Working Together to Love Our Neighbors

Working Together to Love our Neighbors
Romans 13:8-10 Matthew 18:15-20
In our lessons today from Romans and Matthew we are reminded of how we are to live our lives as Christians called to love our neighbours as ourselves. Love is the fulfilment of the law. Where two or more are gathered in my name , there I am with them. Our Risen Lord calls us to the ministry of Reconciliation. God uses us as instruments of peace to draw people unto him. We must be humble and gracious to one another, recognizing that we all make mistakes. We are all students in God’s school of love. We never truly graduate. Each of us wrestles with difficult life lessons that can take a life time to resolve.
Today, on Rally Day let us explore our sacred call to love our neighbour. How are ministries living testimonies of God’s love for our brothers and sisters near and far. Are our definitions of neighbours too narrow? We must confess and repent how we as the church have fallen short. How have we succumbed to the temptation to pull away and form holy huddles that exclude others. God’s loves flows through us to transcend all the barriers and social categories that work to divide us.
God’s radical love pushes us to even to love our neighbours who we see as our enemies. In Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, Jesus preaches :
“Love your enemies do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those ill treat you.... If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.”
God’s call for us to love our neighbour is more demanding than mere saccharine slogans or flowery poems read at some Coffee house open mic. To love others we must forgive and see the image of God in others. Yes, even the tax collectors and pagans of our day are worthy of God’s love and compassion. We are called to love, to serve and embrace all of God’s children. We set aside our pride and puffed up piety. We restrain from drawing lines of who is in and who is out. God’s love flowing through us is our best form of evangelism.
Last Monday, we enjoyed Labor Day. The unofficial end of summer. Have we have we lost an appreciation of why we have this long weekend? Our ancestors in the faith understood this call to love our neighbours as ourselves. They were instrumental in the labor reforms and the protections that we may take for granted. Not so long ago people were flocking from the farm fields into our cities seeking work. Many folks were in for a rude awakening.
As disciples of Christ called to love our neighbour, we minister to our neighbours near and far who struggle for their daily bread, for dignity and their humanity. Communities going through the process of industrialization can be very dehumanizing. When your country has unemployment rates as high 65 % you are vulnerable to exploitation. Especially when there are ten people in line behind that will gladly take your place. We pray and remember our neighbours who work in the mines and other hazardous jobs where one risks their very lives to put food on the table and roof over their heads.
Ever since the industrial revolution, scholars have warned us about the impact economic conditions can have on our humanity. For the sake of prosperity and the greater good we must not lose sight of our neighbour and their well being. We have made a lot of progress: we have forty hour work weeks, eight hour shits, overtime and child labor laws. Too see how far we have come we can read a Dicken’s novels and the conditions the Londoners faced. The Wesley brothers founded the Methodist tradition in England in the midst of these difficult times. Their disciples ministered to their neighbours toiling long and hard for their daily bread.
At the turn of the 20th Century, Walter Rausenbusch and others were advocating the social gospel. They stressed that God’s salvation is both personal and social. In Hell’s Kitchen in New York City, Rausenbusch saw the hardships people endured in the industrial plants. People working too many hours and children losing out on an education.
Our call to love our neighbour struggling for their daily bread continues today. If you visit LA, I invite you to tour the garment district downtown, and in NY you can visit the Lower Eastside of Manhattan. Today we still can see the first generation of Immigrants struggling to realize the American dream that draws them from many shores.
Closer to home here in the Twin Cities, many of us are coping with fear and anxiety as our community continues to change. Over the years we have grown more distant from one another. We don’t know our neighbours the way we used to. How often do we bring a welcome dish to our new neighbour? We are growing more isolated, guarded and sceptical. We post no solicitation signs on our front doors lest the evangelists come knocking. “ No I don’t need another vacuum cleaner or Encyclopedia set!”
These past few weeks we have seen some inspiring moments where the Eastside community came together in a time of crisis. The hundred people who gathered for our vigil for Tammie after she was assaulted at Lake Phalen. Two hundred folks who attended the community meeting with Mayor Coleman, Police Chief and Councilman Bostrom. The dozens of people who came together to reclaim the Asian meditation sculpture that was vandalized by racists.
We have seen our neighbours coming together to love and support one another. I was moved to see how many members of AHP were present and accounted for. How do we move beyond the crisis mode and come together as community as a regular part our daily lives? We can take this inspiration from recent events and build on this momentum. The Eastside Children’s Program, Rally Day and Picnic are opportunities to build community and extend love to our neighbours.
It is fitting that Rev. Abbott is with us today to share what is happening with the St Paul Area Council of Churches. We have seen time and time again how churches seem to duplicate and compete with another. Jesus promises to be present with us when two or more are gathered in his name. How much more is God’s Spirit moving when we share our ministries and resources with the wider body of Christ?
The church is not perfect and we have had many painful chapters. But every time we have had heresies and blinding idolatries, there have always been fellow members of Christ’s body working to reform the church and point us back on the path. Change never comes fast enough, but in God’s time we have overcome many of our mistakes.
Any time we come together there will be conflicts and politics that need to be endured. Robert McCaffey Brown once said of the church, “If it wasn’t for the storm on the outside, we could not put up with the stink on the inside.”
Our call to love our neighbours requires us to see one another with eyes of love and compassion. We all have worts and rough spots. From time to time, we will slip up and need to be held accountable with love and forgiveness.
Paul reminds us that love is completes the law and Jesus teaches us how we are to deal with conflict. The way of the world is to engage in gossip and rumors instead of the difficult work of confronting the person who has offended us. Let us work with another with grace and humility. Our neighbours will take notice of how we live together in community and how we partner with them. The longevity of our relationships is more important than winning or being right.
Each one of us is a child of God with the image of God residing in us. Day by day, we seek out how God is being revealed in our fellowship with one another and our neighbours. We live in this triangle of love, God-Self-Neighbor. Our loved shared together mirrors the love shared by the Father-Son-Holy Ghost.
This dance of love will never end. Join the song and dance! Take your neighbour’s hand, show them that you see them for who they are. We are always more than any category people try to place on us. We love our neighbours, understanding their struggles and working with them to experience a fuller realization of God’s kingdom. Yes, they will know we are Christians by our love. God melt us and mold us so you can use as instruments of your peace. We will follow your call and embrace our neighbours, near and far.