Sermon
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Romans 12:9-13
“Genuine Christ-like Love Communicates Christ’s Genuine Love to One Another”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord [Amen.]
“Still Your children wander homeless;
Still the hungry cry for bread;
Still the captives long for freedom;
Still in grief we mourn our dead.
As, O Lord, Your deep compassion
Healed the sick and freed the soul,
Use the love Your Spirit kindles
Still to save and make us whole.
“Called by worship to Your service,
Forth in Your dear name we go,
To the child, the youth, the aged,
Love in living deeds to show;
Hope and health, goodwill and comfort,
Counsel, aid, and peace we give,
That Your servants, Lord, in freedom
May Your mercy know and live.”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
848:2 & 4)
Epistle
Reading........................................................................
Romans 12:9-21 (esp. 9-13)
9Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
10Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing
honor. 11Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
12Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
13Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Prologue: After having been married for over 50 years his wife
mustered up the courage to ask her husband, “Why don’t you ever tell me that
you love me?” The husband, being a man of few words (as most men are),
answered, “I told you I love you the day we got married. If that ever
changes … I’ll let you know.”
Now I suspect, well, I hope that although he didn’t verbalize his
love for his wife, nevertheless he communicated it to her with his actions.
By the way, although Pastor Marks and I don’t tell all of you often enough
that we love you with a sincere pastoral love that runs deep, please know
that we do and hopefully we show it with our actions. Where we have
neglected to do so, please forgive us, and know that we’re trying to improve
on that. After all, Saint Paul gave us great encouragement to do so when in
today’s Epistle Reading he told us that …
“Genuine Christ-like Love Communicates Christ’s Genuine Love to One
Another.”
“All You Need Is Love” composed by John Lennon in 1967, was one of
the Beatles’ many popular songs. “Love Makes the World Go ‘Round’” composed
by Bob Merrill, is arguably the most popular song of the 1961 Broadway
musical Carnival! However, that “love” that the Beatles claimed was needed
and Bob Merrill said “makes the world go round” is not the love that’s
really needed or “makes the world go round.” The love that’s really needed
and “makes the world go round” is the self-denying, self-sacrificial agape
love that Jesus exemplified for mankind as stated by Saint Paul when he
wrote: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8 ESV)
It’s the love that Jesus referred to in that most well-known of
all Bible passages: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (St
John 3:16 ESV) It’s the love Saint Paul referred to when he declared to the
Corinthians: “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the
greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor 13:13 ESV) It’s the love Saint John
referred to when he wrote: “We love because [God] first loved us.” (1 John
4:19 ESV) It’s the love Saint Paul referred to when he told the Colossians
to “put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Col
3:14 ESV) And, it’s the love Jesus referred to when He instructed the
inquisitive lawyer: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself.” (St Luke 10:27 ESV)
You see, fellow saints whom the heavenly Father loves deeply and
completely, that’s the love that’s necessary in order for you to …
I. Live Peaceably with One Another. (14-18)
14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice
with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with
one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be
conceited. 17Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is
honorable in the sight of all. 18If possible, so far as it depends on you,
live peaceably with all.
“In Chicago’s West Side residential district two neighbors who had
lived side by side in perfect harmony for years became involved in a
quarrel. Their anger took on grave proportions. One of them built a spite
fence of brick 20 feet high, only to find that it shut out much of the
sunshine and light he had previously enjoyed and that it was illegal. The
man who hates often suffers more than the one who is hated.
“At another place two neighbors were at peace, and there was no
fence at all to separate the front yards. In fact, at the property line,
the lawn appeared to be better kept and greener than anywhere else. Asked
about this, one of the men explained: ‘When I water my lawn, I make sure
that the sprinkler reaches well over the line so that I may do my full
share. The result? Instead of a spite fence we have a greener lawn.’”
(Encyclopedia of Sermon Illustrations Compiled by David F. Burgess.
Copyright © 1988 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Pages 97f.)
Do you ever find yourself building “spite fences” with
“quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and
disorder”? (2 Cor 12:20 ESV) Add to those devil-inspired things the
additional sins of “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry,
sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions,
divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Gal 5:19-21
ESV) as well as “selfish ambition in your hearts” (James 3:14 ESV) and the
stage is set for damage, disruption, and destruction of relationships in the
family, workplace, congregation, and community. If left unchecked, such
damage, disruption, and destruction of temporal earthly relationships might
easily cause separation during your lifetime on this earth between you and
God Himself that could even lead to eternal separation in the fiery pits of
hell between you and God Himself.
What is the only solution that can eliminate “spite fences” that
divide? The answer is quite simply and yet oh so very successfully
repentance that is composed of recognition that sin is sin, heartfelt grief
and sorrow over sinning, confession of your sins to God and others,
forgiveness of your sins declared by God for Jesus’ sake in the printed
words of Holy Scripture and the spoken words of your pastors, and
Spirit-guided resolve to abolish and remove those “spite fences” that
segregate. The prophet Jeremiah revealed this repentance reality and its
blessed benefit in today’s Old Testament Reading: “Therefore thus says the
Lord: ‘If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If
you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my
mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them. And I will
make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against
you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and
deliver you, declares the Lord. I will deliver you out of the hand of the
wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.’” (Jeremiah 15:19-21
ESV)
That’s God’s promise-filled commitment to you that He made at your
Baptism. It’s His promise-filled commitment to you that Jesus Christ
accomplished with His Holy life, innocent suffering, crucifixion death, and
majestic resurrection from the dead, all of which defeated Satan, sin, and
death for you, and gained for you forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.
Because Jesus defeated your evil arch-enemies, you can now live in
harmonious unity with one another and …
II.
Overcome Evil with Good. (19-21)
19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it
is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20To the
contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him
something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his
head.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
History has recorded the following facts: “Stephen Douglas
insulted Abraham Lincoln in many caustic speeches, but Lincoln gave him a
place of honor at his inauguration. Edwin Stanton humiliated and grieved
Lincoln in lawsuits and politics, yet the president made him secretary of
war. Much pressure was brought to bear on Lincoln to have General Lee and
his staff and other Confederate prisoners tried as war criminals and shot.
Lincoln declared a general amnesty and thus permanently reunited the North
and the South.” (Encyclopedia of Sermon Illustrations. Page 90.)
Revenge belongs to God, not to you. Today’s Introit encouraged:
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your
heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will
bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the
noonday.” (Ps 37:4-6 ESV) Instead of seeking revenge, the higher road is to
heed the advice of today’s Gradual: “Fear the Lord, you his saints, for
those who fear him lack nothing! Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Ps 34:9, 19, alt. ESV) That
is, trust and rely on God’s good and gracious promises knowing that Jesus
has already travelled the road of atoning self-sacrifice for all your sins.
In so doing Jesus satisfied His Father’s just and righteous anger toward you
for the sins you commit; yes, even those sins of vengefully persecuting and
cursing evildoers by seeking to repay evil for evil. So you do the same by
treating your enemies with Christ-like care, concern, and compassion.
In conclusion, therefore, today’s Collect gives a prayer-model for
seeking God’s help to love others as He loves you, namely, “Grant us courage
to take up our cross daily and follow [Jesus] wherever He leads.” The Holy
Spirit gives you that necessary courage when you dwell on your Baptism, in
which God adopted you as His own beloved children; when you read and hear
God’s Holy Word, in which He assures you of His mercy and grace; and when
you properly partake of Christ’s body and blood in Holy Communion for the
absolute certainty of forgiveness of your sins, spiritual healing, and
eternal life, as well as the strengthening of your faith in Jesus.
Take to heart what you heard in today’s Gospel Reading, namely,
“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny
himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his
life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’”
(St Matt 16:24-25 ESV)
With all that in your mind and your heart, dwell on the fact
that …
“Genuine Christ-like Love Communicates Christ’s Genuine Love to One
Another.”
Because all that Jesus did and continues to do for you, strive by
the Holy Spirit’s power to …
I. Live Peaceably with One Another. (14-18)
and …
II. Overcome Evil with Good. (19-21)
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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