What is written below isn't exactly what is shared, but because we've started recording our sermons, you can hear them now too. I will post the recordings at the end. I will also post a couple of pictures that I am referring to, for the visual learner.
I am grateful for a voice that spoke up at Flintstone UMC that reminded me at one point in the sermon to add another category to "love thy _______ neighbor." I did. I added it right then and then added it at the next church. I had not meant to leave that category out, but was thinking in basic categories. Things aren't always so basic.
Another reflection is that as I was leaving FUMC to head to SUMC, they were singing "Pass It On". That song gets me. I stayed around for an extra moment or two to soak it in. It probably got me more than normal on this particular Sunday, because it is one of those camp songs I grew up with and this past weekend was a camp reunion weekend. Because of technology, I was able to enjoy some of their gatherings, but not all. I was pretty busy with an awesome weekend myself, with a family wedding in which I was incredibly honored to be not only the Aunt of the Bride, but the Officiant. Rev. Aunt is what I called myself in some of the pictures. :)
Today I saw a quote by Brené Brown that goes along with the sermon, reminding us of everyone's humanity. My 5th grade teacher, Beth Beckler, posted it. Brené Brown's writing and speaking challenge and encourage me. Here is the quote:
“Here’s what I believe: 1. If you are offended or hurt when you hear Hillary Clinton or Maxine Waters called bitch, whore, or the c-word, you should be equally offended and hurt when you hear those same words used to describe Ivanka Trump, Kellyanne Conway, or Theresa May. 2. If you felt belittled when Hillary Clinton called Trump supporters “a basket of deplorables” then you should have felt equally concerned when Eric Trump said “Democrats aren’t even human.” 3. When the president of the United States calls women dogs or talks about grabbing pussy, we should get chills down our spine and resistance flowing through our veins. When people call the president of the United States a pig, we should reject that language regardless of our politics and demand discourse that doesn’t make people subhuman. 4. When we hear people referred to as animals or aliens, we should immediately wonder, “Is this an attempt to reduce someone’s humanity so we can get away with hurting them or denying them basic human rights?” 5. If you’re offended by a meme of Trump Photoshopped to look like Hitler, then you shouldn’t have Obama Photoshopped to look like the Joker on your Facebook feed. There is a line. It’s etched from dignity. And raging, fearful people from the right and left are crossing it at unprecedented rates every single day. We must never tolerate dehumanization—the primary instrument of violence that has been used in every genocide recorded throughout history.”
- Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone
“The
Greatest Commandment”
Mark
12:28-34 (CEB)
November 4th, 2018 (24th Sunday after Pentecost, All
Saints Day/Communion)
Flintstone UMC, Simpson UMC
Mark
12-28-34 (CEB)
28 One of the legal experts heard their dispute and saw how well Jesus answered them. He came over and asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
29 Jesus replied, “The most important one
is Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, 30 and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all
your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength. 31 The second is
this, You will love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than
these.”
32 The legal expert said to
him, “Well said, Teacher. You have truthfully said that God is one and there is
no other besides him. 33 And to love God with all of the heart, a
full understanding, and all of one’s strength, and to love one’s neighbor as
oneself is much more important than all kinds of entirely burned offerings and
sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he
had answered with wisdom, he said to him, “You aren’t far from God’s kingdom.” After that, no one
dared to ask him any more questions.
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THIS
IS THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
THANKS BE TO GOD.
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Today
we celebrate All Saints Day and Holy Communion as we gather together to worship
in spirit and in truth.
Both
All Saints Day and Communion are opportunities for us to remember. We remember those who have gone before us
long ago over the ages to those who have passed more recently. The great cloud of witnesses of the faith
include those we have never met as well as our friends and family members.
During
communion we remember Jesus Christ as we share the body and blood. It is a time set apart for us to remember
Jesus’ life, his love, his teachings.
Today’s
Scripture passage reminds us of the greatest commandment.
Jesus
made it fairly simple to follow the most important aspects of the faith. When asked what the most important
commandment of all was, Jesus replied from the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4-9: Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, 30 and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all
your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength. He
then went on to say: 31 The second is this, You will love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than
these.”
The 10 commandments can be divided into either of these two
commandments.
1-4—these relate to loving God
5-10—these relate to loving neighbor
What DOES it mean to love your neighbor?
I have seen signs on social media to remind me and maybe you have
too.
One is: Love your neighbor—NO EXCEPTIONS. Other signs I saw were in sign or t-shirt
form and said: Love thy ______
neighbor. (FILL IN THE BLANK.)
One said:
Love thy homeless neighbor.
Love thy Muslim neighbor.
Love thy black, gay, white, Jewish, Christian, atheist, racist,
addicted neighbor.
Another sign posted outside of a church had “love thy immigrant
neighbor, thy disabled neighbor”.
We could add:
“Love thy Republican neighbor.
Love thy Democrat neighbor.”
Is there anyone that you find hard to love? Add them to the list.
Our nation has experienced hate crimes this past week—one in
Pittsburgh to our Jewish family as they gathered to worship in the synagogue a
week ago Saturday and in Kentucky at a Kroger grocery store the same weekend,
two African Americans were killed and it was also determined to be a hate
crime.
A quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do
that.”
You may have seen these signs that I’ve seen in yards locally and
in other communities remind us not to hate:
“Hate has no home here”—written in several languages.
If we are allowing hate in our hearts, minds, and actions, then we
are not allowing room for love. We must
make a way to get rid of fear and ignorance so that hate dissipates and love
grows.
Do our words and actions reflect and embody love of God and
neighbor? (Pause.)
Today’s passage invites us to the table of theological dialogue
where we can engage in holy conversations.
Holy conversations allow us to listen to the other.
One author I read this past week writes “Jesus’ response has
created a space down the ages for honest conversation not only across Christian
divides, but also among Jew and Christian and Muslim.” (Cynthia Jarvis, Feasting on the Word, 262.)
We need to create spaces for holy conversations with one another,
especially with those with whom we don’t see eye to eye. It is an opportunity to learn from the other
and to recognize humanity in each other.
Another author stated that we can learn from Jesus’ example of
teaching his disciples: “When Jesus teaches his disciples to love their
neighbors as themselves, he is alluding to the intrinsic equality among humans
that is basic to any conception of justice.” (Victor McCracken, Feasting on the Word, 264)
The Gospel of Jesus Christ of loving God and loving neighbor is
lived out in our daily discipleship.
As you thought about earlier who is the blank in your “love thy
__________ neighbor”, think about inviting that person into a dialogue to learn
more about them, their life, their story.
Having a holy conversation with that person will allow you to see that
person’s humanity.
If you aren’t sure how to have these holy conversations of
listening, these courageous conversations with others, there are resources
available. Let me know. I’ve posted and shared some of them in the
past that relate to humanity and sexuality for General Conference, but the
United Methodist Church has resources on holy listening and guidelines for
conversations on lots of topics that might be helpful for you as you sit down
with the person(s) that fills in the blank for your “love thy ___________
neighbor.”
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we seek to grow in our daily
discipleship so that we can make disciples of Jesus Christ for the
transformation of the world. When we
love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, we are part of the solution.
As you come to the table today to receive the grace offered to you
by Jesus Christ, may you go forth and share it with freely with all others.
Amen.
LINKS TO LISTEN TO SERMON:
Listen to sermon at FUMC
Listen to sermon at SUMC
BULLETIN COVERS and PICTURES:
To read the article connecting Tom Hanks and his comment that went viral with his post to "love thy neighbor", click on the link: https://theincline.com/2018/10/16/tom-hanks-snapped-that-viral-love-thy-neighbor-photo-at-pittsburghs-saint-mary-of-the-mount/
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| http://www.allsoulsdc.org/neighbor |
You can find other signs that are similar for love and for hate not having a home. A sign that we have posted in our yard is "love and acceptance practiced here".
Peace and calm in your journey as you seek to love the other,
Debra
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