CERRO
GORDO CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN
November 21,
2021
LOVE WITHOUT CONDITIONS
Matthew 5:43-48
This morning
what we have read speaks of God views of how we should view one another.
Beginning with the 13th verse of the 5th chapter of
Matthew, Jesus is saying what we as God’s people should be about. The different
things Jesus was pointing out lead us to the motivation Jesus shared in what we
read today. Whether it be that we are to be salt and light; or fulfilling the
law; or a closer look at the commandment on murder, adultery or divorce, as
well as the oaths or promises we make to God and men; or how we deal with the
saying of old about an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. Jesus ties all of these different things most
of us will face in one way or another with the encouragement to show love. Not
just love to those who are easy to love, but also those who are not so lovable.
Jesus once again starts off by saying, “You have heard it said.” He is
referencing what was written back in the book of Leviticus, chapter 19, verses
15-18. What was told to the people then
is similar to what we have read here in Matthew 5. Starting with verse 15, this
says, “Do not pervert justice, do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism
to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. Do not go about spreading slander
among the people, do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am
the Lord. Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly
so you will not share in his guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge
against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”
When you compare that to not only what we read today but all we read in the chapter
5, we see some similarities. However, we also see Jesus more clearly defining
the Old Testament verses. While the 18th verse in Leviticus 19 gets
around to saying you should love your neighbor as yourself, Matthew 5:43 and 44
say, “You have heard ‘love your neighbor and hate your enemy’ but I tell you;
love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Jesus is saying if we
do that, we will be sons and daughters of our Father in heaven. Jesus then goes
on to point out God causes it to rain on the righteous as well as unrighteous;
the sun shines equally on both as well.
Why is Jesus
telling everyone this? Jesus is pointing out that if you truly want to be God’s
sons and daughters, you need to love everyone as best you can while you are on this
earth. Jesus goes on to say that if you love only those who love you, what’s
the big deal? Jesus is saying even the most self-centered, godless people do
that. Is that what you think God wants from his people? Jesus is saying, “No
you are better than that!” Jesus is saying that God loves you without
conditions, try as best you can to do the same for one another. Jesus was
acknowledging it is not that hard to love those who love you, those you get
along with. However, if you want to show the world what it is really like to
love unconditionally just as God loves you, we must find a way to show love and
compassion to those who not only do not seem to like us but even seem to hate
us. That is what God’s perfect love is all about. As long as we live on this earth,
we are to love everyone. God does not close the opportunity for eternal life on
anyone until they have breathed their last breath, and neither should we. Jesus
closes out the 5th chapter by saying something that may very well be impossible
for us to achieve. Jesus said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your Father in Heaven
is perfect.” Is that realistic, is it possible? In all honesty, no it is not.
However, Jesus is saying to us, “Keep aiming high.” It is easy to accomplish a
lot of things if your goals are never very high. If in math we never move
beyond 1 + 1, we will never learn anything else. By the same token, if we only
love those who always seem to agree with us or go along with us, it is going to
be pretty easy to convince ourselves, “Boy, we are doing good!” But when we try
to love those who clearly do not like us, that is when the opportunity to grow
comes into play. Also, that is when people can see how big our God is. Will it
be easy to love without conditions? Of course not, but the reward for us, as
well as those we see and interact with will be priceless and eternal. That is
when we will begin to see God changing our lives, our families, our
communities, our world. Love without conditions—that’s how God loves us. May
the Holy Spirit help us to more and more share that kind of love with everyone
that God brings our way.
America is
about to celebrate Thanksgiving. I hope and pray we will all allow at least a
little time to reflect on the blessings God has brought our way. For some this
may be a difficult Thanksgiving for personal reasons. When we look at the
verses Jesus gave to us in Matthew 5:43-48 we see God wants us to bring love,
compassion and healing to one another. This nation faces some very difficult
challenges. We are seeing divisions in too many places. We may not be quite as
divided as we were in 1863, but in some ways, we may not miss it by much. We as
God’s people must take the lead. May we embrace the challenge Jesus offered to
God’s people when he said, “Be perfect, therefore as your Heavenly Father is
perfect.” Christians in America should unite to make sure Jesus’ example of
unconditional love and mercy is alive and well.
In closing,
I would like to share the Thanksgiving Proclamation that Abraham Lincoln shared
with a divided and broken nation in 1863, which was printed in Friday’s Herald
& Review. See if it applies to what is going on in America today. We need
God’s helping hand. May we be examples of our God’s unconditional love.
Pastor Larry
Announcements:
Bible Study 9:30 Tuesday
November 21—Council meeting TODAY after worship
November 28—Walt Wiltschek, our new DE, will preach. District
Moderator Harold Rose plans to be here too. Afterwards, we’ll have a soup
luncheon, and then we will decorate the sanctuary for Christmas.
Candy flyer on the bulletin board. Call Nancy
Fansler or Chelle Shively to order by Nov 30.
December newsletter submissions are due Dec. 1 to
Carol.
December 8 12:00 Women’s Fellowship Potluck luncheon
Offering plates are in the back of the sanctuary. Thank
you!
Donation Box: The Lord’s Storehouse
First Sundays: food donations for food banks
Pastor Larry Traxler- (217) 454-2362
To
keep up on Church of the Brethren news:
Denomination: www.brethren.org/news Sign
up for Newsline by clicking link on left side of page.
District:
iwdcob.org (click on newsletter link) and on facebook
Our
pages: cerrogordocob.com (printed sermon, announcements, &
calendar) and on facebook
Keep
in Your Prayers
Family of Tera Runyen; Shirley
Krall; Baby Gemma; Baby Tate; family of Deb Bell Sherwood; Andy Flenner and family; Mindy Sawyer; Marlene Schultz; Randy West; Jen Durst; Sarah Rudelick; Sydney
(Nancy Gorrell’s niece); Carl and Wilma Cable; Marge Starr; Mike Gentry; Larry
Albro; Mike McCleery; Mike and Carol Seidenstricker; Sonna Hall; Brittany
Wright; Owen Wright; Anna Gentry Thompson; Clyde and Nancy Fansler; Adiline
Young; Kim Lehmann; Doug Fansler; Liza
Yore; Candy Dobson; Anna Rose Larrick; Shawn Cain; Robert Cripe; Mayo &
Darlene Hanaver; Zola Copeland; Patty Cripe; Lauren Gross; Stacie Warren; Nancy
Gorrell; many unspoken requests; Coronavirus crisis; healthcare workers and first
responders; the families of the 747,000+ people who have died from COVID-19;
those who are ill from the virus; the unemployed; school teachers, staff, and
students; victims of disasters; victims of shootings; nursing home residents;
the Nigerian church; Haitian Brethren
Military and Other
Services and their families
Brethren Volunteer
Service workers; Disaster project workers
Church
of the Brethren vision statement:
Together, as the Church of the Brethren, we will passionately
live and share the radical transformation and holistic peace of Jesus Christ
through relationship-based neighborhood engagement. To move us forward, we will
develop a culture of calling and equipping disciples who are innovative,
adaptable, and fearless.
Our
Mission Statement:
Love
God, grow with others, serve faithfully, reach the lost, find peace.
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