Lives of Love ~ Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9 ~ Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost ~ September 2, 2012

Next Sunday, my grandfather will celebrate his 89th birthday.

And one of my enduring memories of him will be this picture he used to carry in his wallet: of a wrinkly old man whose face was all shriveled up like a rotten jack-o-lantern.

I accompanied him to the grocery store during one of our family’s many visits to their home in Florida.  At the checkout, he opened his wallet, pulled out the picture, and he asked the cashier: “have you seen my Uncle Fester?”  (And this wasn’t Uncle Fester from the Addams family!)

After a few more wisecracks (at his own expense), the young woman behind the counter began to laugh.

As we walked out of the store, Grandpa looked at me and he said, “You didn’t ask me why I did that...”

So I said, “Why did you do that?”  He said, “Jesus loves her, and she deserves to smile today.  I’d be failing in my duty to her as a Christian if I didn’t share the joy of the Lord with her.”

That day, he taught me much of what it means to live as a child of God; something that Moses is teaching the Israelites in our first lesson for today... 

For the Israelites, this is a time of transition in their history.  God has freed them from slavery in Egypt—and soon, they will take possession of the land that God had promised to be their own. 

It is in this time of change that Moses commands the people to live in obedience to the Laws of God—and for these reasons:

First of all, obedience is the proper response to the graciousness of God.  Out of all the peoples of the world, God had chosen them as his own.   God has liberated them from their slavery, and God will make of them a great nation.

Secondly, by obeying God’s commands, the people will be able to live well in the land they are about to receive.  There can be peace and prosperity when the people love God and their neighbors as themselves.

And thirdly, God commands obedience so that Israel would be a shining witness to the greatness of God.  Israel was blessed to be a blessing.

Moses’ teachings remain true to us who hear this 3,000 years after the fact. 

God has graciously claimed us as his own people in baptism; we are set free from our slavery to sin and given new life through Jesus Christ. 

And we live out our relationship with God by serving others.  This is how we respond to God’s goodness. 

We have forgiveness; we have hope; we have life—thanks to God.  So we love our neighbors as ourselves; we strive to meet their needs with the same urgency as our own; for when we do—we discover God’s gracious love for us within our own hearts. 

And at the same time, we live out our God-given purpose in life—because has chosen us as his own so that all the world would know him through us.

This is why the church exists. 

Our message to a world so full of sin and suffering and unbelief, is that every person is loved by Jesus Christ.  Our work is to fill the world with his love—so that everything we do bears witness to the gracious love of God. 

Whether we realize it or not, we have tremendous power—as a congregation—and as individuals—to reach people’s lives with Jesus’ love.  We have the spiritual gift from God of being a loving and generous congregation.  In August alone, we’ve been blessed to share Jesus’ love through our clothing ministry and the blood drive.  More opportunities to do the very same are on the horizon.  As we go from this place and return to our lives outside of church, we will have opportunities to do good.  There will be opportunities to support and befriend those in need.  If we keep walking in love, people will notice.  They will ask, “why do you do these things?”  To that, you say “because Jesus loves you.” 

Wherever you find yourself this week, God will be there—giving you opportunities to love people just as you yourself are loved.  On this Labor Day weekend, our work is to remember Jesus’ gracious love for us and tell everyone that Jesus loves them just the same.  This is the good news that people need so desperately to hear.  This is the kind of religion that will change lives.  This is the Christianity that will heal the world.