Building the Beloved Community – Radical Discipleship Part VIII

Sermon Title: Building the Beloved Community

Good News Statement: God provides the designs, but we are to build

Preached: Sunday, February 27, 2022 at Dogwood Prairie and Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSV): 1 John 14:13-21: Today’s scripture reading comes from John’s Frist Epistle to us believers chapter fourteen verses thirteen thru  twenty-one. Listen to the words of the “beloved disciple”…

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

¹³ By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. ¹⁶ So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. ¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. ²¹ The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

 

Introduction:

          Once upon a time, there was kindergarten teacher in Texas, who was helping one of her students put on his cowboy boots. He asked for help, and she could see why. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn’t want to go on. By the time they got the second boot on, she had worked up a sweat.

She almost cried when the little boy said, “Teacher, they’re on the wrong feet.” She looked, and sure enough, they were.  It wasn’t any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on, this time on the right feet.

He then announced, “These aren’t my boots.” She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, “Why didn’t you say so?” Once again, she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet. No sooner had they gotten the boots off when he said, “They’re my brother’s boots. My mom made me wear ’em.”

Now she didn’t know if she should laugh or cry, but she mustered up what grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again.

Helping him into his coat, she asked, “Now, where are your mittens?” He said, “I stuffed ’em in the toes of my boots.”

 

In a recent article published by Outreach Magazine titled, “Breaking the Rules Like Jesus Did,” author and theologian Leonard Sweet boldly claims that Jesus was a rule breaker. Jesus was someone who pushed the buttons of many, who brought out the worst in people, who tested the patience of society, who challenged longstanding customs of the times, and who probably would have been the one to put his mittens in his boots. Jesus’ actions caused anxiety, stress, and possibly nightmares for both followers and non-followers.

For example, Jesus was terrible at keeping the Sabbath, he ate with unwashed hands and unclean people—like tax collectors and Pharisees—he conversed with a Samaritan Woman—who had been divorced several times—he allowed his disciples to swipe food from another person’s field, he talked to demons, he walked with and healed those who society had exiled from their home village, and he even declared himself to be God. Jesus was a rule breaker; but he wasn’t just any rule breaker, he didn’t just break rules to break them. Jesus broke rules to prove a point and to ultimately save the people—to save you and me.

By breaking these rules, by establishing his kingdom here on earth, we have been able to experience unending love and grace; we have been able to embrace the feeling of being saved; and we have been empowered to bring his people together—a people that longs to feel belonged to a sanctifying and edifying community. Because Jesus was willing to break certain rules, because he was willing to leave his mittens in his boots and force us to be patient when nothing seems to be going right, we have received the greatest gift of all: we have received the gift of being part of God’s beloved community. This community was designed by God but is built by the people.

Opening Prayer:

            Let us pray…Dear Heavenly Father, the time has come to truly be part of Your beloved community. Lord, allow today’s message to challenge us to continue building what you have started—provide us with the tools and instructions to build Your kingdom here on earth for future generations to come. I pray that my words fall to the ground as your words settle in the hearts of all those before me. In your name we pray, Amen.

 

Body:

On April 7, 1957, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood behind a wooden pulpit in Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, and said these words, “The aftermath of nonviolence is redemption. The aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation. The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community.” “The beloved community” is a phrase that was first coined in the early days of the 20th Century by the philosopher and theologian Josiah Royce, who founded the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Later it was given depth and meaning under the spiritual direction of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil Rights Era.

On April 7, 1957, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. declared in the presence of hundreds of people that when hatred, deceit, judgment, and underhandedness leave this earth, God’s beloved community will prevail—a community of care and support: it will not only prevail, but it will stand the test of time. God’s beloved community is what we all seek through the never ending and never failing love that can never be separated from us. God’s beloved community is a place, as Paul describes, where people are to be “kind to one another, tenderhearted, [and] forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). God’s beloved community is the place where we are equipped to do the work of ministry, to build up the Body of Christ, and to come together in unity of faith and knowledge of God (Ephesians 4:12). God’s beloved community is our place of new beginnings. And these new beginnings start with knowing that God’s love—God’s agape love—lives within your heart.

From today’s Scripture reading, John, the supposed beloved disciple, boldly reminds us that “God lives in us, and His love is perfected in us…” because “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God…” (1 John 4:12 & 16). John lays the foundation upon which any beloved community is to be constructed. The foundation is love. But it’s not just any kind of love that is used to build the beloved community. The love that is used to build the beloved community—to bring people together—is more than Paul’s definition of love—that love is patient, kind, trustworthy, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and never fails. The love that is used to build the beloved community has been sent down from heaven by God and resides in your heart. John wrote, “God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him” (John 4:9), so that we would not be cloaked in fear of our neighbors and enemies but instead love them as we love ourselves. God’s love is a love that is perfected in our heart so that we can strive to bring peace and love to a broken community and world. God’s love motivates us to build a beloved community where people are brought together. God’s love is the foundation of new beginnings.

Thinking about God’s love, throughout this month on Thursdays, I have been reflecting on the love of the New Testament with many of you. During this month, we reflected upon the story of the Rich Man, Paul’s definition of love, God’s inseparable love, and putting love into action. The Rich Man, who had many faults and sins and went away in shock and grief after hearing the instructions of Jesus to “go, sell everything that he had and give the money to the poor” (Mark 10:17-22, was still loved by Jesus. The Rich Man wasn’t perfect: he didn’t understand how powerful Jesus’ love could be, but yet Jesus still loved him. The Rich Man sounds like us at times. We question Jesus’ command in our life. The beloved community of God is composed of many people who don’t fully understand that they are loved by God: that God abides in them even when they sin and struggle to understand what Jesus is asking of them. The beloved community is the place where differences and wrongdoings are set aside; and in their place acceptance and grace reside.

After looking at the story of the Rich Man, we reflected on the definition of love according to Paul which is found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. In his definition, Paul reminds us of eight things that love is and eight things that love is not. Love is patient, kind, trustworthy, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and never fails. Love is not envious, boastful, arrogant, rude, self-centered, irritable, resentful, or composed of wrongdoings. From his definition of love, Paul invites us to love like Christ loves us at all times. Paul invites us to know that God’s love never ends. And Paul invites us to be equipped with the love that is needed to build the Body of Christ. When we build the Body of Christ by acts of love, we learn to welcome all of God’s people into His beloved community. We gain an understanding that everyone is created in His image. We become encouraged and motivated to join together to build a place that not only has open doors but has open hearts. Through Paul’s definition of love we can build the beloved community which reminds people that love is more than a word and a feeling: love is a promise.

Last week, both during the reflection and during service, we explored the idea that love is a promise by looking at Romans 8:35-39. Paul wrote these words to the people of Rome, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword…. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35, 38-39). God’s abiding love is a promise that can never be separated from us. Absolutely nothing can take away the love that God has for you, not even Satan and repeated trials and temptations. Absolutely nothing can remove God’s love from your life.

In addition to sharing that God’s love is a like padlock—locked for eternity–and that He has a padlock with your name on it, I shared the story of Kim Harmon who is battling cancer. From her story she shared that through prayer she has learned that not even cancer can separate her from the love of Christ. She came to this notion by realizing that “We don’t have to go to heaven to see Jesus because we can see Jesus in our heart.” With Jesus abiding in our heart, the words of John become even more real when he shares, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear…” (1 John 4:18) because God abides in us.

In a beloved community there is no fear but trust in the Lord. King Solomon, in his proverbs, states on several accounts about trusting in the LORD. Proverbs 19:25 states, “The fear of others lays a snare, but one who trusts in the LORD is secure.” Proverbs 16:20 says, “Those who are attentive to a matter will prosper, and happy are those who trust in the LORD.” And Proverbs 3:5 asserts, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.” When we learn to trust in the Lord, we receive His promise of a never ending love. This never ending love will never be separated from you. Absolutely nothing can take it away. The beloved community of God is built on trust and the promise that whoever enters it will have love for eternity. We will love those who enter the beloved community because “he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). The beloved community is where we see Jesus.

After reflecting on the fact that the love of God can never be separated from us, we reflected on what it may look like to put love into action. Knowing what is going on overseas between Russia and Ukraine and hearing that bombs have landed and innocent loves have been lost, I believe it is safe to say that this world could benefit from seeing a little bit more love in action. We can put love into action simply by serving one another, being patient with one another, being courteous with one another, avoiding judgment, being an example for one another, forgiving one another, and praying for one another. Or we can do what John Wesley insisted almost 250 years ago, “Do all the good we can, by all the means we can, in all the ways we can, in all the places we can, at all the times we can, to all the people we can, and for as long as we can.” When we learn to care for each other, when we learn to do good for our neighbor, we begin to spread God’s love, and we begin to build a beloved community that is in “common with each other” (Acts 2:44) and absent of fear.

As we build a beloved community that is common with each other and focused on putting love into action, we fulfill the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23.   When we put love into action, we find a way to bring love and compassion to a lost and broken heart, we bring joy during a moment of sadness and discomfort, we bring peace and patience to a spirit surrounded by chaos and uncertainty, darkness instead of light, we bring kindness to a soul who needs to be released from hatred and evil, we bring generosity to the poor and hungry, we bring faithfulness to the faithless generations, we bring self-control to the overwhelmed, and we bring gentleness to the afflicted and hurting. When we put love into action, we not only exercise the Fruit of the Spirit, but we help God save the neighbor, the world, and even ourselves.  When we put love into action, we faithfully, with grace and serenity, build the beloved community in which God has designed for us to build. The question becomes, “Are you willing to help build the beloved community of God?”

I hope your answer is yes, because our community and our world need to experience the love that God has given you. It’s time to spread love and build peace, to spread kindness and build encouragement, to spread acceptance and build unity; and to spread light and build relationships.

Conclusion:

Again, thinking about what just took place a couple of days ago, the bombing of several Ukrainian villages, the death of innocent lives, and a threat that can be heard around the world, the words of Rev. Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr. seem more prevalent now than sixty years ago. People are crying out that this war is “The darkest hour in European history since World War II.” The darkest hour in European history since World War II. I don’t know about you, but I think building a beloved community centered on God’s peace and inseparable love seems quite comforting right now.

Knowing that God love us even when we fault, knowing that God has given us a love that offers patience, kindness, truth and never ends, knowing that we have received a love from God that cannot be taken away from us, and knowing that the love that abides in us does not come with fear but comes with action and determination to bring people together, what do we need to do in order to build the beloved community that God has designed us to build? What can you do to build the beloved community of God? What do we need to do as a church to build the community of God?

Love is being covered by hate around the world. How can we change that? How can we remind others that because Jesus abides in them, they have received an unconditional love to which can transform the world. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sought a community that focuses on redemption, reconciliation, and restorative justice and love. Today is the day to exercise the love that God has given you. Pray for others. Be an example for others. Forgive others. Embrace others. Walk and talk with others. Equip others with faith and grace. Do all the good you can. Our community and our world need to experience God’s love. God has designed a beloved community that needs to be built by you, by me, and by all of us. The time has come to put God’s love into action. The time has come to become the Body of Christ. The time has come to realize that God abides in you as you abide in Him.

Are you willing to become the beloved community that God has designed us to be? Are you ready to break the rules so all are loved? The choice is yours….

Closing Prayer: For our closing prayer, please repeat after me:

Dear Lord, I am ready to build your community. I am ready to spread your love. I am ready to grow your church. Lord, I am ready to belong to your beloved community—a community of acceptance, of patience, of kindness, and of love. Amen.

Benediction:

As you seek to build what God has designed, remember He has given you the foundation all you have to do is spread His love. How will you put God’s love into action? How will you help build the beloved community of God? In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, go, transforming lives as you live well and wisely in God’s world. Amen. Amen. Amen.