Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost

In Romans today, Paul provides a sketch of the daily life of an average ancient Christian, and if we’re honest, we’ll probably find the words resonate today.

“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good,” he begins.

And as we go deeper, we find examples of self-giving love. Paul calls us to let go of our doubts and extend a hand of peace, or at least tolerance, even to our enemies. Paul describes a very action- oriented ministry where the members of the community are expected to get out of the church, go into the world, and share in ministry.

What gives shape to this action-oriented ministry? Paul doesn’t pull this guidance out of thin air. The motivating event that drives Paul’s treatise is the very model of ministry in action and self-sacrifice offered by Jesus.

Look back at the passage from Romans. Paul is not offering nebulous guidance about how to walk in love. Paul just isn’t a wishy-washy guy. Paul offers direct and specific directions on how to love one another. Notice all the action verbs - be ardent, serve, rejoice, contribute, extend, bless, live, feed...

What we might take away from Paul’s description of ministry is that love is an action verb, not an abstract concept.

Yes, in Elementary school, we learn that love is an abstract word. Walking and running have
measurable actions, but in theory, love is not something we cannot see, hear, taste, or smell.

With all due respect to our wonderful teachers, I need you to know that in a Christian sense, love is an action verb. It’s not just something we feel.

Authentic love calls us out of our comfort zones and demands that we act on our feelings. Christian love requires we practice our love in the world every day.

Paul describes how love is manifest in our actions.

This is a self-giving love that is modeled on Jesus’s life – his ministry on the road and his journey to the cross. Just as Jesus reminds us to take up the cross, Paul reminds his community that we are called to do hard things.

And this is the point when a lot of us start getting a little tight in the chest. It’s hard to imagine getting out of our comfort zones. Most days we’d rather not speak out against social injustice because that involves potential conflict.

When we look at the examples of Jesus, the disciples, and even Moses, we are reminded that each person is called to their specific ministry.

Jesus was called to the cross. Jesus’s ministry, including his life, death, and resurrection,
demonstrates that nothing, not even death, can separate us from eternal life in God. Jesus had to travel to Jerusalem and suffer to manifest this truth in a way we can understand.
The cross is a metaphor for the hard things we are called to challenge, but not everyone is meant to be crucified.

The disciples were not initially called to be martyrs, though some were. Despite their foibles and human misunderstandings, the disciples were called to spread the Good News of Jesus, to share the Gospel.

Despite his flaws, Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of captivity. This required sacrifice and courage, but ultimately, Moses lived a long life as he guided the people through the wilderness to the promised land.

So, then, if the scriptures offer us various examples of how individuals followed their call uniquely, you might be wondering how to discover your own action plan for walking in God’s love.

If only we had a list of action verbs that could offer us direction each day.

Lo and behold, if you look in your bulletin, you’ll find an insert for just such a model. Please take a moment to pull out the Way of Love guide included there.

When we’re wondering how to manifest our love into action, the Way of Love offers specific steps to guide our daily lives. If you look at the cross on the insert, you’ll see a list of action verbs, like our Romans passage:

Learn, pray, worship, bless, go, rest, and turn.

Instead of focusing entirely on the outward aspects of ministry, this list reminds us that our work for God includes self-development and reflection to balance our evangelical work for God’s justice.

Certain elements are intended to be personal daily practices like LEARN and PRAY. These give us immediate goals for centering God in our lives every day. Read a little scripture and dwell intentionally with God each day.

WORSHIP, however, is weekly practice. At least once a week we gather in community to thank, praise, and dwell with God. When we commit to regular practices of learning from the Scriptures, praying with God, and worshiping in community, then we will find clarity and guidance in our calling to serve in the world.

BLESS reflects the need to share our faith (yes, that’s evangelism) and share our time and talents. We share our gifts according to our unique life situations and abilities.

A little aside here about evangelism. I know. That’s the ugly E-word in the Episcopal church. Many of us have experienced very uncomfortable moments when someone tried to convert us or simply asked us repeatedly if we are saved. Personally, I wouldn’t call that evangelism.

Evangelism is sharing the Good News of Jesus in the world. Rarely have I found that anyone is receptive when you get in their face and demand they hold accountability to you about their faith life. This is not good news.

I find the Good News of Christ in my life is manifest in my personal experiences of community – in service, in worship, in formation, and in fellowship. In fact, the only direct knowledge I have of God in the world is through my life experiences. So, I believe that healthy evangelism is when we simply share our stories.

That might sound like:

“We had the funniest conversation during coffee hour at church last week...”
Or
“I had a very meaningful conversation with someone at Neighbor’s Table...”
Or
“Serving donuts to the homeless changed the way I think about my neighbors...”
Or
“My time in an EFM group changed my life...”

Evangelism is not about forcing other people to convert. Evangelism is authentically sharing your experience of Jesus in the world. This is the Good News that we are asked to share with the world as a blessing.

Which brings us to GO. Sometimes, we are called to leave our comfort zones and speak for those who are oppressed, marginalized, ignored, abused, and abandoned. We are called to help heal a hurting world. And for some people, this is truly a life calling. For many of us, it’s a journey of trial and error. We are called to try and do our best.

However, witnessing to the love, justice, and truth of God in our lives is work. From time to time, we are all given permission to retreat and recharge. How many times did Jesus withdraw to pray in the Gospels?

Which is why the next intentional practice in the Way of Love is REST. Did you hear what I said?

Rest is an intentional practice. Time we set aside to receive the gift of God’s grace, peace, and restoration. Whether it’s a Sabbath hour each day or a Sabbath day each week, we are called to recharge our batteries with healthy practices. (And they tell me that scrolling endlessly on the phone does not qualify. Sorry.)

Only when we take the time to rest and refill our own tanks can we serve in the world in a healthy capacity.

Finally, the Way of Love includes TURN.

Because, my friends, we make mistakes. We lose our temper, we avoid a topic, we hurt people accidentally, and we make wrong turns in life. We are human, and we must intentionally keep our attention on God, or this world will most certainly draw us away.
Indeed, the most often quoted excuse for not praying every day is the tyranny of urgency.

“I meant to, but the school called/my boss emailed/the AC broke/my kid was sick...” There will always be a reason to put it off to another day. And this is why the Way of Love is a cycle. We make simple commitments each day. We set our goals each week. We give it our best, and then we start over again with a clean slate and try again. Learn, pray, worship, bless, go, rest, and turn.

The Way of Love is one set of intentional practices that offer guidance on how to manifest God’s love in our words and actions every day. We might see it as a modern take on Paul’s directions in Romans. In both, we are offered specific actions to follow the way of Jesus, to center our lives on the ministry of Jesus, and to embrace the self-giving love of Jesus in our daily lives.

So, I invite you to consider, how will you practice the active love of God in your life this week?

The Rev. Mercedes Clements

Exodus 3:1-15, Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c, Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28