Sermonette: Nov. 22, 2021

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father. Amen.

Last week I talked about the bible. I enjoy reading the bible and do so every day. It's not just because I'm “in the business” and reading it is part of my job. I read the bible before I started in parish ministry. Why? Well, for a number of reasons. One is that even though the New Testament was written approximately 2,000 years ago, and the Old Testament long before that, some of it reads as if it were written to us just yesterday. Take the apostle Paul's letters to the churches he helped get started. When you read his instructions to them about how to get along with one another, to be aware of the false teachers who will lead them away from God instead of to Him, and lots of other advice as well, it feels as if he is writing those letters to us, today. The reason being, unfortunately, is that the same problems they encountered in learning about Christ and deciding to follow Him are the same problems we have in today's world. Paul was trying to get them to work together to worship the one true God and acknowledge Jesus as the true risen Christ. We have that problem today; I can't think of any single denomination among Christian churches that haven't had factions who couldn't agree, and ended up splitting away from the core group and forming one of their own.

There are old testament stories as well that give us great advice. Moses talking to the people of Israel before they cross into the Promised Land is a good example. Joshua, who lead them across the Jordan river tells them they have a choice to make in their new home. This advice is just as important for us today. He tells them they have a choice to either worship pagan gods, or they could choose to follow the Lord, and he follows with his famous declaration, “for me and my house, we shall follow the Lord”. There are many other stories that warm our hearts when we read the stories that we most likely first heard in Sunday School. Stories of Noah and the ark, Jonah and the whale, Daniel in the lions' den, and many others that are familiar to us are fun to read once again.

In my personal bible reading, apart from the readings for each Sunday's worship service, I recently came across this very short reading that is monumental for our understanding of how the bible written so long ago applies to us today. I've been reading Matthew lately and as I read these two verses, I just couldn't help but think of how polarized our society has become in today's world. Matthew 5:44-45, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” Wow. Great words but how many of us actually do this? We are to love and pray for those who are our enemies? Really? Yes, really. These aren't my words. These words were spoken by Jesus preaching his Sermon on the Mount. Why should we do it? Jesus says so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. To further His point that we should do this to be children of God, Jesus points out that the sun rises on everybody, when it rains it rains on everybody.

If a Christian has a wheat field right next to one who is a non-believer, it doesn't rain on just the Christian's field, it rains on both. Being a Christian doesn't guarantee us a life free from hardship or misery. Being a non-believer doesn't mean nothing good will ever happen to you. Jesus is saying what happens here on earth can happen to everybody. What is important is what happens to us when our earthly lives are over. We have a choice. We can choose to do evil. We can choose to not believe that Jesus is our Savior. We can choose to hate anybody who doesn't agree with us. But Jesus said, to be children of God, we are not to hate. But more than that, not only to not hate, but to love and pray for those who are our enemies. These are tough words to accept, but the rewards are worth the effort. Unfortunately, for many, hating enemies is easier than loving them. I pray that we all take Joshua's advice. For me and my family, we choose to follow the Lord.

I hope you pick up your bibles now and then. You never know when you will come across a gem like these two verses from Matthew. Blessings to you all.