Let us Pray - Creator and maker of us all - bless the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts - grow thou in us and show us your ways and inspire us to live by your truth.
Amen
In my devotional for today it said: Walk in love, grow up in every way and in all things. Those words are based on Ephesians 4:15 and are not part of the today's text but are relevant to the message. I leave you to think about it
When Samuel asked me to give the message today he did not he never does - tell me what to say, nor what the lesson should be - relying on me to find my way on my own.
So I found out what the text is for today and boy oh boy I read it - and read it again and again - asking what is the message here?
The Ten Commandments, the foretelling of Jesus' Passion, Death and Resurrection and the cleansing of the Temple how can I relate that to what's going on in the world right now?
I look at what's going on in the world well you can't help it. Turn on the radio or the television - open the newspaper - and we are literally bombarded with words and images images of war
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Can we change what's going on in Iraq no we cannot.
Can we change what's going on inside ourselves? Can we change how we react to the rest of the world?
Yes we can!
The Ten Commandments are a sign of God's love and care.
The Ten Commandments which we heard read this morning - were given by God to the people of Israel after God delivered them from bondage in the land of Egypt. They were given to the people as part of the covenant God offered to them - a covenant that they were free to accept or reject a covenant in which God promised to be their God and to watch over them and protect them.
From this covenant we get the name of the first part of the Bible - the Old Testament.
The word Testament is a translation of the word Covenant.
The Old Testament was given to Israel by God through Moses.
The New Testament is given to us by God through Christ.
The New Testament also has its law.
Jesus told his disciples:
A new commandment I give to you -- that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one anther. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples - if you have love for one another.
The law of God is a sign of the love of God.
It is meant for our good, no matter how restrictive it may appear at times, or how narrow-minded it may seem to be at first.
The law should always be interpreted by love.
Jesus refused to walk the path of compromise when it came to the law - indeed he pointed out the Spirit of the Law of Love is far more demanding than the written letter of the law.
Where the Ten Commandments outlaw adultery, Jesus outlaws even the thought of adultery.
Where the Ten Commandments outlaw murder, Jesus outlaws even the hateful intent.
The law is given to us out of love. It is designed to keep us safe and provide us with guidance and light as we navigate the potholes of this world.
The Law, the Ten Commandments are "cords of love," fences if you will, outlining our boundaries, our safety and our freedom to live in peace and harmony.
It is strange how we view the Law as something to prevent our happiness instead of as something designed to maximize it. Any parent, worth her salt, can tell you that she doesn't make up rules just for kicks, just to be high-handed. She makes up rules to keep her children safe and to strengthen the peace and harmony of the home and of family life together.
So generous and kind is that covenant - the covenant that we have in Christ, that a promise is made to us - the promise that when we break the law, and then realize what we have done and are repentant, that God will forgive us.
The law should not be a cause of loosing heart for us, but rather a cause for joy - for it is the expression of God's love for us - every bit as much as Christ's death on the cross is an expression of God's love for us.
And in giving law, God, paradoxically, gave his people the gift of freedom. For law limits the demand. It says you must do this and you must not do that; and then shuts up. For law is about limits. It does not seek to control all of life; it seeks only to control actions that are harmful.
OK, so where is this leading?
We cannot change the world. We can change something in ourselves and by that change some things in our immediate world.
We all know how attitude can dictate a reaction.
One of the girls, Linda, that I work with broke her arm a while back and had to go to the emergency room at the hospital. It was late in the day; there was only one doctor on duty and a long line of patients waiting for his attention. Finally it was Linda's turn she was hurting and in tears and did not want the doctor to touch her. He was frustratingly busy and had no time to be gentle with her and started to grab her arm in order to check her fracture. Linda of course did not want any part of that and jerked away from him causing him to say some un-repeatable words.
Linda could have gotten more upset and that would have been the normal and predictable reaction, but instead she looked the doctor in the eye and softly said: you are having a rough day, aren't you?
Linda told me later that she did not know why she did it, but that the doctor visibly relaxed, said yeah, I am, and then focused 100% on her, got her fracture treated quickly, efficiently and without causing her too much pain. What could have turned in to a horrible experience became something entirely different just because of a few kind words.
Linda changed her immediate world and learned a valuable lesson as well.
How often do we because of our frustratingly busy lives loose patience with our kids, our better halves or the little old lady in the line-up checking her purse for exact change?
Here is what I would like you all to do for the rest of Lent:
I do not want you to give something up for Lent you are probably already doing that. It is not all about giving things up. It is also about adding good things to our lives and to others' lives the kind of good things that follow on what Jesus asks of us. I would like you to change your immediate world.
Do acts of kindness for people, just because they are there - giving them little tastes of God's love.
Reconcile yourself to someone you don't like, or even hate, or did something bad to, or just deliberately stayed away from.
Take half an hour away from your too busy life and go for a walk someplace quiet and peaceful.
Hug someone call someone.
Study, meditate, and pray over one or two scripture passages for each day. A daily devotional will give you a new passage each day.
Think about God while doing daily routine work or chores like dishes and making the beds.
Or think of a place you come to regularly - like sitting in your car twice daily waiting for the traffic to clear and each time think where Christ might be in this place, what He might do there or lead you to do.
Attend special worship services. Perhaps it's a liturgical church's daily morning or evening prayer service. Perhaps it's a Wednesday Lenten service. Or maybe it's time you started going to the Sunday morning services every Sunday.
Are you working down town? At lunchtime simply go to one of the many churches when there is a recital or when the church organist is rehearsing.
Try to find a new way every day to bring to mind Jesus' death on the cross, and why it happened.
Pray for your friends, your family and pray even more for your enemies.
Ask God for forgiveness, ask Him to be your guide in whatever you do. Billy Graham once said: Heaven is full of answers to prayers for which no one ever bothered to ask.
This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good.
Make a change in someone's life small or large. Maybe that person in turn makes a positive change in someone else's life and so on and so on
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It is hard
To forget
To apologize
To save money
To be unselfish
To avoid mistakes
To keep out of a rut
To begin all over again
To make the best of all things
To keep your temper at all times
To think first and act afterwards
To maintain a high standard
To keep on keeping on
To shoulder blame
To be charitable
To admit error
To take advice
To forgive
But it pays!
- based on Matthew 7:1-2
The love of Christ which forgives us and saves us - the love which we are called to show to one another, the love which embodies the fulfilment and completion of the law - that love is found in every one who believes in him and seeks to walk as he walked, trusting in God and in his word.
Listen to that love - listen to the Lord your God - and be faithful.
Praise be to God - now and evermore.
Amen
Anne Jorgensen
March 23, 2003
Rev. Samuel King-Kabu
January 25, 2004