October 23, 2022 ~ Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Sermon & Zoom Worship Video Link

This is the Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/MCKQIpYSjDTR_evkRiga7jCNOruVH55q1JL5WqcysHGrBXfOJPkWq8VEuFXcOGrZ.K22yphHSJ-YdxIRp

Follow Jesus: “Learn to See through the Lens of Love”                   10/23/22—Highland—Meute

“No Greater Commandment”

Deuteronomy 6: 4-9; Mark 12: 28-34

Pearl: Love of God and love of neighbor fulfills the whole law.

Function: To motivate listeners to move closer to the kingdom of God, like this scribe, by choosing love over law.

Our fundamental doctrine is to “love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.”

1. This is the essence of following Jesus. Following Jesus is the starting point of our ongoing study of “biblical practices for faithful living.”
   1. This is our assignment for the next few years. We are drilling down into basic aspects of following Jesus Christ.
   1. We are rediscovering our calling to be followers of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. There were a series of approaches to Jesus by the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes. In this final of the series was a scribe who asked Jesus the all-important question: “What is the most important commandment?”
   1. The scribes had determined that the Jews were obligated to obey 613 precepts in the law: 365 negative precepts (you shalt not), and 248 positives (you shall).
      1. One of the scribes’ favorite exercises was discussing which of these divine commandments was the greatest.
      1. This particular scribe was not just trying to trip up Jesus but he had a sincere interest, a spiritual curiosity about Jesus’ agenda.
      1. So, he engaged Jesus in this favorite topic of conversation.
   1. Do you have a favorite topic that you discuss and/or which consumes your attention?
      1. In the Philadelphia region most are riding the wave of enthusiasm over the Phillies and the Eagles right now.
         1. The fans are going wild as these two teams continue to succeed.
      1. Many speak about their investments and how well or how poorly they are doing.
         1. I used to know a fellow who checked the activity of the market multiple times through the day, always thinking about his investments.
      1. Others talk about what they are going to do on the weekend because they quite literally live for the weekend.
      1. Sometimes it is a project you are working on which consumes your attention and energies.
         1. For these Pharisees and Sadducees and scribes, they were consumed with the Law of God.
3. Then Jesus came along preaching that love was the most important thing in life, because “love is the fulfilling of the Law” (Romans 13: 8-10). The Apostle Paul amplified Jesus’ writing:
   1. “Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet;’ and any other commandments, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.”
   1. Jesus taught that this was the fundamental focus for his followers.

As we are driven and guided by this focus, the closer we are to the kingdom of God.

Following Jesus is a matter of seeing through the lens of love. This is how God sees. As we see through this lens we see as God sees.

1. The new President of Princeton Theological Seminary, Jonathon Walton, wrote a book about reading the Bible with a lens of love.
   1. One chapter is “Seeing as God Sees: Putting on the Lenses of Love.”
      1. He hearkened back to the Shema, the guiding motto of the people of God.
         1. He wrote, “the ancient Israelites did not make the division between the heart and the head. The Hebrew word for heart, leb, can also mean ‘mind’ as ‘will.’ Israelites understood the heart as the center of knowledge. An encouragement to keep those teachings in the heart is acknowledging the heart as the center of moral decision-making” (P. 41).
         1. Last week when I was teaching the Shema to the young disciples, I was sure the word “mind” was included. It turns out that Jesus included it in his retelling.
            1. Likely because the heart and the mind are a unity.
         1. Walton went on to write about the great educator and sociologist of religion, Benjamin Elijah Mays, who summed up this concept: “The love of God and the love of humankind are one love” (P. 41).
            1. This says to me that if we have little love for people then we should attend to our relationship with God.
            1. But also, we attend to our relationships with people at the same time…because as Mays wrote, they are one and the same. The practice of loving people helps us love God more.
2. This “one love” is the lens which followers of Jesus should wear.

Our law is love. This ethic of love is no namby-pamby, soft, anything-goes type of attitude.

1. It is a comprehensive, life-calling to work with all of our might from a place of compassion, care, empathy, and justice. This work flows straight from the geyser of the good news of the kingdom of God, which is our motivation.
   1. Jesus preached this good news that the kingdom of God was present.
      1. This realm of God continues to empower his church, and all of his people today.
2. The work of justice is empowered by love.
   1. Professor Cornell West likes to say, “Justice is what love looks like in public” (Walton, P. 42). Sometimes we debate whether justice is part of Jesus’ gospel.
      1. Justice is the work of love.
      1. This work is life-long, and consuming.
         1. It is our calling as followers of Jesus.
         1. Preaching the good news of the kingdom of God goes hand in hand with doing justice.
            1. The Prophet Micah asked the question, “What does the Lord require of you  but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8).

Are we getting closer to the kingdom of God? As we grow and mature, are we getting closer?

1. Jesus received that scribe warmly when he came to question him.
   1. After giving his answer to the man’s question he complimented him by saying, “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (12:34).
   1. Isn’t that where we want to be?
      1. Our families, our church, our world need to be closer to the kingdom of God.
      1. Sin continues to sabotage that union. But God’s power is greater than sin.
2. Seeing as God sees is living closer to the kingdom of God.
   1. Wearing the lenses of love is seeing as God sees.
   1. Are we wearing the lenses of love?
   1. What will it take to put them on?
3. These lenses of love will correct our vision. As we wear them, we will have 20/20 vision.

We will see as God sees and we will be closer to the kingdom of God.