The Message, November 3, 2024: "Let Us Love!" Romans 12:9-18

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
November 05, 2024

 

“Let Us Love!”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Romans 12:9-18

            So … what was going on?

            Without going into excruciating detail about the history of the church in Roman, I will try to give you a snapshot of the context in which this letter was written. And I can tell you that there was a lot going on.

            We just celebrated our two hundred and sixty-second anniversary here at First Parish Church in Saco a couple of weeks ago. This letter to the church in Rome was likely written around 54 or 55 CE, and at that point the church was probably somewhere around TEN years old. They did not have two hundred years of history to draw upon. They were still trying to figure out how to be the church of Jesus Christ.

            And then in the midst of that struggle, there was a tense dynamic between the Jewish Christians in the congregation and the Gentile Christians. The bulk of the opening chapters of this letter addressed some of the questions that had cropped up:

            Paul reminded the Gentile Christians of their Jewish heritage,
            He reminded them that Abraham is the father of all of them,
            He reminded them about the importance of obedience to God,
            And he reminded the about the equal freedoms and responsibilities of both Jewish and Gentile Christians.

            Those issues were a lot in and of themselves, but then we have to remember that this was all within the social and political context of Rome. Beginning in this chapter, Paul addressed the issue of conflict with those outside of the church.

            Again, let us remember that this is a brand new religious movement that is finding its way in a historically pagan society. The Romans worshipped a pantheon of gods and goddesses. Idol worship was deeply engrained in their society, but the faith of the Christian community would not allow them to worship the Roman idols. They did not attend the festivals, and this created a significant amount of tension and conflict in public circles. They found themselves at odds with their family members, their friends and neighbors. They were being pressured to participate, and at times found themselves in dangerous circumstances.

            That is what was going on in the lives of those first-century Roman Christians. And as we look at it, the circumstances may seem very familiar for us nearly two thousand years later.

            Our lectionary reading for this Sunday is from Mark’s Gospel. The members of the Roman congregation did not have a lectionary, and they did not yet have Mark’s Gospel. But they would have been very familiar with the teaching and truth contained within it. We read this in Mark 12:28-34:

            "One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question."

            We have been hearing this teaching over the course of the last few weeks as we focused upon Jesus’ instructions to the disciples on discipleship. Paul used this teaching and applied it to the context of that early Roman church. The Romans knew about love, and Paul was reminding them of the centrality, the foundational nature, of that teaching. It is all about love. Period.

            The centrality of that message has not changed in two thousand years. That foundation is still the foundation upon which we are to build our lives and the practice of our faith. Love.

            It is very clear and succinct. It is not hard to understand a four-letter word that we hear and use hundreds and thousands of times. However, even with generations of practice, it can still be very difficult to do.

            It is hard to love when we are angry.
            It is hard to love when we are anxious about our health and our future.
            It is hard to love when people are mean and ugly and hateful.
            It is hard to love when we have people screaming at us, pointing fingers or shaking fists at us.
            It is hard to love when we are terrified.
            It is hard to love when the health, safety and happiness of those we care about are being threatened.
            It is hard to love those whom we believe to be unlovable.
            It is hard to love … but that is exactly what Jesus tells us that we must do. It is what Paul tells us that we are to do if we profess to follow the Way of Christ.

            We most love. Period.

            And Paul is instructing us that not only are we to love, but also that our love must be genuine, sincere, honest. Yes, it is possible to act performatively. It is possible to fake love. However, where genuine love thrives love will spread, and love will grow. The practice of genuine love also allows the other attributes and practices that Paul cites to flourish and thrive.

            Loving and honoring others as Jesus taught us actually takes ‘loving our neighbors as ourselves’ a step farther. It means that we think of their needs before we think of our own. Being a living sacrifice means that we are willing to ensure that our neighbors’ needs are met before we take care of our own needs. It means that we are willing to sacrifice for the common good.

            The love of which Paul wrote was ‘agape.’ It is a term with which most of us are familiar. Agape is a deep and enduring love. It is a love that is full time. It is a love in which serving is not part-time or sporadic. It is a love through which we serve without reluctance or hesitation. It is a love that is the more excellent way. We have received the grace and mercy of God, and because of that we offer the same to others.

            It is quite clear in the teachings of Jesus Christ, and in the letters of Paul, that this love is not passive. Genuine love is active. Genuine love does not instruct us to be doormats and accept the hate and evil in the world. Love requires action. Peace requires action. Justice requires action.

            We are to live and act in the ways and the manner of love. We are to live in the light of God’s mercies. We are called to be kind and generous. We must resist evil in every way that we are able without resorting to evil ourselves.

            Evil is anything that deviates from the Way of God. Evil is the absence of God. And repaying evil for evil only makes the circle of evil wider; it makes the roots of evil deeper. Evil begets evil. It is love and love alone that can overcome the power of evil.

            Paul is instructing us not to simply practice self-control when we are harmed or provoked. We are to do more than simply not repay evil for evil. We are called to do more. We are always called to do more.

            We are called to do good in the face of evil.

            In the face of evil or evil acts, do not despair. Instead … sow joy.
            In the face of evil, do not condone hate. Instead … be more zealous in spreading love.
            Our job … our calling … as Christians is to love, not to judge. We are called to serve, not to mete out punishment or retribution.

            We know that the next few days will be difficult to navigate. The current political environment is toxic, it is divisive, it is corrosive, and it is explosive. Our friendships are frayed, our nerves are frazzled, and we are terrified about what may transpire.

            We pray that there will be peace.
            We pray that there will be healing.
            We pray that we can find a path forward that is more loving, and kind, and gentle.
            We pray for our children and our grandchildren, and for our neighbors’ children and grandchildren.
            We pray for the members of vulnerable and marginalized communities.

            And in that face of all of the negativity, and hostility, and ugliness, and evil … we love. Period. We love.
            Amen.

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