Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
There was a point in my journey in Israel that I had a conversation with a friend I made in my time there. We were talking about Jesus. Specifically what He taught. And in that conversation, this friend brought up that all Jesus really wanted to do was to teach us the very thing we had started each Eucharist at St. George's in Jerusalem with. Words. He was unaccustomed to hearing in the Eucharistic liturgy. Words that we, however, are very comfortable with. Words with which we started our Eucharist with today. "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul and all thy mind. And love thy neighbor as thyself."
But we don't typically think of Jesus particularly as a teacher. Perhaps not even primarily as one. Jesus isn't some sort of guru or law giver like Moses. He's really only a prophet in the sense that He calls us, in Matthew, to repent and turn back to God. But when I, at least, think of Jesus, His teaching isn't the first thing that comes to mind.
And so I was a bit troubled. Did I have Jesus wrong? Is His teaching the more fundamental thing. Is Jesus' teaching all that really matters?
And then we journeyed to Galilee. The place where Jesus spent most of His time and ministry. And we were fortunate enough to go to Mount Beatitudes, where the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew's collection of the sum total of Jesus'' teachings is commemorated. And as I was there on the mount, looking down on the Sea of Galilee, I reflected on these questions. I reflected on what Jesus' teaching really means.
Because the important question isn't really "what was Jesus teaching?" But instead it is "why did Jesus teach the things He taught?"
And here is where our lesson from 1 Timothy comes into play. Because in that lesson we learn who Jesus is.
We learn that Jesus is not only our Savior, but our mediator with God. That it is His hope, neigh His desire, that everyone, Every single person, might be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
So why is the focus of Jesus' teaching on loving God and loving others? Because God desires us to be in a relationship with Him. And so He desires for us to have a relationship with each other as well.
We see that desire to be in relationship in the very person of Jesus. Partly
because He acts as a mediator for us. He acts as the bridge bringing us back into
relationship with God, in spite of the many ways we have, and still do, turn away
from God.
But we also see the desire of God to be in relationship through Jesus because Jesus Himself is God. God chose to come down, and to be born from the womb of a poor peasant girl in a town of barely 300 people. He chose to walk the long distance in the scorching heat to the Sea of Galilee so that people might be near Him. He chose to have dirt and sand between His toes, to be dirty, sweaty, and tired and sore just to be close to us. Just so that He could once again restore the relationship that we had lost with Him.
And when people still continued to reject Him, when the leaders decided not to honor Him and instead try to kill Him instead of competing with His power. In spite of that rejection He received, Jesus continued to love us. And as 1 Timothy tells us, "He gave Himself a ransom for all." He died in one of the most horrific ways possible, a way designed for maximum shame and torture by the Romans, so that we might live. He died so that we might have new life in Him. He died so that we all could be restored once again to be in right relationship with God.
You see, Jesus' teachings are not separate from who He is or what He did for you and me. Everything about Jesus points back to God the Father. Everything about Jesus is meant to bring us in closer relationship with Him as God in man. Jesus is there to help make us whole in renewed relationship with God and with each other.
And so we are called to listen, watch, and pray to, for, and with Jesus. And we are called to be thankful for the loving gift of grace and life He has provided us. AND, You don't have to be a world away, sitting on Mount Beatitudes to do that. Because, as I can now personally attest from my time in Jerusalem, He is no longer in the tomb. He is here. Among us. Still working to be one with us. Still working to bring us closer to relationship with Him. All we have to do is reach our arms back to Him. To seek Jesus out where ever we are and in whatever area we think we may find Him. To accept His desire for relationship with us and to have that same desire to be in relationship with Him.
But we also see the desire of God to be in relationship through Jesus because Jesus Himself is God. God chose to come down, and to be born from the womb of a poor peasant girl in a town of barely 300 people. He chose to walk the long distance in the scorching heat to the Sea of Galilee so that people might be near Him. He chose to have dirt and sand between His toes, to be dirty, sweaty, and tired and sore just to be close to us. Just so that He could once again restore the relationship that we had lost with Him.
And when people still continued to reject Him, when the leaders decided not to honor Him and instead try to kill Him instead of competing with His power. In spite of that rejection He received, Jesus continued to love us. And as 1 Timothy tells us, "He gave Himself a ransom for all." He died in one of the most horrific ways possible, a way designed for maximum shame and torture by the Romans, so that we might live. He died so that we might have new life in Him. He died so that we all could be restored once again to be in right relationship with God.
You see, Jesus' teachings are not separate from who He is or what He did for you and me. Everything about Jesus points back to God the Father. Everything about Jesus is meant to bring us in closer relationship with Him as God in man. Jesus is there to help make us whole in renewed relationship with God and with each other.
And so we are called to listen, watch, and pray to, for, and with Jesus. And we are called to be thankful for the loving gift of grace and life He has provided us. AND, You don't have to be a world away, sitting on Mount Beatitudes to do that. Because, as I can now personally attest from my time in Jerusalem, He is no longer in the tomb. He is here. Among us. Still working to be one with us. Still working to bring us closer to relationship with Him. All we have to do is reach our arms back to Him. To seek Jesus out where ever we are and in whatever area we think we may find Him. To accept His desire for relationship with us and to have that same desire to be in relationship with Him.