{"id":512968,"date":"2019-04-17T20:27:38","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T20:27:38","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-08-09T11:43:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T15:43:06","slug":"the-way-of-love-easter-5-c-2019","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/sermons\/the-way-of-love-easter-5-c-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"The Way of Love, Easter 5 (C) – 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI give you a new commandment, that you love one another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With these eleven words, Jesus turns the world order upside-down\u2014in first-century Palestine and here, today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI give you a new commandment, that you love one another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus tells us that everyone will know we are his disciples if we have love for one another. And it sounds quite simple, doesn\u2019t it? Just love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love your neighbor. Love yourself. Love your enemy. Love your spouse. Love your friend. Love your bus driver, your mailman, your pharmacist. Love everybody. Just love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, some of that may be harder than other parts, right? Like, \u201cLove your enemy.\u201d But the overall gist: love\u2014that\u2019s something we can affirm. Love is the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As St. Paul tells us, love \u201cbears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things\u201d (1 Corinthians 13:7). If love can do all that, it really is the answer. So, if love is the answer, what is the question?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To find that out, let\u2019s take some advice from our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry. Yes, that guy who made quite a splash preaching at the royal wedding, just over a year ago today. Bishop Curry has a wonderful way of branding us as \u201cthe Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement.\u201d That movement is loving, liberating, and life-giving, he tells us. And being part of it is much, much more than simply having our name written in a record book or supporting the church financially. It is a way of life, a practice for spiritual growth.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, he calls this spiritual discipline \u201cthe Way of Love.\u201d[1] In this way, we seek love. We seek freedom. We seek abundant life. We seek Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s go over those, one by one, in reverse order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, we seek Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life\u2014and by choosing to follow him, we join forces with the power to change lives and to change the world for good. And it is a choice, made not just once in a lifetime, but over and over again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By seeking Jesus, we are seeking abundant life. Not riches, or power, or status\u2014but a life overflowing with joy, peace, generosity, and delight. A life of meaning, given back to God and lived for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, to make this possible, we are seeking freedom. Not just the freedoms guaranteed us by a constitution, but true freedom\u2014from the powers of fear, sin, oppression, and division. These \u201cpowers that be\u201d pull us from living as God created us to be: dignified, whole, and free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And third, free from those powers, we are seeking love. To know God\u2019s love, to love and be loved by others, and to love ourselves. You can find out much more about the Way of Love online at www.episcopalchurch.org.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in case you are not convinced by Jesus, Michael Curry, and this sermon, here\u2019s a bit of evidence from the scientific world.  This insight comes from the TED Radio Hour, broadcast on National Public Radio.[2]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The episode was called \u201cHow Things Spread,\u201d and it started by noting how laughter spreads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laughter is contagious. Someone laughs, and we start to laugh, too\u2014sometimes without even knowing what is so funny! And laughter spreads because we are connected to each other, part of social networks, in relationship.  We humans fare better\u2014and sometimes worse\u2014because we are all connected to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the benefits of living a connected life outweigh the costs. If someone was always violent toward you, or gave you misinformation, or made you sad, or infected you with deadly germs\u2014you would cut the ties to that person, and your network would disintegrate.  So, the spread of good and valuable things is necessary to sustain and nourish social networks, our system of relationships. Social networks are fundamentally related to goodness. And they are necessary for spreading ideas, kindness, altruism, happiness, and love. And a network that\u2019s arranged one way can be healthy, innovative, cooperative, and kind. But, arranged another way\u2014well, you get the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea is based on our choosing the Way of Love\u2014on our choosing to be together in Christian community. And on our choosing to imagine a future in which all of God\u2019s beloved children have enough food to eat, a shelter in which to sleep, and sufficient clothes to wear. Imagining a future in which health care is a God-given right for every individual, not a scheme to make some people very, very rich at the expense of those who are very, very sick. A future in which everyone receives a quality education, not a system of disparity that grows ever greater. A future in which all people are allowed and nurtured to become all who God created them to be\u2014women, men, people of color, queer folks, people whose ancestors came from other lands, you name it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And all of this based on the Way of Love, that powerful, convincing, and benign mythological structure. Oh, not myth, as in \u201cuntruth.\u201d But myth as in a powerful story that communicates truth, but may not actually be factual. Like the creation story, which communicates an essential truth: God created. In fact, God created out of the dust, from nothing.  And the most powerful lesson from the creation story may not be about how many 24-hour days it took, but about having \u201cdominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth\u201d (Genesis 1:28). We used to think that meant we could despoil the earth, we could plunder whatever we wanted, we could squander our precious resources\u2014but we are coming to see it as a command to be better stewards of our island home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because that is what the Way of Love has shown us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we used to think slavery was a God-given institution, and we could kidnap people, rip them from their families and their homeland, and oppress them all the days of their lives\u2014but we have come to see that we need to have respect for all human beings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the Way of Love has shown us what is right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We used to think that our privilege and our success were signs of God\u2019s favor, allowing us to condemn others less fortunate for not pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps\u2014but we have to see that same privilege and success as a means of empowering us to lift up the lowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the Way of Love has shown us what is good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We used to think that women were to keep silent and cover their heads in church, and this lead to their treatment as second-class citizens, inferior to men\u2014but we have to see that God has created us all in the divine image, of equal and immeasurable value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the Way of Love has shown us what is just.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We used to believe a lot of things, things that caused us to oppress others, to disparage those different from ourselves, to ignore the refugee and stranger, to be fearful of the unknown\u2014but we have turned from those sinful ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the Way of Love has shown us what is true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we do all this, walking in the Way of Love, knowing, deep in our heart, that we are doing the will of God. Jesus said, \u201cI give you a new commandment, that you love one another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we are doing our best to do just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because in this Way of Love, we come to know God\u2019s love, to love and be loved by others, and to love ourselves. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sermon was written by the Rev. J. Barrington Bates<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sermon-English-Easter-5C-2019<\/strong><\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

[1] Quoting somewhat liberally from The Way of Love materials, found online at https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/way-of-love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] Guy Raz, \u201cHow Things Spread,\u201d TED Radio Hour on National Public Radio, originally broadcast 4 March 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI give you a new commandment, that you love one another.\u201d With these eleven words, Jesus turns the world order upside-down\u2014in first-century Palestine and here, today. \u201cI give you a new commandment, that you love one another.\u201d Jesus tells us that everyone will know we are his disciples if we have love for one another….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1955,43,52,1953],"tags":[200],"class_list":["post-512968","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-easter","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-easter-5c"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":1955,"label":"Easter"},{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":1953,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":200,"label":"Easter 5C"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/512968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/512968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3477066,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/512968\/revisions\/3477066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=512968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=512968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=512968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}