A sermon
preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 4 November 2012 by the Rev. John
LeMond. The scripture readings that day were Deuteronomy 6:1-9; Hebrews 9:11-14
and Mark 12:28-34.
One of the essential elements of religion
Is a set of rules
What we should do and what we should not do
For Christians these rules are quite
ancient
Going all the way back to the first books
of Judaism
These rules provide guidelines for how to
live our lives
There are hundreds of rules, or
commandments, in Scripture
Covering everything from farming to
marriage to business.
We often think of Judaism, out of which
Christianity was born
As a religion of rules and commandments
Rules so difficult to follow that they
seemed like a yoke, a heavy bar, on one’s back
So there has always been the need of a
summary of these rules
Something that encompasses all of the rules
of the religion
In a simple, straightforward way.
And here we have that summary in the
reading from the Hebrew Scriptures this morning:
The writer of Deuteronomy says:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”
There we have it
Follow this rule…follow this commandment
So that…what?
So that… your days may be long.
So that… life may go well with you,
So that… you may multiply greatly
In a land flowing with milk and honey.
Follow this rule…and you will live a good
life.
It sounds so simple.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
soul and might
And you will live a good life.
In fact, it not only sounds simple, it
sounds simplistic.
It sounds naïve, unsophisticated.
We do not live as wanderers 4,000 years ago
We live in the very complex world of today
Can a rule that old really provide guidance…
For people who live in a modern, even a
post-modern, world?
A world in which many people either deny,
Or seriously doubt, the existence of God?
And a related question is this:
What will happen if we choose not to follow this rule of God?
What will happen if we choose to deny even
the existence of God?
Well, the answer seems simple
If we choose not to follow this rule of God
To love God with all our heart, soul and
might
It would seem that we will not live a good life
The days of our life will not be long
We will not
multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey.
The same questions come up in the passage
from
One of the scribes asked Jesus: "Which
commandment is the first of all?"
Jesus answered, "The first is,
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.'
And the second is this, "You shall
love your neighbor as yourself.'
There is no other commandment greater than
these."
Jesus has expanded on the original rule
from Deuteronomy, adding “mind” to the rule
And he has added a second commandment: Love
your neighbor as yourself.
This part was not original to Jesus, but he
chose to attach it to the love of God
Indicating that the two were clearly
related.
But, in general, it is the same rule that
we find in the passage from Deuteronomy.
Love God…and in loving God…love your
neighbor.
But the two questions remain:
What will happen, Jesus, if I do love God
and love my neighbor?
The answer is the same
All of Jesus’ listeners knew the passage
from Deuteronomy by heart
They knew what Scripture said about loving
God with heart, soul and might
Long life, good life, full life.
And the second question:
What will happen to those who do not love
God and neighbor?
Again, the answer seems simple
No long life, no good life, no full life.
But here we have to stop and reevaluate our
answer
Because neither of the Scripture passages
actually says answers the question in this way
Nowhere does it say what will happen to
those who do not follow God’s commandment
Nowhere does it say what will happen to
those who do not even believe in God
From our own experience we know that there
are people in the world
Who are very happy…who live long, happy
lives
Who multiply greatly in a land flowing with
milk and honey
And who do not acknowledge God’s existence.
Is this fair?
This is a question that has worried
believers for ages
What is the good of believing?
What is the good of following all of God’s
commandments?
What is the good of being good?
When unbelievers seem to prosper?
As Christians, we often have an answer for
this situation
The Christian answer often is: the reward,
and the punishment, will come in the after life
Those who believe and follow God’s rules
will enter heaven
And those who do not believe in this life
Will enter a hellish existence in the after
life
That seems to take care of it.
That allows us to endure a difficult life,
When we, and not they, will be rewarded on
the other side.
That seems fair…to us.
But notice that in neither of these
passages
Is there a mention of salvation as a reward
In neither of the passages is there a
mention
Of either heaven or hell.
In neither of these passages, in fact, is
there a mention
Of what will happen to those who do not
follow God’s rules,
To those who do not even believe in God.
There is no mention of retribution or
vengeance…or even justice
Is that
fair?
Fairness is something that we associate
with rules and laws and commandments
Follow the rule and you’re safe
Break the rule and you will be punished
That is fair, that is just
We know the rule, we follow the rule,
We want to be rewarded
And we want others to be punished
This is fair, this is just
For many that is the essence of religion
The essence indeed of Christianity:
Fairness, justice, reward and punishment.
But the Scripture passages that were read
today,
While seeming to talk about rules and
commandments,
Take us in a different direction.
The letter to the Hebrews says this:
One has come into the world
One we call the Christ
Who has made it possible
For
all of creation
To be reunited with God…eternally.
God has come to us and has loved us
These passages are less about what we
should or ought to do,
And more about the all-encompassing love of
God for creation.
What is the motto of Kowloon Union Church?
“Where All Are One”
This is a revolutionary idea.
Listen!...the Lord is God, the Lord is one
And that Lord is in love with creation.
The book of Deuteronomy tells us:
Listen!
Love the Lord your God as God loves you…
With all your heart, and with all your
soul, and with all your might.
The Gospel of Mark tells us:
Listen!
Love the Lord your God as God loves you…
With all your heart, and with all your
soul,
And with all your mind, and with all your
strength.
Listen!
Love your neighbor as God loves your neighbor…
With all your heart, soul, mind, and
strength.
And what?
And you will not be far from the kingdom of God.
The essence of Christianity is not, after
all,
About rules and commandments and laws
It is about an all-encompassing love.
The essence of Christianity is not, after
all,
About what I must do or about what others should
do
It is about what God has done and is doing.
The essence of our faith is not, after all,
About either reward or punishment, fairness
or justice
It is about living near to the kingdom of God,
Every day, every moment.
And being invited to enter fully into that
kingdom
Through love of God, love of our neighbor,
and love of ourselves.
Which commandment is the first of all?
The first commandment, for all creation, is
this:
God is love.
Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Tuesday, November 06, 2012
