Love Unbound

A sermon preached by Rev. Dawn M. Hand, Executive Pastor & Chief of Staff at Foundry UMC on April 26, 2015, Fourth Sunday of Easter.

Text:  1 John 3: 16-24                               

Forty-three years ago, in a small church in the southern region, an energetic woman who had helped to start a civil rights law firm felt the urge to help teach a Confirmation class. She had already been a school teacher. Teaching that first Confirmation class would be the start of a long journey of working with and teaching those classes. She has taught several second generations. Last week, this now 75 year-old church mother and the congregation witnessed the confirmation of six vibrant young people including her second grandchild. They also witnessed the congregation’s first third generation confirmation experience. She has taught the grandfather, the son and now the grandson. This is her gift of love.

Perhaps the first thought that crosses our mind about love is the feelings and emotions we experience. For many of us, a song that we hear on the radio or something that we have downloaded on our mobile devices will trigger an emotion. Sometimes it’s unexpected. Just think about that one or maybe two love songs that can really get you going. I imagine many of us have at least one. Then I got to thinking, what are some of the greatest or sappiest long songs. I did a little internet searching and found…

- Roberta Flack’s recording of Killing Me Softly…
- Anne Murray’s – You Needed Me
- Al Green’s – Let’s stay together
- And then this one, Endless Love by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross

Listen to some of these lovely lyrics…

My love
There's only you in my life
The only thing that's right
My first love
You're every breath that I take
You're every step I make
And I
I want to share
All my love with you
No one else will do
And your eyes
They tell me how much you care
Oh yes You will always be
My endless love

Really…

I believe everyone desires to be loved. We like the safety and security of what that brings. We long for the softness and sweetness in being bathed in loving connections. It’s human nature to feel this way. It’s a good thing. There must come a time, though, that expressions of love move beyond the warm feelings to authentic actions.

As John wrote in the first letter, ‘let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and in action.’

That church mother, shows love decade after decade in volunteering her time, harnessing and even spending her own resources to work with and teach children. Recently, I asked her, why do you continue to teach confirmation after all of these years? She talked about how a person in her home church some 65 years or so ago taught a similar class and that made a lasting impact on her. And then she recalled the words of Holy Scripture as recorded in the synoptic gospels, ‘Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom belongs to such as these.’ In the context of church, this life-long civil rights activist believes nurturing children in the faith is her calling. This is one of the ways she extends love - in truth and in action.

As we are in this season of Eastertide, the fifth Sunday in Easter - I believe love is the core, it’s the essence of resurrection… Jesus lived, died and rose in love that was gifted to us by God.

God so loved the world that God gave us God’s only son. This was God’s desire.

In his book, The Magnificent Defeat, Frederick Buechner writes,
“We are children, perhaps, at the very moment when we know that it is as children that God loves us - not because we have deserved his love and not in spite of our undeserving; not because we try and not because we recognize the futility of our trying; but simply because he has chosen to love us.”

My friends, I believe, how we show love to others is a reflection of how we truly value love. Love is an expression that flows from the core of who we are and whose we are.

I think the description of love as ascribed to the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 is the embodiment of love. Most of the time the text is used in weddings. Which is just fine because it illustrates how to establish community. In order to build a strong and faithful community, it takes love.

1 Corinthians 13: ‘Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.’

Again, I say, how we show love to others is a reflection of how we value love.

Now, what I really want to say is, how we show love to others is a reflection of how we honor and love God. I thought that might be a bit too provocative. And, since I tend to shy away from provocative situations…

Not really, here we go…

When 14.7 million children in America are in poverty and even now, 1 in 5 children has a chance of being poor and the younger the child is the poorer the child is likely to be...(1) I wonder what definition of love these young sisters and brothers will come to know. Child poverty is a sin and I believe in this county, one of the wealthiest in the entire universe, we should fix this. What’s holding us back? If these were our children would we act more swiftly? Guess what, they are our children.

When one-fifth of DC residents live in poverty and on any given night there are more than 7,500 homeless individuals (2) … I wonder what definition of love these neighbors will come to know. If we were the ones sleeping on the street, would we want someone to act more swiftly?

When we know that LGBTQ people continue to be discriminated against in the full life of the church, I wonder…

When unarmed folks continue to be killed. When firing a weapon is the first line of defense in situations that may be resolved by other means. I wonder… Yes,
#blacklivesmatter and honestly - all lives matter.

I wonder how the church will show love in these injustices.

Here these words again from John’s first letter, ‘We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us - and we ought to lay down our lives for one another… ‘let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.’

Sisters and brothers, Jesus’ love action was laying down his life for us. This was God’s ultimate gift. A love unbound.

How do we respond in love to God to all of the injustices in our society?

I have a suggestion. Let’s not limit what God can and will do through us, if we open ourselves we will know that there are no bounds to God’s love…

God’s love is not stagnant
God’s love is not bound up
God’s love cannot be restrained or retracted
God’s love cannot be concealed or contained

Throughout human history, there is evidence after evidence of God’s love moving, flowing and being unleashed to encompass the fullness of God’s people.

God’s love - love unbound - liberates…

Opportunities abound for us to show love. Where ever you are employed or volunteering, or serving, whatever your calling is in your chosen profession, whenever you encounter folks in your daily journey, you can extend love in truth and action.

If we as the church won’t do it, how can we expect others to do that which we will not do?

Now, I’m going to say a word about our Holy Conversation taking place here today at 12:30 in the fellowship hall. This conversation is a continuation of house meetings with Pastor Ginger, board and staff retreat, planning sessions, congregational surveys and more. We are listening and opening ourselves to what God is going to do through us. We need you to come and to be a part of this conversation. Staff, members of the Management Board and other key leaders have been working to fashion this gathering. It’s a time for us talk and to listen together about the emerging vision, future board processes, engaging and building stronger ministry teams. This collaborative work will help Foundry extend love in truth and action.

Sisters and brothers, with so many life events that are happening all around us, I understand that some may think that it’s too much, we can’t make a difference. I want to remind those of that were here a couple of weeks when Rev. Dr. Iantha Mills, senior pastor of our sister congregation Asbury, was here. She had calculated the number of churches and people (and that was just United Methodist Churches) that could join together and make 6 million meals for Stop Hunger Now. She also calculated that there are enough faithful people of all religions that could come together and form a human unbroken chain along K street and in Chinatown to shut down human trafficking. I believe we can do more. We have more than enough resources in the district; people, expertise, and yes funding to come alongside other organizations to do our part in combating the injustices of chronic homelessness, child poverty, LGBTQ discrimination, devaluing life - my friends, we can make a difference.

We are an Easter people who live out our faith in this sacred place, we have said that our calling is to ‘Love God, Love Each other and Change the World.
I believe we have the capacity to define our love. What will our love say about us?

(1) http://www.childrensdefense.org/library/PovertyReport/EndingChildPovertyNow.html

(2) http://www.thrivedc.org/what-we-do/homelessness-hunger-in-dc