It's Christmas time ... and we've forgotten the story ...

So it’s Friday night, and with a lot of other activities going on for other folks, there is no ministry work at church … but there is still ministry to be done (who said you can punch in and out of your calling?) …

Anyway, I’m watching “Be the Change, Save a Life” on ABC TV. And, along with my senior pastor, Ed Dacio, we spent four weeks going through the “Advent Conspiracy,” leading, we hope, the church to take back the Christmas narrative from the western world’s hyper-consumerism of the season (admit it, you’re spending money you don’t have and stressing over your gift list, right?).

So it all comes together on a Friday night at home, during Advent, during the Christmas season when we (theoretically, at least) remember the birth of the baby who became a man, who was fully God all along, who came to save us from the mess we made of our world and our lives (see John 3:16-17).

And, as a result of that, our role, the way we live our lives for those of us who call ourselves followers of this fully man/fully God named Jesus, has to be one of worshipping Him fully by spending less time being self-centered, giving more of our wealth and our time to others, and loving them all (see Philippians 2:1-11).

And, finally, why does it have to be a TV news special to serve as the inspiration for people to be agents for change for the better? Isn't that the the mission of those of us who follow Jesus?

Shouldn't we be carrying that banner and leading the way?

So rather than re-invent the wheel, see this entry, originally posted on Sept. 17, 2009, and look for the Christmas narrative (worship fully/spend less/give more/love all).

And, if you are so moved by the Spirit or your heart, please visit http://mycharitywater.org/alan_llavore, make a contribution, and help save a life.

'Go and do likewise ... '

(Originally posted on Sept. 17, 2009)

A lot of times we'll read the Bible and say, "Awww. Nice story!" And that's OK ... kind of. Because usually if we look at Scripture that way, it usually means we've missed (or worse, ignored) a key point. You know, like when we read about how Noah got the animals on the ark two-by-two ("Awww. Cute!") but miss or ignore the part about the people in the world drowning from the great flood. ("Whoa! That was in there, too?!")

Another one of those passages is the parable of the good Samaritan. Most of you know the story, but just in case:

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"

He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."

Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Luke 10:25-37

So we know of the priest (meanie!) and the Levite (meanie!) who passed by the man who was beaten by robbers. We know of the good Samaritan (yea!) for whom hospitals have been named. Good. We should know of them.

But, do we remember the "expert in the law" who asked the question of Jesus? And do we remember Jesus response outside of the parable? This expert, this teacher, knew the law, summing up the teaching of the Ten Commandments, to love God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your strength, and to love one's neighbor as himself (because what right-minded, rational person hates himself?).

Jesus tells him the first time, good, you understand, now go it.

And the teacher, as Luke records it, asks who his neighbor is, probably because he was intellectually full of himself, and Jesus hits him with the parable in which one of the lowliest of people, in the mind of the Jewish religious leaders of the day, helps the person in need. Not the priest (you would think, yes?), not the Levite (you would think, yes?).

Jesus hits the teacher again with "Who was the neighbor of the victim?" The teacher says, "The one who had mercy on him." I find it interesting the teacher didn't say "the Samaritan."

And Jesus says, "Go and do likewise."

My point: Don't miss out on the expert in the law, who knows the Bible, can recite the Bible with no problem, but when asked to follow the teachings of the Bible -- especially those passages about sharing compassion and love (not just with our wallets) -- with "the least of these" and the lost, tries to qualify it with,"Yeah, but who is my neighbor?"

Then ask yourself (yes, me, too): "Am I like that expert in the law, who knows all this stuff that I'm supposed to know, but when asked to go and actually do it, when asked to live a life that reflects my faith, when asked to walk as Jesus did, do I hem and haw and try to justify my complacency?"

Thankful for the blessing of clean drinking water?

Want to share that blessing? Go to:

http://mycharitywater.org/alan_llavore

Advent Conspiracy, Week 4: Love All

(Rewritten notes from a message shared Sunday, Dec. 5, at Corona International Christian Fellowship)

(For the Facebook note: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLYWdfE-53o)

Review of the four Advent Conspiracy principles:

1) Worship (Jesus) Fully

2) Spend Less (on yourself, on what you think other people should have, on your desires, less time stressing over the gift list, less time in the malls, less money that you really don’t have)

3) Give More (both of your treasure that you didn’t spend on meaningless gifts, and of yourself)

4) Love All

What is “love?”

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 1oth Edition

love \ˈləv\ noun

[Middle English, from Old English lufu; akin to Old High German luba love, Old English lēof dear, Latin lubēre, libēre to please]

(before 12th century)

1 a (1) : strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties 〈maternal love for a child〉

(2) : attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers

(3) : affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests 〈love for his old schoolmates〉

b : an assurance of love 〈give her my love〉

2 : warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion 〈love of the sea〉

3 a : the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration 〈baseball was his first love〉

3 b (1) : a beloved person : darling — often used as a term of endearment

(2) British — used as an informal term of address

4 a : unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as

(1) : the fatherly concern of God for humankind

(2) : brotherly concern for others

b : a person’s adoration of God

The King James Version, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance lists:

Love –313 Scripture passages

At least 24 that have some relation to today’s study

What does it mean to “love all?”

It starts with God (worship fully) …

Deuteronomy 6:4

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ⁵Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

But it doesn’t end there (love all) …

Leviticus 19:18

¹⁸ “ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

But that’s Old Testament, you say … well, OK, here’s what God said in the new Testament:

Again, it starts with God:

John 3:16-17

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,^f that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. “

And it doesn’t end there:

John 13:34-35

³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 15:9-14

⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

So what does that look like? How will people know we follow Jesus without us saying anything? Some 2,000 years ago, God put on flesh, bone and blood, and came down as His Son – in the form of Jesus – and lived among us for a while. And it wasn’t just to hang out for some 33 years, but to show us what He meant to love Him and love others.

We love all by just loving other people:

Matthew 22:34-40

³⁴ Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{a 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^{b 40} All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Mark 12:28-31-34

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{a 30} Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^{b 31} The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^c There is no commandment greater than these.”

³² “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. ³³ To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

We love all by loving people who are not like us – who don’t look like us, who don’t eat the same food as us, who aren’t from our neighborhood, who think differently from us, who vote differently from us, who worship another god and who probably don’t like us and want nothing to do with us. And in all honesty, we probably don’t like them at all, either.

But God says love them any way…

Luke 10:25-37

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

²⁷ He answered: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^a; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^b”

²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two silver coins^c and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Luke 6:20-36

²⁷ “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless
those who curse you pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone strikes you onone cheek,
turn to him the other also. If someone takes yourcloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. ³⁰ Give toeveryone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs toyou, do not demand it
back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.

³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

Matthew 5:43-48

⁴³ "You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

James 2:8-9

⁸ If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. ⁹ But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law

as lawbreakers.

1 John 4:20-21

²⁰ If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 3:11-19

¹¹ This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹² Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. ¹³ Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. ¹⁹ This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence ²⁰ whenever our hearts condemn us. ¹¹ This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹² Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. ¹³ Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. ¹⁹ This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence ²⁰ whenever our hearts condemn us.

We love all just as Jesus commanded us to, because we love Him and He loves us, and how He SHOWED us how to love all:

John 14:15

¹⁵ “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”

Romans 5:6-8

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

(Spend less)

Philippians 2:1-8

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴ Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

⁵ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

⁷ but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

Loving all is not something we do during the Christmas season, or when we feel like being a loving person. God calls us to love all the time …

Romans 13:8-10

⁸ Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Galatians 5:13-14

¹³ You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴ The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

(You are forgiven of your sins, and you are still prone to sin … Don’t act as if you are not … But take what God gives you to love others by serving them)

Galatians 5:22-23

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

1 Thessalonians 3:12

¹² May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.

We love all by helping each other love all …

Hebrews 10:24-25

²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. ²⁵ Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

And as we love all, it will involve sacrifice – not sacrifice in the sense that it will hurt us (though if there is pain in the offering, maybe we’re not wanting to give it up). The sacrifice is giving up our own desires and ideas and needs, and exchanging them for the better things of God.

Matthew 19:16-22

¹⁶ Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

¹⁷ “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”

¹⁸ “Which ones?” the man inquired.

Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’^a and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth

1 John 4:7-12

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son^a into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for^b our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

2 John 5-6

⁵ And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. ⁶ And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

And finally to love all means to act, not just speak the word …

· the handouts having a “Radical Christmas”;

· Dec. 10 joint event with Living Truth;

· http://www.mycharitywater.org/alan_llavore

· the worship team canned food drive for the Riverside City Mission

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^b but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹² Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Matthew 25:31-41

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” ^[1]

A paraphrase of James 2:14-17 says it best:

Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

James 2:14-17, The Message paraphrase Bible by Eugene Patterson

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^[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Mt 25:31-26:1