What is Love?

Today was one of my shortest sermons and one of my longest.  The people of Bethlehem were in a very chatty mood today which when I open my sermons up for people to contribute to, can always pose a danger for amusing comments.  But those are also the moments that I LOVE which is why I know I am so blessed to be called here as the pastor of Bethlehem.  


The gospel today was Matthew 22:34-36, a two part gospel when Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is and when Jesus asks the Pharisees about the Messiah.  Well in good preaching fashion, I ignored the last part because well I don't quite understand it.  But also because the first half in which Jesus boils all the laws down to two commandments is so rich.  


So enjoy my short sermon written wise, and I have included some of the congregations responses to my questions in italics. 

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” And “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

What does it mean to love?  We love many things. I love pizza.  I love Parks and Recreation.  I love the color yellow.  I love your earrings.  We LOVE everything – food, movies and tv shows, colors, clothing, places, and even people.  We love so many things that we often forget what it means to love.  So what does it mean to love? What does love mean to you?

Now most psychologist will tell you that you have to love yourself before you are able to love others, so how do you love yourself? 

Taking care of yourself through getting enough sleep and eating well
Quit Smoking
Nap
meditate
Taking time for self
Forgive yourself
Be yourself
Believe in yourself
Enjoy time with company and alone time
Find joy

And how then do you love others? 

Care for them
Spend time with (or not)
Show gratitude
Forgive
Believe in them
Be generous towards them with time, talents and gifts
Support them emotionally
Teach them
Kisses & hugs
Feel for them
Feed them
Let them hold the remote (told you we were chatty today)

We are called to love God, others and ourselves.  But yet we often don’t. 

We often don’t love ourselves.  We put ourselves down.  We don’t take time for ourselves, we overwork ourselves, never taking time to rest, relax and enjoy our lives.  We constantly compare ourselves to others and feel like we don’t measure up, that others have outdone us.

And we don’t always love others.  We yell at strangers who cut us off while driving.  We get annoyed with the people at the grocery store.  We gossip about our co-workers or fellow community members.  We spew hatred about the unnamed person who disagrees with us politically online.  We put ourselves first, thinking we are more important and our needs are more worthy than everyone else in the world.

And we don’t always love God.  We fail to worship God.  We forget to be thankful for all that have been given to us.  We often are unable to see God right in front of us.  We destroy God’s creation.  And we do not love God’s children, both others and ourselves.

But even when we fall short.  Even when we fail to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind and even when we fail to love our neighbors as ourselves, God still loves us.  God still loves us with an unconditional love that is constantly out-flowing.  It is a love that compelled God to send Jesus to die for us.  It is a love that does not fail, even when we fail.  It is a love that does all these things that we strive to do, even when we do not.  It is a love that loves us even when we do not do all these things that we strive to do.  For God loves us with all of God’s heart and all of God’s soul and all of God’s mind and God loves our neighbors as much as God loves us.