Psalm 150

PSALM 150October 30, 23005
(Song and praise service)

Praise the Lord!
Let everything that breathes – praise the Lord!

What a wonderful thought – and a wonderful invitation to live a life that gives praise to God!

God – who created us and all things – and who at the end of the creative process declared – as Genesis 1:31 tells us – that His creation was “very good” – deserves our response of love – adoration – and praise.

God – who loves us so much that He does not let us die in our sins – but has sent Christ to die for our sins and rise again so we might have new life in Him – as Paul tells us in Romans 4:6-11 – deserves our response of love – adoration – and praise.

God – who loves us and provides for our needs – as Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25-33 – deserves our response of love – adoration –and praise.

God – creator, savior, and provider – is truly deserving of our love – adoration – and praise.

Praise the Lord!

Let everything that breathes – praise the Lord!
In all things – in all circumstances of life – praise the Lord!

This may be easy to do in the good times – when things are going well for us – but harder to do in the more difficult – the more trying times. But I don’t think the Psalmist was trying to say to give this praise to God when things are going well – but to be mad and upset with God when things are not going well for us. Just as Paul admonishes the Christians in Thessalonica to give praise in all circumstances when he wrote 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, we too are admonished to give praise to God in all things.

It may go against our nature.
It may not be easy for us to do.
It may be very difficult for us to see God’s hand in the midst of our hard times – but God is still there – still creating new opportunities for us – still loving and redeeming us – still providing for us in the midst of even the hardest times of our lives.

Even in the hard times – we can praise the Lord.

Paul reminds us in Romans 8:28-39 that all things – good and bad – work together for our good if we will trust in God – and that through all hard times we will be more than conquerors because God is with us.

Praise the Lord!
Let everything that breathes – praise the Lord!

This is indeed an invitation to live a life of praise — a life where we realize what God has done for us – and praise God for what He has done for us.

Praise the Lord!
In the good times – praise the Lord – because He has blessed you.
In the hard times – praise the Lord – because He is with you – and is blessing you.

I once read about a woman who – despite many hardships in her life – learned how to live a life of praise to God – at all times!

This woman’s daughter had been killed in an automobile accident — her husband had died — and she had a crippling disease that confined her to a wheelchair. But instead of being angry with God or giving up — she struggled on with great courage — and even found ways to focus on the needs of others and how she could help others. She decided that she would live as full, productive, and joyful life as she could .

She gave her philosophy of life this way:

“God has given me life that is rich and full.
I have drawn closer to God.
I love getting up in the morning.
Each day is a blank canvas and I get
to paint the picture.
I don’t ask God to remove the mountains,
only to give me strength to climb.
In this way I can see what I do have –
and give thanks to God.”

What a witness this lady is.
What a life of praise she lives.

We all can learn from her.
We all can learn to move past focusing on our complaints – our hardships – and move to a faith in God that knows God is with us in all times of our lives –

Always creating new possibilities for us –
Always redeeming us –
Always loving, caring for, and providing for us.
Indeed –

Praise the Lord!
Let everything that breathes – praise the Lord!

Amen

Matthew 22:15-22

Matthew 22:15-22Give Yourself Back To God
October 16 2005

“Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said.”

That is how our passage for today begins. Actually they had been plotting against him for some time. They tried twice to trip him up, but failed.

Now they are trying again.

But they didn’t send out their “first team”. It wasn’t that they thought Jesus to be an easy touch — they knew better than that. It was that they were looking for a way to knock him off his pedestal without risking their reputations. Jesus had made them look bad twice, and they were tired of being humiliated.

So the Pharisees turned to their disciples — young men in training — young men with no reputations to protect — young men with nothing to lose. The Pharisees designed a trap question and instructed these young men in how to use it against Jesus.

But first they taught them how to set Jesus up. Before they sprang the trap question on Jesus, they were to say:

“Teacher, we know that you are sincere,
and teach the way of God in accordance with truth.”

Of course, they did not believe that. It was just a way of buttering Jesus up — getting him to lower his guard. It was just a way of distracting him so that they could blindside him with The Question.

Once they had flattered Jesus, they were to say:

“Tell us, then, what you think.
Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?”

The beauty of that question was that it offered Jesus only two choices — Yes or No.

If Jesus said Yes, he would offend the people, who hated Caesar’s tax.
If Jesus said No, the Roman soldiers would arrest him for sedition. Either way — they thought — Jesus would lose and they would win.

But – of course — if Jesus somehow found a way out of the trap — it would be the young men who would be humiliated instead of the Pharisees. That’s why the young men were sent in the first place.
But nobody expected Jesus to escape. They were sure that they had him.

But Jesus didn’t say Yes and he didn’t say No.

He said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?”

That brought everything out into the open, didn’t it?

Jesus knew what they were trying to do, and he made sure that everyone else knew it too. “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?”

But that wasn’t enough to save Jesus. If Jesus had said nothing more, he would look as if he were simply trying to dodge the question. So he said, “Show me the coin used for the tax,” and they brought him a denarius.

A denarius was a significant coin — wages for a day.
But it was significant in other ways too.
You see — the denarius bore the emperor’s image, and was inscribed,

“Tiberius Caesar, August son of the divine Augustus, high priest.”

Jews found both the image of the emperor and the inscription offensive.
For one thing, the Ten Commandments forbid graven images, so they hated the image of the emperor on the coin.
For another thing, Jews didn’t believe that emperor was divine. They didn’t accept the emperor as God.

But — and I believe this is significant — the disciples of the super-religious Pharisees brought Jesus a denarius.
Where did they get a denarius?
Well – we can suppose that one of them must have had one in his pocket – and – probably without giving it much thought –pulled it out for Jesus to see.

Now – and here is why this was significant — where were they?
They were in the temple.

So – these disciples of the super religious Pharisees had brought a denarius – with the graven image of the emperor on it – into the Temple – where only God was to be worshipped?

Apparently they – who demanded that the people obey all the Commandments – were not obeying the one about making no graven images.
Maybe they brought the denarius – with its image of the emperor — into the temple because they were so used to carrying these coins in their pockets that they had given no thought to the fact that it contained a graven image.
Jesus had called them hypocrites, and the fact that they could produce one of these offensive coins proved Jesus’ point — proved that they cared more about money than about God.

And then Jesus asked, “Whose head is this, and whose title?”
They answered, “the Emperor’s.” So Jesus said:

“Give therefore to the Emperor the things that are the Emperor’s ,
and to God the things that are God’s.”

“Give to the Emperor the things that the Emperor’s.”

The word that Jesus used really means, “Give back.”
Jesus was really saying: “Give back to the Emperor the things that are the Emperor’s.”

In other words – Jesus was saying:

“Hey — this coin bears the Emperor’s image. It bears his inscription. It was minted in his mint. It circulates at his pleasure. If he wants it back in a tax, give it to him. Give it back!”

Made sense – didn’t it.

But then Jesus said something else – something else that also made sense – but that the Pharisees – their disciples – and throughout the centuries many people – and in many ways even we – do not like to hear.

After Jesus said:
“Give to the Emperor the things that the Emperor’s.”

He said:
“Give to God the things that are God’s”

In other words – give back to the emperor the coins by paying the tax if he wants them – but give back to God the things that are His – and that He wants.

“Give back to God the things that are God’s.”

What is it that belongs to God?
Well – a better question might be, what does not belong to God?

We know that God created all things – everything – and so everything depends on – and belongs to God.

And God wants to use – and bless – and be a part of – all that He has made – all that He has!

“Give back to God the things that are God’s.”

To get more to the point — WE belong to God.
Just as the denarius bore the Emperor’s image, and could be given back to the emperor in a tax or in any other way the emperor so chose, we bear God’s image.

That is one of the first things that the Bible says. In Genesis 1:27 – just 27 verses into scripture – it says:

“So God created humans in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27).

So — if it is appropriate to give back to the emperor what belongs to the emperor — namely a coin that bears his image — so also it is appropriate to give back to God what belongs to God — namely ourselves – who bear His image.

God created us in his image.
We bear God’s likeness.
God wants us to be His people, so God wants us to give ourselves back to Him.

GIVE YOURSELF BACK TO GOD.

What does that mean?
What would it look like if we were to give ourselves back to God?

Let me first tell you what it would NOT look like!
This is a little “prayer” that is somewhat amusing – but actually describes many of us in a serious manner.
A man named Wilbur Rees wrote a tongue-in-cheek prayer for half-hearted Christians — Christians who are willing to give God only a little bit of their lives. Listen to his half-hearted prayer. He prays:

“I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please,
not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep
but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk
or a snooze in the sunshine.
I don’t want enough of God to make me love a black man
or to pick beets with a migrant.
I want ecstasy, not transformation.
I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth.
I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack.
I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please.”

But – you know what — God does not want half-hearted commitment.

God doesn’t want us to be lukewarm.
God wants us to be hot!
God wants us to love Him!
God wants us to give our best to Him.

God wants us to give ourselves back to Him!

What would that look like? What would it look like if you were to give yourself back to God – if you were to give your best to God? The answer is that it depends. It depends on who God calls you to be and what God calls you to do.

But – there are some general things I believe you can know about what it might mean for you if you were to give ourselves back to God.

First – it would mean putting the things of God first in your life.

It would mean making the Church – the place where we gather as a community of Christians to worship God and fellowship with each other – important in your life. This does not just mean attending worship – although that is important – but it also means participating in Sunday School, Bible Study, and fellowship times. It also means supporting the work of God in and through this Church with the money God has blessed you with – and getting involved in the work of the Church. There is a lot of “behind the scenes” things that are done that keep this Church going – enough for everyone to share in – enough for you to be a part of.

Putting the things of God first in your life.

Giving your time – your talents – your money – all you have – back to God for God’s work.

Second – it would mean listening to where God might want you to get involved in His work in the world.

God has a place for everyone in His work – and a task for everyone to do.
Where is your place?
What is your task?

I know a man and woman who gave themselves back to God. They have served now for thirty years as missionaries in Haiti, because that is where God called them. I would not want to live in Haiti, but they call it home. That is their place in the work of God in the world – that is their task. That is what giving themselves back to God looks like for them.

Where is your place?
What is your task?

My nephew and his wife work for Campus Crusade for Christ. They are both very talented in working with computers – he with internet ministries and she with graphic designs. They have live in Orlando, Florida and have worked in Campus Crusade’s headquarters there for several years now – but are now praying about an opportunity they have to go overseas for a year to help and learn from the staff of Campus Crusade in another country. That is their place in the work of God in the world – that is their task. That is what giving themselves back to God looks like for them.

Where is your place?
What is your task?

GIVE YOURSELF BACK TO GOD

Make the things of God important to you.
Listen to where God might want you to get involved in His work in the world.

You don’t have to be a missionary — unless that is what God calls you to do.

I know a woman who gave herself back to God. She devotes herself to helping others – feeding people who are hungry – feeding children who come by her house because they know they can get something to eat there – finding food and shelter for adults who are in need. That is her place in the work of God in the world – that is her task. That is what giving herself back to God looks like for her.

We all know ladies who use their talents in knitting and crocheting to make afghans that are sent to Warm Up America and the Red Cross to help those in need. That is their place in the work of God in the world – that is their task. That is what giving themselves back to God looks like for them.

Where is your place?
What is your task?

GIVE YOURSELF BACK TO GOD

Make the things of God important to you.
Listen to where God might want you to get involved in His work in the world.

An old Gospel song says, “I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord. I’ll be what you want me to be.” That is what it looks like to give yourself back to God. It means letting God set the agenda for your life.

Think about this question:

What would your life look like if you were to give yourself back to God?
What would you do differently?

How can I put the things of God in their proper place of importance in my life?
What can I do to make the God’s work in and through this Church the best it can be?
What can I give – financially and in terms of time and abilities — to make the God’s work in and through this Church the best it can be?

What ministry is it that God would have me to do – and where would God have me to be doing it?

What would my life look life if I were to give it back to God?

GIVE YOURSELF BACK TO GOD

I know that many of you have already given yourselves back to God, but there is a sense in which we need to do that daily.

The world is a big magnet that tries to pull us away from God.
We need to start each morning by giving ourselves back to God.

Alcoholics know how to do that. They know that their struggle is never over. They know that they can’t commit themselves to being sober for the next year. They simply commit themselves to sobriety for the day — or perhaps just for the next hour — or even for the next five minutes. We need to adopt that attitude in our life of faith. We need to give ourselves back to God every day — every hour.

So think about this question this week:
What would it look like if I were to give myself back to God?
What would I do differently?
What would I have to change?

What things of God do I need to make more important in my life?
What is it that God would have me to do – and where would God have to do it?

Think about what it would mean if you were to:

GIVE YOURSELF BACK TO GOD

AMEN

Matthew 22:1-14

Matthew 22:1-14
Change Is Not Optional
October 9, 2005

The invitation said “Black Tie Optional”.

I knew what that meant – it meant I could wear Tux or a nice dark suit and tie. Since I do not own Tux and really did not feel like renting Tux, I opted for the dark suit. In fact, I had “outgrown” – in width – not height – my dark “Preacher suit” and needed a new one, anyway. So I bought the new suit – and was ready.

The invitation was to the “2 Those Who Care” Awards Dinner that one of the local TV stations holds to honor community volunteers. I had nominated one of our volunteers at the Reidsville Outreach Center, and she was one of those chosen for the award. Since I had nominated her, and since it was her work at the Outreach Center where I am the Director that was being recognized, I had to be there. Not that I minded – I enjoy formal affairs – but I really did need to be there. That evening at the ceremony – which was televised – I was shown on TV sitting at the table with others – listening to the volunteer I had nominated accept her award.

It was a fun evening – and I’m glad I was able to be there.

I’m glad I accepted the invitation – and attended the banquet.

In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus tells about some invited guests who fail to show for the wedding of the king’s son.

Now — people don’t usually fail o show up for a palace wedding. When a king’s son or daughter gets married, everyone wants to come. It is almost unthinkable that anyone would fail to show.

But – then again — stranger things have happened.

A friend of mine tells that in one of the first weddings that he conducted, the bride did not show. The groom was an Army officer and the setting was an Army chapel. In the Army, people come on time.

But this bride didn’t come on time.

The groom and minister were waiting nervously at the chapel, and there was no bride. Fifteen minutes before the appointed hour, there was no bride. Ten minutes, no bride. Five minutes, no bride.

The minister finally suggested that the groom call her. He protested, because she lived some distance away — surely she was on the road. But he dialed her number. Then he heard the groom say, “Hello. What are you doing at home?”

Apparently the bride answered that she was hemming her dress.

My friend says he can still see the astonishment on the groom’s face – and hear the astonishment in the groom’s voice – when the groom said:

“Hemming your dress! How long is that going to take?”

Apparently the bride answered that it was going to take however long it took.

My friend said he at first thought that the bride had changed her mind, but she hadn’t. She just hadn’t gotten her dress hemmed, and she wouldn’t be there until she finished.

My friend went into the sanctuary and told the guests that the wedding would be delayed. He invited them to mill around and talk while they waited. Then he went to see the groom – and asked: “Are you sure you want to do this?”

The groom laughed and said he was sure.

The bride finally came and the wedding was celebrated.

My friend says he always wondered how that marriage worked out.

So strange things do happen at weddings — and Jesus told about a strange thing.

A king invited people to his son’s wedding, and nobody showed up. They gave excuses. They even mistreated the servants that the king sent to them.

So the king punished them — and then he sent his servants to invite whomever they could. “Go into the streets.” he said, “Find me some guests.” So the servants went to the streets and invited everyone they saw — good and bad. They filled the banquet hall with guests, which is what the king needed. He couldn’t have a party in an empty hall!

But then the king noticed a guest who was not wearing a wedding robe. Everyone else had robes, but this man did not. The king told his servants to throw the man out — to cast him into outer darkness.

Then Jesus concluded this parable by saying, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Now maybe you’re thinking: “That story doesn’t make sense!”

Frankly, the first time I read it, I thought the same thing. But then I studied it and learned that it does make sense — that it has something important to say to us today. So let me explain it briefly.

I know we have to be careful when we allegorize scripture, but I think making this passage an allegory will be helpful.

Let’s say that – in this story, the king is God.

Let’s say that – the invited guests are Israel.

And – let’s say that — the mistreated servants are the prophets — God’s messengers. Israel was infamous for mistreating the prophets.

Then – let’s say that the people from the streets were Gentiles.

This, then, can be seen as a story of Israel rejecting the prophets — rejecting Jesus — and losing their place at the front of the line.

It can be seen as the story of God wanting faithful people — and opening the door to all sorts of people to fill the banquet hall.

But it is also the story of people offering to follow Jesus and then failing to do so.

It might be our story.

We are always tempted to accept the invitation to follow Jesus — and then to balk when it comes time to pay the price.

Sometimes following Christ is difficult.

Will Willimon used to be the Dean of Duke Chapel at Duke University – and is now the Bishop of Alabama for the United Methodist Church. As bishop, he assigns pastors to churches. He told recently of moving a pastor from one church to another — with the result that the man took a $7,000 pay cut. Willimon was almost apologetic about the move – but the man said, “Bishop, you don’t have to apologize…. I came into the ministry from a $100,000 job with Mobil Oil. There’s nothing you can do to hurt me as bad economically as when Jesus called me to go to seminary and be a preacher.”

Sometimes following Christ involves real sacrifice!

I doubt that Christ has called you to quit your hundred thousand dollar job to go to seminary, but he has called you to faithful discipleship.

What does that mean?

– It means that Christ has called you to be faithful with your time — to devote time to prayer — to public worship — to service in the church.

– It means that Christ has called you to be faithful with your money — to tithe — to support your church financially — to help needy people.

– It means that Christ has called you to be honest in your dealings with other people — to be honest in financial dealings — to be honest in relationships.

– It means that Christ has called you to live a life that will draw people to Christ — including your family. Christ calls you love your family — to be kind to them –to witness to them — to be the kind of person they will want to follow.

Those are some of the things that Christ calls all of us to do — but he probably has other plans for your life as well. He might want you to feed the hungry. He might want you to reach out to others with His love and touch their lives.

Listen to Jesus’ invitation to you – and take Him up on it!
Don’t be like those who refused the invitation of the king – but accept Jesus’ invitation in your life.

But – accepting the invitation is only part of what we have to do.

In my opening illustration I told about the invitation to the “2 Those Who Care” banquet – and how I accepted the invitation. I also told about how I bought a new black suit I could fit into for the occasion — and that I could use for other events, also.

Well – just accepting the invitation and having an appropriate suit to wear was not enough.

The day of the banquet happened to be a Monday – and it happened to be one of the Mondays the Outreach Center gets food delivered from the Food Bank. This was in August, and unloading the truck full of meats and canned goods and putting everything where they needed to go was a hot, dirty job. Needless to say. I was not wearing my black suit. I had on khakis and an old knit shirt – and some of our volunteers had on shorts and T – shirts. After we finished, we noticed the time. It was mid – afternoon – and the banquet was going to begin in Greensboro – 45 minutes away – at 6:00. We looked at each other – saw how hot, dirty, and sweaty we were – and decided we all needed to go home and change before going to the banquet.

“I don’t think we can go like this” one person said.

“Nope” — I replied – “changing is not optional”

Apparently it was not one for those who finally accepted the invitation to the wedding banquet, either.

Jesus told about the man who came to the wedding in the wrong clothing. He was supposed to wear a wedding robe, but he came in his grubbies. The king had the man cast “into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

What was that all about?

Again – if we take the story allegorically – the wedding robe in this story can stand for letting Jesus change our lives.

The man who came to the party without a robe is like the Christian who says that he will follow Jesus, but who continues to live in sin.

It would be as if the volunteers going to the banquet and I had shown up in our dirty clothes – sweaty and looking like we had just finished unloading a truck!

That is almost worse than not showing up at all.

I believe Jesus is warning us that He won’t tolerate the person who claims to be a Christian but continues to live as always.

He expects us to show up, but then he also expects us to grow in grace — to become new people whose lives reflect that we belong to him.

That doesn’t mean that Christ requires us to be perfect.
Far from it!
Christ is happy to forgive our sins — and we all need forgiveness! But there are limits! This parable teaches us that when we give our lives to Christ, He expects that to make a difference. He expects us to begin to change. He expects us to let the Spirit begin reshaping our lives. If we insist on coming to the party unshaven and unwashed — dressed in our grubbies — if we insist on living in rebellion — it is as bad as never showing up at all.

Letting Christ change us is not optional.

Changing is not optional – it is a requirement.

So – there are a few responses we can make to Christ’s invitation to us:

– First, LISTEN — listen for Christ’s invitation — listen so that you will hear where He wants you to be and what he wants you to do. When you hear his call, answer it.

Come to the party!

Second, examine your life.

Have you given your life to Christ?
Has that made a difference?
Do you spend time in worship?
In prayer?
Are you willing to let God reshape you into someone beautiful — someone holy?

Christ has big plans for you — for you personally.

He wants you to accept His invitation – but He also wants to change you.

Let Christ reshape your life.
Let Him make you into a new person.
If you will be faithful to Him, He will be faithful to you. He will give you a better life than you ever expected.

For this life in Christ, He must change us.

Changing is not optional – it is a requirement

Over my desk at the Outreach Center there is a “group shot” of all the volunteers and I who attended the banquet in Greensboro. I must say we look nice – all dressed up in our suits and long dresses. The other day one of our clients looked at the picture and asked who the people were. I began to point out each one – and finally the client looked at some of the same volunteers packing bags for the food distribution but dressed in shots and T shirts – and looked at me in my Khakis and knit shirt. The client finally said:

“Y’all cleaned up real good for that picture”

Yea – “cleaning up” – changing – letting Christ clean us – letting Christ change us – is not an option — it is a requirement.

AMEN

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20; Philippians 3:4b-14, Matthew 21:33-46

EXODUS 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20PHILIPPIANS 3:4(B)-14
MATTHEW 21:33-46COMMUNION
OCTOBER 2, 2005
“THE POWER OF LOVE”

READ SCRIPTURE

In his novel The Brothers Karamazov the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky relates a moving story of a Russian village and the daily lives of those who live there.
In one moving scene a woman goes to talk with a holy man about her problems with faith. “What if I’ve been believing all my life, and when I come to die there is nothing but Burdocks growing over my grave? … How can I prove it? How can I convince myself?”
The holy man answer thinks – then responds:
“By the experience of active love.
Insofar as you advance in active love, you will grow surer of the reality of God and of the immortality of the soul.”
The power of active love.
That is what our faith is all about – the power of God’s active love in our lives – and the power of God’s call to each of us to have active love for all people.
The power of active love.
The 10 Commandments we heard again moments ago have become “hot potatoes” lately – with groups forming to bring them back into the public life – and other groups against such public show of religion. From courthouses in Alabama to Washington state there are battles over the public display of the 10 Commandments.
What should we make of – and how should we consider – the 10 Commandments?
As laws written in stone by God — who will strike us down if we attempt to break them?
As 10 laws meant to do away with any fun we might have — or think about having — handed down to us by a God who is a killjoy – - continually spouting forth a litany of “Thou shalts” and “Thou shalt nots”?
As 10 laws that restrict what we do — handed down to us by a God who is only interested in limiting our actions?
Or — as 10 rules to closely follow – - to keep track of our obedience to – - and to take great pride in our ability to follow – - while at the same time looking down on those we do not feel keep the Commandments as well as we think we do?
Or – as a litmus test for political candidates – be for our side on the issue of the public display of the 10 Commandments – or we will not vote for you.
All these ways of interpreting the 10 Commandments are fairly prevalent – - as rules that restrict us or rules that cause us great pride when we feel we follow them better than others or as political litmus tests.
But – - wait a minute.
Are there other options for interpretting the 10 Commandments – - and other options for visualizing God?
Surely there must be.
Let’s take another look at God giving the 10 Commandments to the Israelites and see if we can come up with another way to interpret them — and another way to visualize God.
God had just freed the people of Israel from slavery. Through Moses God had worked miracles and mighty deeds that made clear God’s will for freedom for God’s people.
They had been freed by God – but now what?
Should their freedom change how they live?
Are they to live any differently because they have been freed from slavery by God?
Certainly.
The glorious fact that they had been freed from slavery by the power of God was to be the deciding factor in how they lived. They were to live differently from others — because God had blessed them with their freedom.
But – - how were they to live differently?
At Mt. Siani they found out.
In the fire and the smoke and the quaking of that holy mountain they found out how God wanted them to live.
They had been freed from slavery by their freeing – - life-giving God — and now they were to have undivided loyalty to God – - a loyalty that would not allow them to try to manipulate God by carving idols — or to take God’s Holy name lightly – - and that would require them to take a Sabbath day of rest out of every 7 days to remember and worship God.
But — because God had freed them – - they were also to live in a special relationship with others — honoring their parents — refraining from murder, adultery, stealing, lieing and coveting — or doing anything else that might keep them from living in this special relationship with God and others.
The 10 Commandments were indeed commandments – - but they were not Commandments that restricted what the people could and could not do as much as it freed them to love – - to love God and to love others — to honor and respect and worship God and to treat others with love and honor and respect.
The 10 Commandments are commandments to love God and to love others.
They are not commandments to restrict us or make us feel proud — they are instead commandments to love.
We are commanded to love.
We can feel the power of God’s love in our lives – and share God’s love with others in powerful, active ways.
The 10 Commandments are all about the power of God’s love.
Jesus understood what the 10 Commandments were all about.
When he confronted the Jewish leaders who for centuries had thought that they were better than all others — and who used the Commandments as a measuring stick to see how much better they were than others — he made it plain that just having the Commandments — just being in the vineyard — is not enough for the Kingdom of God.
Unless you let the Commandments lead you to be open to God — loving and respecting God and loving and respecting all people — you are not living in the ways God calls you to live — no matter how good a person you are
if you do not let God lead you to love for Him and others — you are not living in the ways of God.
If you do not realize the power of God’s love – let the power of God’s love change your life – and share the power of God’s love with others – you are not living in God ‘s ways.
Living in God’s ways is not so much about strict obediance as much as it is about the power of love.
The tenants in Jesus’ parable thought they had it made there in the vineyard — so much so they did not care about the landlord servants or his son. They didn’t let the power of having the vineyard change them and their attitudes towards the landlord.
Having the love of God — having salvation — should change us – the powerful love of God should change us — and it should bring about a change in our attitudes — in our devotion to God – - in the love we have and share with others.
That’s the power of God’ s love
It can change who we are
It can change how we relate to God and others
That’s what the 10 Commandments are all about – the power of love
Paul finally understood this.
He thought his life was perfect until he met Jesus — and saw just how imperfect he was. Then he began striving to live in love – the power of love — love for God – and love for others.
He finally discovered that his life was not meant to be spent feeling superior to others — but loving others.
Those 10 Commandments he had taken such great pride in were actually commandments to love God — and to love others.
He finally experienced – and committed himself to sharing – the power of God’s love.
I can experience and share God’s active, powerful love with the world
So can you
We can experience and share God’s active, powerful love with others.
This is not easy.
Paul understood how difficult it was — and yet he let God strengthen him as he strove to share God’s love with others.
It is only when we let God’s love take root in us that we can truly love others.
Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God with all your heart — soul — mind — and strength — and to love others as yourself.
There is an ancient monastic saying which is printed on your bulletin cover for today:

We have thrown down a light burden, which is the reprehending of our own selves, and we have chosen instead to bear a heavy burden, by justifying our own selves and condemning others.

When we choose to follow the power of God’s great love – sharing His love with each other and others – God strengthens us to live by the power of His love.
When we choose to try to justify ourselves – feel superior to others – and judge others instead of loving them as God does and as God calls on us to do – we are weakened by our own feelings of hatred and jealousy.
So – the question for us is:
How much do we love?
How much do we love God?
How much do we love others?
Do we let the active, life changing love of God work in your lives?
Do our actions show God’s active, life changing love to others?
The real question, though, is for you:
How much do you love?
How much do you love God?
How much do you love others?
Do you let the active, life changing love of God work in your life?
Do your actions show God’s active, life changing love to others?
Friends – as you partake of the Sacrament in a few moments, learn once again what it means to love.
As you partake of the bread and cup, remember the love of God – let that love touch you in a new way – and commit yourself to sharing the active, powerful love of God with others.
Learn again what it means to be open to God in your life and to be open to others.
Learn again what it means to be loved by a gracious God — who can lead us to love Him and the world.
Use this time in this place – - around this table with these people — to reflect on how well you show a love for God and others in your life — and use this Sacrament to strengthen your love for God and for the world.
Learn to not take up the burden of feeling superior to others or judging others – but to take on the actions of love and joy and peace.
Learn again to let God’s love move in you and change your life.
Learn again the power of God’s active love and how to share that with others.
Learn again the power of love.
AMEN