LOVE AND GOOD DEEDS

Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

[Hebrews 10:23-25 NRSV]

We have learned so much from the people of Minnesota in the past month.

For many years, the only thing I knew about that state was through what I heard every Saturday evening from Garrison Keillor on National Public Radio’s A Prairie Home Companion.

I can’t recall the year I first visited Minneapolis, but I remember it was in November.

My first reaction was predictable.

“Why would anybody want to live under these conditions; in these temperatures?”

As far as my eyes could see, everything was frozen solid.

The buildings that I saw in the city were connected by walkways to avoid having to go out into the cold.

Yes, we have cold and snow in Ohio, but we do get an occasional sunny T-shirt and shorts day or two in winter.

But all kidding aside, what we’ve learned from Minnesotans these days is how to love.

It’s hard to describe or define love.

Most of us think of love as an emotion. But love is so much more.

Love also involves action. And I don’t mean hugs and kisses.

We read a lot about love in scripture.

On the website Biblegateway.com, I searched the word and got 730 Bible results for “love” from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition.

Outside of the Psalter, the Gospel according to John is where we’ll find the most numerous references, the best-known being John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

The Gospel of John in its entirety is a presentation of God’s love for us, and Jesus’ call for us to love one another. It might very well be known as “The Book of Love”, because from start to finish, John tells us that the entire life of Jesus is an expression of God’s love for God’s children.

It is especially important to be mindful of this as we navigate the tense political climate in which we find ourselves these days.

As people of faith, we are called to be a reflection of God’s love as Christ modeled for us and for all humankind.

And the best way to learn love is not through abstract meditation or even necessarily in private prayer, but in relations with other human beings.

It is easy for some people to slip into solitude, to get away from it all.

We have a tendency to think that we can draw close to God in the privacy of our own hearts, whether from the beauty of a mountaintop or the comfort of our couches.

But Christianity is not about people being happy alone, but about being passionate together about change.

We were created for community; to support each other.

That takes effort. That takes discipline. That may even take sacrifice.

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” [John 15:13]

When Christ made that single sacrifice for sin once and for all, he changed our relationship with God.

To be clear, NOTHING we can do can equal that sacrifice.

Not even the deaths of Renee Good or Alex Pretti, tragic as they were.

But their unfortunate end should challenge us, provoke us to believe in the worth God wants us to have and wants us to give and live toward each other.

Today’s focus verse from Hebrews affirms this understanding. 

“Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.” [Hebrews 10:24]

That is what I take from the hearty Minnesotans.

In the midst of the anxiety, the tension, the brutality of the lawless campaign that ICE has unleashed, the people of Minneapolis have reacted with love; provoking each other, with smartphones, whistles, and good deeds – providing transportation, meals, and shopping trips for those who are fearful of leaving their homes.

In like fashion, our communities need us.

They need the hope we offer, the food we share, the relationship of love that we have with God and with each other. 

So, let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.

Let us pray:
Heavenly Father, in your Word you have given us a vision of that holy City to which the nations of the world bring their glory: Behold and visit, we pray, the cities of the earth. Renew the ties of mutual regard which form our civic life. Send us honest and able leaders. Enable us to eliminate poverty, prejudice, and oppression, that peace may prevail with righteousness, and justice with order, and that men and women from different cultures and with differing talents may find with one another the fulfillment of their humanity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer p. 825)