Luke 10:25-28

Luke 10:25-28 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.”

This scripture alone reveals clearly to all human beings why they cannot inherit eternal life on their own. AS frail, sinful beings, we sometimes find it difficult even to love our friends and families. God alone loves unyieldingly, stubbornly, lavishly. As humans we have difficulty loving God or anyone consistently, even ourselves. Perhaps an indifferent, dispassionate person could love others as he or she loves himself or herself, yet if this person existed, we might judge him or her as emotionally detached or even mentally ill. For the rest of us, serving food to the indigent, working for the sick and the hurting, caring for the widows or orphans, and the like does not satisfy the demands Jesus places on humans in these verses. He asks us to be instruments of love regardless of our circumstances or the vicissitudes of life. This love is far beyond human capabilities outside of Christ.

We know from scripture that even the most spiritual in Christ's time had trouble with such a demand. Peter cuts off the ear of the high priest's servant when the rabble comes to arrest Jesus. Paul becomes exasperated when his followers forsake him, and he expresses anxiety and fear about threats on his life, about ravenous wolves coming to destroy the flock after he is gone. He might even have wanted to destroy the wolves before they had an opportunity to destroy the flock. Love of ones enemies is not always easy. Subsequent to this passage, Jesus tells the good Samaritan story. This passage put the smug Pharisees in their place, for they believed it was possible to inherit eternal life by doing good. But Jesus tells a story about the "despised" Samaritan who goes out of his way to save a Jewish man's life. Of course the Pharisees would not even enter a Samaritan's house, let alone save him, for a Samaritan was not considered their neighbor. As we tend to do with our personal enemies, they viewed the Samaritan as off limits to such unreciprocated and unconditional love.

Even today, on Christmas, many Christians will experience trouble talking to their spouses or children because they have bitter, angry feelings harbored against them. Yet we see Jesus saying to love our God, our neighbor, and our family. He asks us never to feel bitter or angry at God or others, never to complain about our lot in life or about people's reactions to us. Love should supersede every emotion, every problem. I doubt there are very many saints out there reading this breakfast. In fact, the Bible indicates no one is without sin, NOT ONE PERSON. We all fail to be perfect although Jesus commanded us: Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) If any passage of scripture should drive us to our knees, pleading for mercy, today's passage should do just that. We are not as loving as we suppose. In many situations, we are invariably self-oriented, looking out for number one. If we view ourselves as self-effacing and caring all the time, we probably are not assessing correctly our reactions to difficult situations, especially when people wound us or take advantage of us and we lose our joy.

Does our joy disappear with an undeserved traffic ticket or when we are cut off on the highway? Are we perfect then? Jesus clearly points out the imperfections of the sanctimonious Pharisees, revealing they never will be perfect and therefore will fall short of eternal life. What then for us? ON THIS GLORIOUS CHRISTMAS MORNING, WE KNOW JESUS CAME TO SAVE HUMANS, TO TAKE AWAY THEIR IMPERFECTIONS, AND TO MAKE THEM RIGHT WITH GOD. JESUS CAME TO DELIVER MANKIND FROM SIN AND TO BRING HARMONY BACK TO THE UNIVERSE. Unlimited love, obdurant love, HIS LOVE, binds everything together and brings peace to a fallen world. Without his love, we are back to Genesis 1:1 where the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep. But Jesus came to restore, to revive, to create new heavenly bound creatures, who are IN HIM and because OF HIM can love with his unreserved love. As his body, our mission is to love the world as He loves the world; that is our calling. Yes, we may fail often, but because Christ is in us and we are IN HIM, we can bestow eternal gifts today: peace, grace, mercy, and love, for Christ was born and lives forever in our hearts. As Jesus says, Freely you have received, freely give. (Matthew 10:8)