesus uses a four-letter word . . . though I
do not think that he intended it to be an offensive four-letter word; but,
none-the-less, he used a four-letter word.
Jesus said, "Love."
Actually what he said was, “‘Love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first
and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" In other words, love God, love people,
love everything . . . love, love, love.
And
why does Jesus want everyone to "love"?
He
went on to say that "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments.” In the mind and heart of Jesus this
was the whole foundation of life . . . the whole foundation of faith and being
faithful . . . it was what God wants from the children. Everything that God wants hinges on the
ability to love . . . to love God . . . to love one another . . . to love,
love, love. Everything!
So
why would I be standing before you telling you that "love" is a
four-letter word . . . a four-letter word along the lines of being
offensive? Well, for one thing it is a
four-letter word . . . l, o, v, e . . . one, two, three, four letters. For another, I would just ask you to take a
moment and to consider the world in which we live in . . . to get a mental
picture of the world from all the news that we see on television, read in the
newspaper, hear on the radio. It is not
a pretty picture when we consider the world in which we live in as it is filled
with violence, war, famine, starvation, hatred and prejudice, injustice, abuse,
rape, slurs, and on and on the list could go.
Ours is not a pretty picture that we see in our minds, nor in our
hearts.
Maybe
that is too big of a picture to grasp.
If that is the case then I would ask you to just picture the world in
our neck of the woods. There is not a
day that goes by that I do not read articles in the local newspaper telling me
about violence and abuse, drugs and alcohol misuse, prejudices, illnesses,
injustice, rape, murder, death, hatred . . . just plain ol' nastiness. Even when zooming in on a smaller picture of
the world, the world still looks--as my two-year old granddaughter would say,
"Yucky."
Does
either of these pictures look like or reflect "love"?
Psychologists
and counselors, and even enlightened ministers, will tell you that our actions
as individuals or as groups reflect what we believe and live. Thus it is that this picture of the world
that we see . . . this yucky picture . . . really is not showing
"love". In fact, despite the
lip service of most of the world towards this idea of "love", the
reality is that we--as the children of God, all of us--are still a long, long
way from doing what Jesus told everyone to do.
We do not love God very well . . . we do not love our neighbors well . .
. and, we do not love ourselves. When it
comes to love, we cringe at the mere sound of the word . . . especially in the
way that Jesus intended us to embrace.
It is offensive. It is a
four-letter word.
Now
you are probably thinking that the pastor is a little off his rocker this
morning by insinuating that we are a people who are offended by the word
"love". Offended because it is
a word that when it is broken down as Jesus as broken it down . . . love God,
love others, and love yourselves . . . it becomes something that is quite
difficult to do. We are also offended by
the fact that Jesus also said that this word . . . this four-letter word . . .
was the whole foundation of life and how we are to live it. All the law and words of the prophets hangs
on this ability to "love".
Love is easier said than done . . . love is tough work. Because of that, I think that
"love" is one of those four-letter words we shy away from in our
lives. Remember, look around the world .
. . what do you see? Do you see
"love"?
I
have said it many times, we have millions and millions of laws and rules to
make us live up to two commandments . . . actually, one
commandment--"love". When one
gets down to the brass tacks of all the laws and rules there are in life they
all come down to how we are going to treat one another . . . with
"love". That is what Jesus
wants us to do . . . Jesus wants us to "love".
But
it is hard to love that person in our life who likes to flaunt and rub our
noses in his or her wealth. It is hard
to love the team that keeps beating our team.
Hard to love the person who looks different than us, talks different
than us, and doesn't really care how we look or talk. It is hard to love those who think
politically different than we do. Hard
to love those whose religion is not our religion . . . whose sexuality is
different than ours . . . and our in a different socio-economic class than we
are. It is hard to love a Griz when one
is a Bobcat fan. This "love"
stuff--at least the way Jesus expects it--is tough to do.
Yet,
Jesus gave us some clues as to where we are supposed to start. We start with God . . . we start by receiving
and accepting the intimate relationship God offers us because, you see, God
really, really desires to have a relationship with each and every one of
us. We step into the love and allow it
to overwhelm us and open in us the ability to love in a like manner . . . we
allow it to open our hearts to this mystery of grace. In this relationship in which God receives us
just as we are, we learn what it means to love with no strings attached. We learn to love God and love ourselves. If God can love us--just as we are, then why
shouldn't we be able to love ourselves?
This
is the key to the second part of "love" . . . loving others as we
love ourselves. If we love ourselves for
who God created us to be and for whom God loves, then we can love others in a
like manner.
Upon
all of this hinges all the laws and words of the prophets . . . upon this is
the foundation of life and living . . . upon this is the key to the Kingdom of
God.
If
the world is ever going to change . . . ever going to be what God desires it to
be . . . then we have to "love".
Love as Jesus wants us to love, not as the world wants us to. Jesus never said it would be easy, but he did
say that it was the only way . . . and, it begins with us as individuals. I imagine there are times when we just wish
Jesus would quit using that four-letter word . . . but, we can't. We are the children of God . . . created in
the image of God . . . chips off the ol' block; and, we are the followers of
Jesus. Let us go forth and love. Amen.
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