Love Does No Wrong
September 7/ 2014 Romans 13:8-14
When I was a little
girl I had a dog – It was my own dog, even though the family had a dog that we
shared I had my own. His name was Elijah
and he was a mix between a black lab and a Newfoundlander. Needless to say he was big and black and
beautiful and gentle and kind and loyal.
I got him when he as a puppy and he grew up alongside of me, we lived in
the bush in Northern Ontario and so the dogs were able to roam free– I was
quite the emotional person and there were many times when I was having trouble
at school or frustrated with my parents and I would sit outside, sulking or
crying or just in general being mad, sad or angry and right beside me was this
big black dog someone to lean on to wrap my arms around to dry my tears. I can still feel the softness of his
fur. But when he was almost two he and our other dog
Erin, started to get into trouble – they discovered porcupines – there were
wonderful prey because they lumbered around and were easy to catch and then fun
to tear apart between the two dogs – it got so into it that they failed to
recognize that they were actually in pain as they wrestled their catch to the
ground – and then we had the task of removing all the quills from their muzzels
and sometimes because they were so bad we had take the dogs to the vet to get
them removed – this happened over and over and over again – 17 times – until finally
the vet said that if they did not stop they would die because of the quills – I
guess they can move and puncture the brain – anyway – it was decided that
Elijah was the one that had to go – partly because he was the more frequent hunter
than Erin and also because he was not the family dog and we had not had him as
long as Erin. My parents found Elijah a
new home with a friend who lived in a large town that did not have porcupines. It was
a hard decision and I understand that giving Elijah away was about
keeping him safe and alive, but it was hard and sad and I missed him terribly and
I don’t think that I have ever had a dog that felt like mine, that was in tune
with my emotions, who knew when I need a friend, who loved me just cause and
put up with my moodiness. There is
something about a dog’s love…,
The reading this morning
from Romans talks about love – human love and how God wants us to love – as communicated
through Paul to the church in Rome. This
letter from Paul is one of his later ones – he has been an evangelist for some
time now and has been writing letters focusing his thoughts about who God is
and who Jesus is and how life should be lived both as individuals and as
communities and as churches that are pleasing God – Paul is reminding the newly
formed Christian church in Rome about who God is and the gifts that God has
given – and in this case the greatest gift of all – love – which has come in
flesh as Jesus. Paul is addressing people
who have been Jewish and so have an understanding of the law of Moses, they
know the 10 commandments, they appreciate the stories about God through the
writings of what we now call the Old Testament.
So this particular part of Paul’s letters is a reminder of the
importance of love in relationships – with each other and with God, for as Paul
reminds us – if we love, if we truly love that way the God loves than we do no
wrong, the commandments are kept – murder, adultery, stealing and desiring
things that belong to someone else – when you love – love as God loves – then they
don’t happen – because why would you murder someone you love – really love –
love without jealousy and anger and pain and judgement and expectation – like my
dog loved me, not because I gave him all sorts of wonderful things, but because
I was me and I gave him my love.
Of all the words used
throughout the world, the one that is used the most -- or misused the most --
is "love." Love is not merely a denial of self. It is caring for
others, and seeking their welfare above and before self. We use the word
"love" to describe a great variety of experiences: feelings of the
heart, conditions of the mind, expressions of our will, and our own actions. It
is, therefore, extremely difficult to understand when people say that they
"love," what that really means. Furthermore, because "love"
has a tendency to be an ambiguous word, it can also be a dangerous word.
When you see the word or hear the word love, what do you see? I see a couple looking at a little face wrapped in a pink blanket for the first time. I see an old man as he sits with his wife of 52 years. She has Alzheimer's. He knows that she is not who she was but he still loves her…I see my big black dog and feel the warmth of his body beside me.
When you see the word or hear the word love, what do you see? I see a couple looking at a little face wrapped in a pink blanket for the first time. I see an old man as he sits with his wife of 52 years. She has Alzheimer's. He knows that she is not who she was but he still loves her…I see my big black dog and feel the warmth of his body beside me.
Years ago my
father worked in corrections – back in the day when children and youth were
also under the umbrella of corrections before community and social
services. He began as a guard in a
training school where 12-18 year old who had gotten in trouble with the law
were sent but over the years he shifted his focus, obtained a teaching degree
and eventually became the principal at White Oaks which was a facility near
Hagersville that used to be an old army base.
The boys dad worked with were between the ages of 6-12 – kids that had
shuffled out of the foster system, or boys that did not have the support and
love of their family and when they got into trouble or just had no where else
to go, usually they were kids that were not raised in a loving environment, and
when there was nowhere else to put them quite often they were placed in a
training school. They had to also go to
school of course because of their age and my dad was the principal of the White
Oaks correctional Centre’s school.
In my father’s
office he had a large cage and in that cage were a bunch of mice. Whenever a boy was in trouble and sent to the
principal’s office – my dad sit at his desk and read or write or do something
while the boy who was over the top angry or frustrated, would sit in a chair
beside the cage filled with mice. After not very much time had passed the boy
often would reach inside the cage and take a hold of one of the mice that was running
around, he would hold it in his hand, and stroke it with his finger, and he
would start to change – his demeanor would relax, the anger would begin to fade
and in about 10 or so minutes the angry boy chomping at the bit would be a
calm, child ready to talk about what had happened to make him get sent to the
office. The mice allowed him to get beyond
all the bad behaviour, all the negative emotions, and all the loveless anger,
something in the living breathing little warm bodies warmed up these boys
hearts and they became open to at least have a conversation, and re-consider
and quite possibly were finally open to feel the care and concern and love that
my dad gave them.
It is not new news
that animals are beneficial to humans, a 2012 article by NPR – National Public Radio, focused on how
humans and animals heal each other:
“One of the earliest studies, published in 1980, found that heart attack patients who owned pets lived longer than those
who didn't. Another early study found that petting one's own dog could reduce
blood pressure.More recently, …, studies have been focusing on the fact that interacting with animals can increase people's level of the hormone oxytocin….
"Oxytocin helps us feel happy and trusting." … "Oxytocin has some powerful effects for us in the body's ability to be in a state of readiness to heal, and also to grow new cells, so it predisposes us to an environment in our own bodies where we can be healthier.”[1] Because we have pets, because we interact with animals.
I have known a wonderful cat named Molly who lived in the long term care facility in Golden Dawn in Blind River Hospital. She knew when people needed her and when one of the residents was dying she kept vigil, laying on their bed, or sitting on the window sill, waiting, keeping watch…
In our living and our dying we are loved by our God and Molly was able to be present in that sacred time as a vehicle for that love.
In my first pastoral charge in Blind River we had blind man as part of our summer congregation. He and his wife and his beautiful golden retriever guide dog, Max came to church every Sunday during the summer months. When Tonni died after a prolonged illness, Max became a pet to Evangeline, Tonni’s wife because he was too old to be retrained for another to use as a guide dog. Max was a bit lost without something to do everyday so Evangeline found new work for Max – she became a regular visitor at the local nursing home – and she brought Max with her – he went an visited each of the residents a couple hours a couple days a week – the visits brought meaning and purpose not only to the residents but also Evangeline and especially Max.
Beth Royalty
writes: “A large part of Paul's message to the church
in Rome, and to most of the churches to whom he wrote, was to encourage the
people in how to live, how to behave, and in what to do in response to God's
gracious gift to them, to the world. It seemed clear to him that if you live
your life as if you are going to meet God face to face anytime, if you live
your life confident that God's kingdom has begun, if you live your life knowing
that the relationship you have with God is more important than any other thing
in your life, well, if you live your life that way, then your behavior ought to
reflect that this is what you believe. It wasn't about doing something right in
order to win God's approval. (Paul would never have said that our action would
win us salvation.) It was about faith, faith in God's actions, faith in God's
love, and faith in God's promise of steadfast relationship with us! But faith does
not just believe. Faith is also about doing, acting, and working in God's
kingdom here and now, doing the work of Christ in the place where we are,
responding to that free gift of God's love that we can do nothing to earn, but
that we can do everything to show off.”[2]
I think we need to
take a lesson from our animal friends gathered here today, because more often
than not, we witness what it is to live in love, to live in grace. Our animal friends trust that we will care
for them, not because we have to or that we will get something out of it, but
because we love them. And that is grace,
that is God’s good gift to all of God’s creation – grace – love – not because
it is deserved or earned or merited but because God loves. And we can be assured that when we love as
God loves and care as God cares we will begin to see glimpses of the kingdom –
and when we live the kingdom by loving and respecting and caring for all of God’s
creatures from the snails to the whales, from the toad to the tortoises, from the
dog to the human creature – we live in love.
We live as God wills. And the
kingdom and God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment