Do We Understand The Purpose Of The Law Of Love?

 

Good Morning Friends,

  
 

Yesterday I mentioned that the parables of the patched cloth and the wineskins were sandwiched in between two similar confrontations between Jesus and the Pharisees. Today’s lectionary selection has the other side of the sandwich and indeed, no joking it is related to bread…Holy Bread. The passage from Mark is related to the challenge of following laws that are no longer helpful. In the scripture, we see the importance of the character of David and why God choose him to be King. We see a new way being formed, and it is instructive for us in understanding the purpose of the law of love. You see, Jesus uses this to teach us something very important. We are to discern the law in its application to our relationship with God and others. It is about how God’s Kingdom works more than it is about perceived infractions. As David guides his hungry troops to eat the Bread of the Presence in the Temple, he realizes it is against the law but also that it is God’s will for him to eat. And that prompts today’s reflection about the purpose of laws in our church and society and our response to them. Do We Understand The Purpose Of The Law Of Love?

  
 

Scripture: One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

  
 

Mark 2:23-28 (NRSV)

  
 

For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do. And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. When God made a promise to Abraham, because he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. Human beings, of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all dispute. In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

 
 

Hebrews 6: 10-20 (NRSV)

 
 

Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful. He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant. He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.

 
 

Psalm 111:1-10 (NRSV)

 
 

The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” Samuel did what the LORD commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is now before the LORD.” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any of these.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

 
 

1 Samuel 16:1-13 (NRSV)

 

Message: The story of David helps us to see things right. It challenges us to look beyond outward appearances into a person’s heart and character. And yet still we are surprised by the choice of David for King. We are surprised by the selection of Jesus as heir to the Davidic Kingdom. What we need to learn is that it is what is inside counts but we still have to act. David was born last. It is the wrong place in the birth order to become king. Jesus was born first but lowly in a manger in the City of David. Here we must face our prejudices and instinctual inclination to raise up those with the best appearance and abilities. This kind of emptiness drives our society. We want someone to look up to… a king… and unfortunately not one on a cross. Maybe it is because we view heroes in the wrong way. Maybe our last choice is God’s first choice. Maybe our fear is not that we be chosen last but that we not be chosen at all. Saul was rejected and so was Jesus. So, do you possess the kind of character God is looking for? Maybe God is still looking for people he can call and use for His glory. Maybe God is looking for specific, surprising people to be the Sovereign’s choice because they have learned to love and live the life God designed them to live. Friends, knowing in faith that God has our best interests at heart we can persevere. Knowing that this must produce character, our hope is strengthened with confidence and the love of God in the Holy Spirit that can bless us each and every day. The context of today’s Gospel passage helps us to understand this law of love as it relates to man’s laws. Jesus had just healed a man in the Synagogue on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were rigid and unbending in their understanding of the Sabbath. And they believed that absolutely no work could be done on the Sabbath except if a life were in danger. And they added many of their own laws, rules, and interpretations to make sure that no work would be done. Consider some of their rules. You could not attend to a fracture. You could not pour cold water on a sprained hand or foot. You could bandage a wound, but you could not use ointment. In short, you could only keep it from getting worse. You could not make them better, that would be work. This rigidness also extended beyond the medical sphere. You could not prepare meals on the Sabbath. Scribes could not have a pen nor tailors a needle. That could lead to work. In the Maccabean Wars, soldiers would not fight and defend themselves on the Sabbath, and they got slaughtered. With their rules and interpretations, safe to say, Jesus would break the Sabbath by healing a person on the Sabbath. To them, man was made for the Sabbath. Jesus took a different approach that engages us in a relationship designed to glorify God in relationship with people. This, much like Jesus Sermon on the Mount and his healing on the Sabbath, is about the Kingdom of God and its radical and inclusive and redemptive reality that we hopefully pray will come when we say the words in the Lord’s Prayer.

 
 

And So, today’s message as summed up in our passage from Hebrews. It is designed to persuade the reader to strive for the better things that accompany salvation and benefit from this righteousness. God does not forget our work and labor of love. But this is not to suggest that suddenly we are back in the realm of salvation by works, but rather to give encouragement to those who show that they love God by ministering to their brothers and sisters in Christ. We need not be afraid of the idea of reward, because Jesus promises it. We are to provoke love and good works. We are to nurture the assurance of hope and faith in the promises of God. This understanding of the Sabbath gives us a divine eternal rest born out of love practiced with awe and obedience to glorify the higher calling of God. We see here a new way being formed, and it is instructive for us in understanding the purpose of the law of love being substituted for the 613 laws that put a hedge around behavior. You see, Jesus uses this to teach us something very important about subtracting to add. In the story of David, Jesus describes a discerning of the law related to David’s role and to his relationship with God and with people. There is a message here for us too and it is about God’s rule in our hearts.

 
 

Pray we are honest. Pray we repent by directing our heart to God. Pray we are Spirit-filled. Pray we spend time alone with God. Pray we are obedient in small things so we might be prepared to be used by God for divine purposes. Pray we realize that God’s laws were made for humans not humans for the law. Pray we develop spiritual integrity. Pray we realize that in our fighting, praying, loving, and sinning God is still at work molding us. Pray we better understand each day what God is looking for in our behavior. Pray we are a people that have a heart for God’s heart. Pray our individual and collective heart is a home for God. Pray when things get tough that we reassure our heart to trust God. Pray we are confident of God’s presence in us. Pray we realize that it is a long, long journey and we will get hungry on the way. Pray therefor we eat scripture daily so we might learn the thoughts of God and make them our own. Pray we find in them encouragement from God to do the right thing. Pray we have a Kingdom attitude about the law that strengthens our relationship with God. Pray we treasure God in our hearts.

  
 

Blessings,

  
 

John Lawson