WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
May 21st 2006
Meditation Series: “Love is?”
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Is Love a Verb?”
I John 5:1-6
This week I did something highly unusual: I finished my sermon on Tuesday. It was a rather good conclusion to our four week series on love. However, today you are not going to hear that sermon. This week I had the privilege of hearing the moderator of our denomination, Rick Ufford-Chase, speak. As I listened to him speak I became convinced that there was another message I needed to preach this morning. Let me share the fruits of last Wednesday’s encounter with the moderator of our denomination.
Last Sunday during bible study, someone asked a very direct and probing question. The essence of the question, as I remember it, was this: All our talk about love is well and good but it does not seem to be very specific. It is easy for us to talk about love, but what about some details. Although, I attempted an answer, which seemed to be well received, the truth is that I felt a deep uneasiness about the question and my answer. After all, this first letter of John does not give many details about how we are supposed to love others in the name of God. In this letter, it is clear that love is a verb. However, we are left to our own devises to figure out the specifics.
When it comes to connecting current events with the love of God there is a rather large laundry list. However, this morning I will suggest only one. It is a hot topic which is receiving a great deal of attention. It is the issue of immigration. I do not claim to have special insight into policy making. What I do know is this: The bible has a tremendous amount to say regarding immigrants.
I want to begin with our passage from first John and then look at relevant passages from both the Old and New Testaments. Let me encourage you to find a bible, if you did not bring one. You may even want to keep your finger in the table of contents in the front. I know this is rather foreign to Presbyterians. However, I do believe it will be a fruitful exercise.
Our passage from first John lacks specifics. However, there is a rather unsettling idea that we are called to be conquerors of the world. These words are troubling to our modern ears, particularly with the current use of crusade language being connected with military actions. However, this passage is not talking about use of force. We are called to overcome ‘the world’ through the love of God. New Testament scholar Walter Wink says that ‘the world’ in this passage means the: “Interlocking network of powers- political, economic, cultural, and ideological.” That world could never be overcome by force. Instead, the world – marked by inequality, oppression, and war – could only be engaged, transformed, and ultimately overcome through love in action. So the call is to overcome or transform ‘the world’ in love not through violence or the threat of violence.
Before we move to the other passages of scripture I want to take just a moment to highlight some of the current conversation about immigration. I believe it will be helpful to place those messages alongside the message of the bible. I think the dissonance will be enlightening. In the current conversation, I have heard calls to build a wall all along our borders. However what is meant is just the boarder with Mexico. Let’s be honest, there is little concern with the Canadian boarder. (One just has to wonder if that is because they are white. While that may seem like I overstate the case our immigration policy does seem to favor the lighter skinned people of the world.)
The current conversation about immigration also brings to light economic realities. While it often goes unspoken the use and abuse of immigrant labor has everything to do with the American need for cheap labor. Much of the immigration policy that has been created deliberately works to drive a wedge between the Hispanic/Latino community and the Black community. This is no where more evident than when people claim that those people are stealing our jobs or when the President of Mexico openly claims that immigrants do the jobs that African-Americans will not do. This sort of race-baiting ultimately benefits the labor market and allows for unprecedented exploitation of the poorest people in our society. There is a reason we get low prices everyday. While I am not an economist or policy maker I do know that the bible does speak pretty clearly on these issues. So let us now take a closer look.
While there are a good number of passages in the Old Testament dealing with immigrants or aliens (the biblical term), we will deal with the four most representative. The first is in Genesis chapter 15:13-14. In this passage, God says the chosen people will be aliens in a great empire which will exploit their labor. God is also clear that Egypt will pay for its exploitation.
The other three passages are written after the promised liberation from Egypt. In each passage God sets the rules for how aliens are to be treated. With each command comes the reminder from God that they were once aliens in a foreign land. The second passage is Leviticus 19:33-34. We now turn to Deuteronomy 10:17-19. And finally we turn to Deuteronomy 24:17-18, 22.
In each passage, there is something which is rather foreign in our current debate on immigration. In the bible, it turns out, that aliens are to be treated as citizens. They are to be provided food and clothing. The call in each of these passages is to enable the immigrant to live justly in the country. It is rather unfortunate that the dominant voices of Christianity have not shared these passages to influence public policy. Now, let us move to the New Testament.
In the teachings of Jesus the term alien or immigrant does not exist. However, the terms neighbor and stranger are prominent. When Jesus teaches about the neighbor it is clear he means all people are our neighbors – no exceptions. When Jesus ends the greatest commandment with “love your neighbor as yourself,” we can be confident Jesus includes undocumented workers.
There are three passages which illuminate this teaching of Jesus. The first passage is a rather familiar one. It comes from the twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew 25: 41-46. This passage is truly amazing because Jesus says what we do to the stranger is what we have done to him. ‘As you have done to the least of these (even the undocumented workers) you have done it to me.’
We now move to Romans 12:9-13. Paul makes it clear that the foundation for extending hospitality to the stranger is love. It is an extremely concrete way to live out love. Want to live out the love of God, extending hospitality to those we do not know. The final passage this morning comes from Hebrews 13:1-2 (insert passage here). Once again, the passage begins with love as the foundation for extending hospitality to the stranger. In doing so, we may very well be in the presence of angels. Our very brief journey through the bible presents the simple but radical notion that we are to love all people – including the undocumented worker.
For four weeks we have talked about the love of God often in very broad ways. But today we see a very current event which is spoken quite clearly from the stories of our faith. However this voice is not being heard. If there was ever a time for Christians to speak it is now. I am not suggesting we join the ranks of partisanship. After all, neither party is taking a position that is remotely Christian, biblical or just. All I am suggesting is that we take seriously the call to love found in this first letter of John which we have been studying for a month. Who knew bible study could cause so much trouble!?
So let us listen to this call. Let us love because God first loved us. Let us love all people. This includes those who are hidden from our sight right in our own city – the undocumented workers. May we have the courage to stand, as people of faith, and offer a voice of love where fear abounds. Let us share this radical good news which is just not being heard. May we have the courage to know, and to live out the reality, that love is indeed a verb. Amen.
