"Greater Love” (1 Cor 11:17-26)

Greater Love

Last Sunday I shared Han family’s COVID ordeal. This past week my family and I had to face another new crisis. It was Thursday afternoon right after the cross country practice Lydia said she had severe headache and double vision. At first I thought she was whining. But it was not. Lydia was then vomiting and losing her consciousness. She was taken to the ER, and then transferred to Bangor by ambulance for further tests. Doctors and nurses were concerned about the possibilities of bleeding in the brain or a blood clot. While we were waiting for the test results, I prayed, “God, take me instead of Lydia. I am willing to give my life for her.” Then, during my devotional time, I realized how great is our God’s love for us. I would be willing to give my life for Lydia and my children. But am I willing to sacrifice my children for anyone? No! It’s unthinkable! But that was exactly what God did for us. God in his great mercy did not spare his only son to save us. John 3:16 says it all:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (NIV)   

We are God’s beloved. And as children of God, now we have a job to do, that is, 1 John 3:16:

“We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us--and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.” (NRSV)

Our responsibility as Christians is to discover the meaning of this command and seek passionately to live it out in our daily lives. So how do we love our neighbors? Going one step forward, how is it possible to love our enemies?

Lord, Open My Eyes!

Today’s scripture is our guide. It teaches us about the Lord’s Supper. The more we learn about the meaning of the Lord’s Supper, the more we can also learn how we can love our enemies. First of all, it is possible to love our enemies when our eyes are open and see our end. In the early church Christians celebrated the Lord’s Supper as often as possible. Every time they celebrated it, they proclaimed this truth: “Jesus has died, Jesus is risen, Jesus will come again.” (cf. v. 26) And they greeted one another, “Maranatha!” “Come, Lord Jesus, come!” They always lived with the end in mind. Today we too proclaim the same truth: “Jesus has died, Jesus is risen, Jesus will come again.”

Forgiveness comes when we see the big picture, when we see our end. In Psalm 39 (“Call to Worship” today) the psalmist had a hard to forgive his enemies. He said, “I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue… I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse, my heart became hot within me.” Then by God’s grace the psalmist continued to pray this wise prayer: “Lord, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is… But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.” His eyes were open, and he was then able to forgive and love his enemies. For 24 hours, while Lydia was in the hospital bed, Joyce was with her. Recently, Joyce was struggling to forgive. Interestingly, while she was waiting for Lydia’s test results, she prayed the same prayer: “Lord, I am willing to give my life for Lydia.” But then, God asked Joyce, “Are you able to give your life for that person you struggle to forgive?” Joyce said yes. As she was taking care of Lydia, she realized what really matters, what are the most important things in life. Then, she was able to let go, forgive, and move on.

The Perfect Example

Secondly, it is possible to love our enemies when we see and follow Jesus’ perfect example. John 13 begins this way: “Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” Jesus did everything with the end in mind. On the last night with his disciples Jesus did two things – washing their feet and feeding them. What he chose to do was to love his people. He knew within an hour they would all desert him and disown him. But he still loved them anyway. Jesus washed their dirty feet – one by one, even Judas’ feet. Symbolically, Jesus embraced and loved the worst in them. Then he said these last words, “Love one another. As I have loved you, love one another.” Jesus also shared his last meal with his disciples. He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you.” Then, he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and said, “Drink from it, all of you, this is my blood which is poured out for you.” Here Jesus was telling them what would actually happen on the cross. On the cross Jesus’ body was broken for us. His blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins.

We are able to love because he first loved us. For me personally, I have received so many communions so far. There is one particular communion I always remember. It was a district day. Many pastors and church leaders were gathered to discuss a controversial issue. The conversation was intense and emotional. At the end of the meeting the bishop invited us to come to the Lord’s Table. And before receiving the communion, the bishop encouraged us to ask for forgiveness to each other. At first, we were reluctant. We did it anyway. As we asked for forgiveness and then received the communion, we felt we became “one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world.” We love because Jesus first loved us. We forgive because Jesus first forgave us.

Strength to Love

The first and the second are important, but without the third, we are not just able to love our enemies. The third is this: it’s possible to love our enemies when we receive the power of the Spirit to love. When Jesus took the cup, he said, "This cup is the new covenant between God and his people – an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” (v. 25 NLT) What is the new covenant? What is the old covenant? The old covenant refers to the particular relationship that God established with Israel on Mount Sinai – the 10 commandments and Mosaic Law. Although God’s law was good and perfect, it couldn’t change peoples’ hearts and make them love God. So through prophets, God promised the new covenant, the new relationship between God and his people mediated by Messiah. The Lord said, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33). “I will put my Spirit within you, and make you follow my statues” (Ezekiel 36:27). God’s promise has come true. The promised new heart has been given. The enabling power of the Holy Spirit has been poured out into our hearts through faith in Jesus Christ. So we Christians have strength to love our enemies.

There are so many good examples how Christians love their enemies by the power of the Spirit. But this morning I want to share the example of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1956 Dr. King’s home was bombed. Right after this, he urged his peers not to resort to violence and remain calm. Later, in his sermon, “Loving Your Enemies,” Dr. King said,

We will meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us what you will, and we will still love you… And so put us in jail, and we will go in with humble smiles on our faces, still loving you. Bomb our homes and threaten our children, and we will still love you. Send your propaganda agents around the country and make it appear that we are not fit morally, culturally, and otherwise for integration. And we will still love you. Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our communities at the midnight hours, and drag us out on some wayside road and beat us and leave us half dead, and we will still love you. (That’s right) But be assured that we will wear you down (Yes indeed) by our capacity to suffer. (Yes) And one day we will win our freedom, but not only will we win freedom for ourselves, we will so appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win you in the process. (Yes, Lord) And our victory will be a double victory. This seems to me the only answer and the only way to make our nation a new nation and our world a new world. Love is the absolute power.

Sisters and brothers in Christ, we are called to love. We are called to love different people who don’t look like us, don’t think like us, don’t act like us. We are called to love difficult people who hate us, give us a hard time, consider us less than children of God. May the Lord open our eyes to see our end and to see what are most important things in life. May the Lord give us grace to see the perfect example of loving our enemies in the life of Jesus. May the Lord give us strength to love and forgive, that we may be worthy to be called children of God who is love. Amen.