This year was a sad year for many football fans because it marked the end of an era. The historic Veterans stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was closed for good. The turf was horrendous and opposing players dreaded the trip to the vet because with one step, a career could be ended. But it wasn’t just the field conditions that were struck fear into the hearts of men. What made the Vet such an opposing place was the fans in the stands.
How bad were they? Well first consider that it is the only stadium that came complete with both a judge and a jail to imprison rowdy fans. In 1999, when Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin laid on the field for 20 minutes, suffering from a neck injury that ended his career the eagle fans celebrated and cheered. Matthew Scott, the only person in the United States to have received a hand transplant, was asked by the Phillies to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the team’s home opener in 1999. The pitch, from his transplanted hand, dribbled over the plate so the fans booed him off the field. During a half time show near Christmas time, Eagles fans famously blasted Santa Claus with a shower of snowballs as St. Nick circled helplessly around the field before stadium officials had to rescue him. Perhaps one of the most famous incidents happened in 1989 during a game with the Dallas Cowboys, when a very prominent attorney was taking bets that nobody could throw a snowball and hit the Cowboys bench from that distance. He lost the bet as the Cowboys bench was pelted with snow and ice causing them to flee for their lives. The next day, that famous attorney’s name was revealed in the Philadelphia Inquirer. His name is Edward G. Rendell and two years later, he was elected mayor of Philadelphia.
Now I tell you all this because as you know Philadelphia is known as…the city of brotherly love! Somehow it just doesn’t seem to fit does it? But you know often we as Christians fail to live up to what we are called to be. If there is one thing that should be a distinguishing characteristic of a Christian it should be this…love. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandments were He said it was this, “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.” Paul said, “ If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” But often love is the one thing lacking in our churches. To often people walk away from the church claiming that they didn’t feel loved. Christians, especially evangelical Christians are often viewed as being angry people who want to see everybody go to hell! Though there may be some who fall into that category, most don’t. So this evening, I want us to focus on what it means for us as Christians to be a people of love. We’re going to look at three implications of this love and how it applies to our lives.
The first implication of being a people of love is that we are called to love one another! Jesus said by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. Romans 12:10 says to “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.” You see, there are two dimensions to our love. First, there is the vertical dimension, that’s our love for God…but if we are going to have that vertical dimension than we must also have the horizontal dimension and that is the love we have for one another. Scripture says you can’t say you love God and at the same time hate your brother. If you are a believer in Christ, than you are a member of the body of Christ and of the family of God. You have millions of siblings all around the world and though we may be different in many ways, we all have the same common denominator which is stronger than any difference we may have, and that is Jesus Christ!
You see there is a common goal amongst believers-to glorify Christ and to spend eternity with Him someday. We have a common lifestyle, “If we walk in the light” There are common values, common habits and traditions that bind us together so despite our diversity, there is a common denominator that unites us.
Consider the twelve disciples. The twelve disciples were about as diverse and different as you could get. Simon the Zealot was a patriot-a kind of redneck who hated the Roman government. Matthew was a collaborator with Rome. That would be like putting Rush Limbaugh and Ted Kennedy in a room together for three years. They’d about slit each other’s throats. But Jesus united them. Thomas and Peter were opposites too. Peter was impulsive, quick to believe and often fickle. Thomas was a thinker, slow to respond but deeply committed. All these personalities must have unnerved each other at times, but they were united by a cause much bigger that their own ego‘s and personalities, and that was Jesus Christ.
And the church today is a diverse group of people. I can look out into this congregation tonight and there are people who look different, act different, think different. And we must realize that within the church there are going to be people who are different than us. They have different backgrounds, different personalities, different preferences, and different ways of expressing themselves, and different ways of worship.
My favorite Preacher to listen to is a man by the name of Bob Russell. He is an excellent speaker and much like myself is kinda quiet and reserved. Once a black Pentecostal preacher there in Louisville, Ky asked him to come and preach at his church for him, and Bob said, “I don’t know, I really don’t think they like me there.” The Preacher said, “Are you kidding me, they listen to you on the radio every Sunday, they love you just come and preach.” Bob said, “I just don’t know, my style of preaching just doesn’t fit your church. I don’t think I have enough meat in my sermons.” The pastor said, “Oh you have the meat, you just ain’t got the gravy! Don’t worry, you bring the meat we’ll give you the gravy!”
We as a church are diverse and we’re different, but we have this one thing in common and that is Jesus Christ. We have a saying in our Methodist movement that goes, “In the essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; but in all things, love.” That’s whey the church should be a place where the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the black and the white, the democrat and republican, the Methodist and Baptist, and the Rebel the Bulldog and the Golden Eagle all can all get along…why? Because that which unites us is greater than that which divides us. We love one another!
Now as tough as this may be, to love one another it pales in comparison to our next aspect of our love. In the sermon on the mount Jesus said this, "You have heard that it was said, ’Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ (Makes since to me doesn’t it… listen to what Jesus says) But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Now this goes against every natural tendency we have. We’re not supposed to love our enemy, we’re supposed to destroy them. Our love is called to go above that, and we not only love those who love us, but we love those who hate us. Jesus says, if you only love those who love you how are you any different from anybody else.
Now this love for our enemies means we are going to have to look at people differently. As Christians we are called to put on the mind of Christ, so thus we are called to see people as Jesus would see them, and one thing Jesus always did was to look past what a person was and look at who that person could be. As one preacher said, He looked past the bad and saw the sad. There are so many who enslaved by sin and they are trapped in their sin, and instead of condemning them for being there, we need to offer them a way out. We need to show them grace, love and compassion… just as Christ has shown it to us.
In the movie called “War”, Kevin Costner plays a Viet Nam-vet father who tries to instill non-violence in his kids and struggles to practice it himself. His poor children and their friends are harassed and beat up by the even-poorer Lipnickeys. In one scene, Costner and a son go to the fair. Somehow the son gets separated, and gets surrounded by the Lipnickeys who beat him badly. His father comes to his rescue and carries him to their car, but stops along the way when he sees a couple of the Lipnickey children. Now you expect, as do the children, that there is going to be an angry and violent confrontation. Instead, he presents them each with a cotton candy cone. His son is outraged and this and asks him why in the world did he do that!, but Costner explains to his son, "because they looked like nobody had given them anything for a long time."
Romans 12:19-21 reads, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” People are going to be won to the Lord not through name calling and brow beating, but by showing forth the love and compassion that we have ourselves received. We as a church have the responsibility to love even those who we see as being awful individuals. And instead of casting stones at these people, we need to cast grace especially to those who need it most.
I saw a story this past week that sent shivers down my spine. Many of you might remember the name of Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme. In 1976 her name exploded on to every front page in America. She had pushed her way through a crowd and had tried to kill the President of the United States. She was only 17 years old. Investigators later found that she was a proud follower of Charles Manson, the crazed killer who worked his evil through his small, dedicated band of fanatical “disciples.”
Well after the event, news magazines began to dig into the background of this young woman. Their reports found that Squeaky had felt like a misfit in her town, and so she wandered across the country until she reached California. There Manson met her and promised to take care of her. She went with him and was willing to kill and die for him. Reporters wanted to know why, “Why would you give your life to a man like Manson?” Her explanation is what really got to me. Let me read it to you. She explained that she had made a choice early in her teenage years that “Whoever loves me first can have my life.” Where was the church? Good question? There is a sign as you enter Waynesboro on Highway 45 South, that says, “Welcome to Wayne County home of ________ persons and a few grouches. Let’s reach those grouches, and let’s love them first.
No one is so evil that they are beyond God’s outstretched grace. Alice Cooper, the heavy metal rock singer, every parent’s nightmare back in the 70’s and 80’s gave his heart to Christ and now he and his wife teach a Sunday school class and volunteer in their church nursery in Phoenix, Arizona. Deion Sanders, once the most flamboyant egotistical person alive, a person who epitomized everything that was wrong with pro sports now, gave his heart to Christ primarily because of the love shown to him by a Christian teammate. Those who were once enemies of the cross are now followers of the One who gave His life for them. All I can say, watch out Howard Stern, we’re coming!
Now love, especially as we have spoken of tonight, this kind of love can only exist when forgiveness abounds. Love cannot exist in the absence of forgiveness. Scripture says that “Love keeps no record of wrong doing.” But we sure do don’t we. Some of you can remember childish insults said to you on the playground. Maybe you were a good student, but you’ll never forget how the athletes made fun of your lack of athletic ability. Or maybe you have a good personality, but you’ll never forget somebody making fun of your physical appearance. When I was younger, I was extremely thin (hard to believe now!); and when an article was done in the local newspaper about me winning the district wrestling title two years in a row, my coach made a comment that was in bold print. It said, “To look at him with his shirt off, he looks more like a chess champion than a wrestling champion.” That hurt. I was self-conscience as it was already. Now that was 10 years ago but I still remember that. Not that I hold a grudge against that heavy set lard. He wouldn’t know a champ from a chimp. But I still remember that. It’s amazing how we can recall almost verbatim those painful memories.
Hurts from the past can stay in our minds forever. Instead of letting the wound gradually heal, leaving a slight scar, resentment keeps picking the scab and putting the video tape back in to watch it again and again. We keep a record of the wrong, and we keep underscoring it in the ledger.
Matthew. 6:12 “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” We like the first part, “Forgive us our debts.”. We know we all need that. It is the second part, “as we have forgiven,” that sticks in our throats. Some people use the word “trespasses.” A little boy prayed, “Forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.” Jesus said there are going to be people who owe you, people who dump on you. They will owe you a debt that they can never repay. Somebody owes you. Somebody owes you an apology. Somebody owes you an explanation. Somebody owes you a childhood. Somebody owes you a marriage. What are you going to do with that bill? Are you going to spend the rest of your life as a bill collector, making yourself and other people miserable? Or are you going to learn to love by learning to forgive?
Some of you might be saying, “I don’t feel like forgiving. I don’t want to hear about forgiving because I just can’t forgive.” Well, it’s not a matter of feeling. It’s a matter of obedience to the Lord’s command. Harry Emerson Fosdick said that when he was a boy he overheard a conversation between his dad and mother at the breakfast table. He heard his dad say, “Tell Harry he can mow the grass today if he feels like it.” As his father left, he heard him call back, “And tell Harry he’d better feel like it.”
You see forgiveness is not a matter of whether you feel like it or not. It’s a matter of a command from your heavenly Father. Some of you here today are saying to yourself, “This is so much theory. You don’t understand how deeply I’ve been hurt. You don’t understand how those roots are so entangled. It’s impossible to reconcile in my life. You’ve not been hurt as I have.”
Probably not. But I can point to others who have been hurt as badly as you or maybe worse, and they’ve managed to forgive. Paul Stevens is a man who lived in my wife‘s hometown of Evansville, Indiana and he endured perhaps one of the most horrific events that we could ever experience. Paul Stevens’s daughter was stabbed to death by a neighbor. Paul Stevens spent nearly a decade tortured by the memory of his daughter’s killer. A year later, the memories proved so hard to bear that Stevens moved his family from Evansville to a new home near Dawson Springs, Kentucky. To make things worse, his daughter’s killer was released after only seven years behind bars. Stevens’s hatred for this man was almost unbearable. He said that “At that time the only thing I wanted was to see that man dead,”
In 1978, nine years after the murder, Stevens tried something radical. At a religious retreat, he finally grasped that his hate could not restore his daughter. So he vowed to overcome the tragedy and devote his time to working with violent criminals. Since that time, Stevens has spent two days each week working as a counselor and lay minister at a maximum security prison and he has come to call some of the 29 prisoners on death row his friends.
Many of those prisoners have said that they could never have been led to Christ except by this man who had such compassionate understanding and such unconditional love. Now, If he could forgive that, and if Joseph could forgive his brothers for selling him as a slave into Egypt, if Corrie ten Boom could forgive a Nazi prison guard who tortured her and murdered her family, and if Jesus Christ could forgive you for everything that you have done against him, then you, with his power, have the capacity to forgive those who have offended you. That’s love.
But you know no talk of love would be complete without talking about the ultimate love, and that is the love that God has for you. Jesus said, “Greater love has no man than this that He would lay down His life for His friends.” “God demonstrates His love for us in this way, that while we were yet still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.”
We owed a debt we could not pay and He paid a debt He did not owe. Jesus died a vicarious death on our behalf. His death was not an accident, nor was it a spur of the moment decision. Jesus said, “No one takes my life from Me but I willingly lay it down.” That’s the love that God has for you. Nails didn’t hold Jesus to the cross, it was His amazing love for you that held Him there.
My best friend Jimmy Brown graduated a number of years ago from Eastern Kentucky University and while he was a student there, a very popular cheerleader there on campus was involved in an awful car crash that took her life. Her boyfriend, who was in the car with her at the time of the crash and loved her very much and had planned on marring her once they got out of school was asked by the preacher of her funeral to say a few words. Understandably he was very shaken and when he stood to speak he could only say a few words, but one of the sentences he said touched the heart of all who heard. He simply said, “Stacy, if God would have let me, I would have died in your place without a single question asked.”
Do we truly understand the love the Jesus has for each and every one of us. He didn’t ask, “How much have you sinned”, or “Will you be faithful to me until the end.” No, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to take your place on the cross, without a single question asked. There was an old preacher who used to end every sermon the same way. He say, “God loved you first…now you love Him back.” And this evening we invite you to respond to that love. As the hymn of invitation is given, we invite you to come forward to pray. Maybe you need to pray for yourself, or pray for someone you know, but let these closing moments be a holy time for you, a time when you respond to God’s love.
