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Love Yonce Shelton Lectionary readings: Isaiah 11:1-10 Accompanying song: “Be True” by Carrie Newcomer (2005): Prayer of the Day: C.S. Lewis said: “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.” God, let us be vulnerable. Let us be open to you and to love. Let us say yes to your love and allow our yes to change us and others. Amen. I’ve been thinking about love a lot lately. Actually, I’ve been praying about love. I’ve been asking very simply how I can be aware of and receive God’s love in deeper ways – and how I can show and give that love. This meditation and prayer has been with me since before Advent, but I have been reminded these past weeks that Advent is all about love. The notion is complex and simple at the same time. Now, I am aware that my homilies often elicit an “OK, Yonce, I think I hear you but I just don’t have the mental energy right now to make sure” quality. So, I hope the simple way in which I have been experiencing love recently can come through in my words. Today’s Gospel passage is about exactly that. It’s about acknowledging what is coming – and that change is required of us. John tells us that Jesus’ coming demands repentance (Mt. 3:2) and confession (3:6). His actions and words make clear that he is only acting to “prepare the way” (3:3) for one whose sandals he is not worthy to carry (3:11). John himself was changed and shaped to be a messenger of God. Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary says that John had “long spent time in contemplation” and that “The word of the Lord found John here in a wilderness [because] no place is so remote as to shut us out from the visits of divine grace; nay, commonly the sweetest intercourse the saints have with Heaven, is when they are withdrawn furthest from the noise of this world” (17). In order to be changed and enlightened by God, we too must find ways to step back from business as usual and listen for how God wishes to use us to show God’s love to the world. Listening, waiting, and expecting in spiritual ways is tough, but that is the message of Advent. I had Bobbie read The Message's interpretation of Matthew because it really communicates the need for a changed life from inside out. The very notion of free will and God wanting us to choose relationship with God is core to John’s actions. God acts through people who are changed by God’s love. There is a passion in John that exhibits an alternative way of looking at the world. That is the change sought through confession and repentance that alters us spiritually. That’s not a casual way of being; not a “pass through” that we don’t fully recognize. What flows naturally from this active change is being able to prepare the way for one who is more powerful; being able to acknowledge, more than intellectually, the ultimate meaning of the baptism in the Holy Spirit (3:11), Advent, and Christmas. This is it folks. It’s what we wait for, expect, and make so much fuss about. It’s the love that defines our faith and relationship with God. Our understanding of this love also defines our relationship with each other and the world. John doesn’t stop at asking for repentance. He critiques the lifestyles and attitudes of the Pharisees and Sadducees to stress the importance of action in the world. Christians are often quick to critique actions of other people of faith. But this passage has much more to say about our need for internal evaluation and growth. The question is, do we “bear fruit” (3:8) worthy of what we profess? How valid is our repentance if it has no impact on the world? Perhaps more importantly, have we repented in authentic ways that allow us to shape society in ways consistent with God’s vision? It is easy to rely on tradition, doctrine, and routine as we talk about faith. But as John stresses, we must look ahead. We can’t rely on biblical history alone – we must also value relationship with God and how that can change us in ways that can impact the world. If God “is able from these stones to raise up children” (3:9), surely God can mold us. But it doesn’t start with us. It starts with God’s gift – God’s love – to the world that we celebrate at this time of year. Just as we wait expectantly for cute little baby Jesus, we must also remember the urgency of the message that “the kingdom of heaven has come near” (3:2). This is not a worldly kingdom, but a spiritual one that demands repentance. In our Community meeting last week it was noted that our January retreat will address evangelism. I assume we’ll discuss how we understand the concept, how we agree and disagree as individuals, and what role it should play in our life together. Matthew Henry’s Commentary says that the Gospel passage speaks of “evangelical repentance, that flows from a sight of Christ, from a sense of his love…” (17). Once again, we are not the starting point and we are not the end point. But we are much more than a simple vessel for such amazing love. Regardless of the terminology you use, we must be transformed in receiving this love so that we may offer a love that can support and change others. During the time I have been praying about love, I have also been reading Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God. It contains reflections on the simple ways in which we can increase our knowledge of, love of, and presence with God. Its message is to set aside practices, doctrines, and theological questions occupying the intellect that we believe will lead us to closer communion with God. Instead, we should focus on intimate, continual conversation with God in all we do. He says: “We search for stated ways and methods of learning how to love God, and to come at that love we disquiet our minds by I know not how many devices; we give ourselves a world of trouble and pursue a multitude of practices to attain to a sense of the Presence of God. And yet it is so simple. How very much shorter it is and easier to do our common business purely for the love of God, to set His consecrating mark on all we lay hands to, and thereby to foster the sense of His abiding presence by communion of our heart with His! There is no need either of art or science; just as we are, we can go to Him, simply and with single heart.” (91) What a radical way to receive God’s love. What a challenge worthy of our pursuit. What better time of year. What a way to repent, confess, bear fruit, and receive the Holy Spirit. I have come to treasure silent retreats, centering prayer, and the like. And I’ll keep at it. But I also need to just say yes in my heart every moment and every way I can.
God loves and reaches us through scripture, through prayer, through individuals, and I have been changed recently because of God’s love. It has impacted how I feel love and give love. That doesn’t mean I’m going to be Mr. Over-the-Top, Mushy, Emotional Guy in a few minutes when we share the peace! But it means that my spirit is in a place of experiencing love in ways that speak more to others than self. It means I was moved and excited in new ways by thinking of the joy underprivileged kids would experience when receiving the gifts we donate to charity each year at this time. Too often the thoughts are about how good a person I am for donating. It means I was truly concerned for the well-being of an abandoned cat in the park on a recent cold night. This newly created dog person would have brought it home if it would have come to me as I sat in the dark and talked to it for ten minutes. I still wonder about it.
Being changed by love means that the recent baptism of my niece was more than just a ceremony, ritual, and celebration. It was a deeper reminder of my baptism and receipt of God’s love, and it was exciting to be part of supporting her in receiving that lovebyadding love to the experience. But it doesn’t end there. She, her family, and I will be called many more times to share love that can change people.
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