love one another’ means…

September 3, 2023

Scripture: Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28

Isn’t it just like God to choose to set aside and consecrate a man who got his start persecuting the followers of Jesus, one who sought to stamp out and bring about an end to this fledgling movement started by Jesus from the moment he was crucified. Saul of Tarsus…who was to become the Apostle Paul, was as Roman and as Jewish as they came. He was well educated, he knew the scriptures extremely well, and he had no interest whatsoever in breaking away from his High Temple Jewish upbringing and beliefs to take up the teachings of this apparent ‘rabbi come lately’ from Galilee.

In fact, it took quite some doing for God to break through all of ‘who Paul thought he was’, and all of what he previously had ‘held on to’, in order to get him to realize that his wanton persecution was wrongly placed. As you may recall, Paul was once again on a murderous mission to hunt down and root out followers of Jesus in the city of Damascus when he was literally knocked to the ground and struck blind by the Lord. I guess some people really do need a bit more convincing than others!

But after three days of total blindness in Damascus, Paul was visited by a man named Ananias whom the Lord had sent, and after he laid his hands upon him, Paul received his sight again, now fully convinced, converted, and committed to follow this Jesus who had chosen to introduce himself in such a striking and literally life-changing manner. And as you also know, most of the latter part of the New Testament is comprised of letters written by Paul to the various churches he visited in the years to follow, in his attempts to find and convert new believers to follow after this ‘one’ who had ‘found’ him.

And I say all this because it really is no small task to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Although hopefully not too many of us need to be ‘found’ by our Lord in as striking a manner as was Paul. But however it is we each came to believe in the lordship of Jesus Christ, actually following after the teachings and instructions Jesus gave to his followers, is no easy task.

For his part, Paul seemed to catch on fairly quickly as we can see from his writings. However, even his instructions can be deeply challenging. And while some of Paul’s teachings are definitely bound to his particular time, and the situations he found in the various churches and communities he traveled to, I would submit that his words, both last week and again today from the twelfth chapter of his letter to the Romans, are some of the most complete instructions we have in terms of how it is we are to live into the call of our Lord.

Last week we looked at the difference between being ‘conformed’ to the ways and wiles of the world, as opposed to being ‘transformed’ by a complete renewal of our mind. A conversion of heart, mind, and soul if you will, enabling us to hear and to see what it is that God is asking of each one of us. And last week’s introductory verses set the stage for this week’s lesson, which I would contend is one of the most complete listings of how it is we are called to live into the commandment that Jesus himself said was the ‘greatest one’, his commandment to ‘love one another, as I have loved you’.

Now in my experience, people seem to find God, when they feel they most need him. In my years of serving in the church, in my years as a businessman, and in my time as a husband, father, brother, and friend, I have seen so many turn and look for God when they were faced with extremely difficult times or situations. But, I have also seen whole groups of people finding and then dwelling in the presence of God together, as a result of the difficult circumstances present in all of their lives.

Now I am not just talking about ‘group response’ to outside threats, such as when our whole nation rallied in response to the attacks on 9/11, or our national response to what seems to be an increasing frequency of large scale tragedies such as the devastation and loss just recently in Maui, Hawaii.

No, I am also talking about the depth of spirituality, and the level of true reliance upon the Lord of those who as a group, find themselves struggling with poverty, or any of the varying degrees of prejudice that seem so prevalent of late as well. Prejudice, that unfortunately is usually based on nothing more than a failure by some to recognize the image of our Lord on the face of another…and that failure usually by those not suffering from or subject to those same circumstances or inequities. All too often, both in our nation and in others around the world I have traveled to or read about, I have witnessed deep and authentic spirituality among those who are the least able to even imagine what the ‘good life’ in America is really like.

Which is in no way to criticize or cast aspersions on those who have plenty, or even more than enough, but rather to say that Paul’s hard-learned lessons on just how challenging an encounter with Jesus can be, may find parallels in our own attempts at learning to ‘love one another’ in all of the ways so carefully laid out in today’s lesson.

That said, what does it mean to really and unconditionally love another, and how are we to do so? How might it affect our daily lives to first learn, and then to actually commit to following after this singular commandment, upon which Jesus based so much of his message and teaching. What does ‘loving one another’ actually mean to us…here and now?

First, Paul says our love must be genuine, it must be extended without reservation, be sincere, and offered as freely as God’s love was offered to us. Paul says we must learn to love one another with mutual affection, and outdo one another in showing honor…or the highest of respect.

He goes on to tell us to be passionate in all our service to the Lord and to one another, to rejoice in hope, to be patient in times of suffering, and to persevere in prayer. As I said, this is no easy path to follow, but it is the way that leads to a life of abundant peace and a deep-seated joy.

At this point, Paul puts in what may look like a plug for himself and all those serving the Lord in this way as he calls for believers to contribute towards the needs of those serving in this way. But in that same sentence, he lays down a condition that can be very challenging indeed, and especially in these times, when he adds that we must be willing to extend hospitality to strangers…something that is not always within many people’s comfort zone!

And if you think that is tough, he follows up with the injunction to ‘bless those who persecute you’! Now I do not have to tell you how difficult that may be…in fact it seems to fly in the face not only of common sense, but against our internal impulses and hard-wired instincts as well. But truth be told…by telling us not to curse, but rather to bless those who persecute us, Paul is in fact giving us the tools to actually disarm those same persecutors…even if the immediate effect may seem contrary to that.

After that in our passage, Paul brings us back to what at first may seem like a more comfortable place when he instructs us to ‘rejoice with those who rejoice, and to weep with those who weep’. And I say ‘at first’, because in order to really participate in the inner life of another, we need to take the time to really get to know them…which in turn often requires that we allow ourselves to become vulnerable as well. We cannot know why one rejoices unless we know what gave rise to those feelings to begin with…and we cannot actually ‘weep with another’, unless we allow ourselves to feel and to internalize whatever it is that is the cause of that weeping in the first place.

Paul is not asking us here to just embrace, or seek to provide comfort to another in their distress, but rather, to enter into their struggle, to the degree that we too might be moved to tears…that is genuine and authentic loving of another.

And then in verse 18, Paul offers what I believe is one of the greatest challenges of all in this business of living into the commandment to love just as Jesus did. In this verse Paul sums us his ‘love instructions’ by asking us to be fully and faithfully responsible for both the content and character of our relationships with others when he says, ‘so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all’.

Now admittedly, there will be times when doing such is just not possible, times when living, or even being near someone in a peaceful manner is difficult if not impossible…times when all our efforts at loving seem insufficient, times when another simply refuses to allow God’s love to enter their hearts no matter who is extending it. And in those times we must refer back to Paul’s call to persevere in prayer, trusting that the Holy Spirit is still in the process of preparing that unreceptive heart.

But those instances will be few and far between if we follow all of the other words Paul has offered. If we…

…are genuine and authentic in all our attempts to love…

…if we love with mutual affection and seek to outdo one another in showing honor and respect…

…if we rejoice with those who rejoice, and learn to truly weep with those who weep…

…if we gladly welcome strangers, and bless those who cause us distress…

… and…

…if in the end, we seek to live together in harmony as we strive to live peaceably with all. For that is what ‘love one another’ truly means.

…may it ever be so…amen