This is a left-over sermon idea from my Clergy Renewal series. The thought grows out of a late night conversation with my friend Karl in Salt Lake City (my apologies in advance to Karl for how my retelling of the story may differ from his memory of the same conversation). He and I not only have shared history of playing soccer and living together in college, but we share several things in common in our own lives now: he has served as a Presbyterian elder; I am a Presbyterian minister. He coaches soccer; I referee soccer. He has two daughters in high school; I have two daughters in high school (plus and extra one in Jr. High). His oldest daughter has a boyfriend (at least in June); my daughters have boyfriends (at least some days!). He is in great shape and runs triathlons; I...well, we do not share everything in common. My point is that we can talk about stuff in the past or present and have a common worldview.
We up really late one night (or should I say early morning). We were telling stories that I hadn't even thought about in years. We were solving the problems of the world. At some point, we began talking about what it was like raising daughters. We talked about the importance of figuring out how to make your daughter feel loved so that she does not seek love from the wrong types of guys (two fathers talking late, mind you). Karl begins to make the point quite forcefully that a father must not only love his daughter, but actually show it in front of the boyfriend. At this point, I'm thinking who I do in that regard. When's the last time I hugged my daughter in front of a boyfriend? I see the wisdom of his comment and begin to nod my head. As I begin to file the comment away under the category of modeling your love for your daughter so that she can gain confidence, Karl asks, "You know why it is so important for the boyfriend to see that you love her?" Before I can respond with a comment about building confidence, he goes on, "Because the boyfriend has to know you love her so much that you'll come after him if he does anything to hurt your daughter!" Thus the late night conversation turns to plotting like vigilantes against the boys who will date our daughters.
Christ models for us what it means to love. If we want to know how to love best, we need only look to the how Christ lived. On Christ the King Sunday when we acknowledge Christ sovereign reign over all the world, we recognize that Christ's royal manner defies the way most kings we know live. A king at his best may feel some minor sense of obligation to the people in his kingdom; Christ the king so cares for the people of his kingdom, that he dies for us as an atonement for our sins.
What could a father do to impress upon a boyfriend that he loves his daughter (to build on the late night conversation)? God decides that the only way to impress upon us how much God loves us was to send Christ to live among us and die for us. Recognizing that great love God has for each of us ought to fill us with confidence and a sense of self-worth. In coming in Christ, God has declared how much we are worth? We are worth Christ's death on the cross.
I am reminded of a quote I ran across recently "Rings and jewels are not gifts but apologies for gifts. The only true gift is a portion of yourself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson; quoted in Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court, John Wooden with Steve Jamison (11)
The I Samuel passage tells part of the story of the love that was shared between Jonathan and David. As I have mentioned before, this love is based on their commitment of the one who is in power to look after the one who is not in power. That type of covenant of love is lived out in God's love for us. In the place of power, God continually chooses to look after us. We, of course, never can return that love in the sense that we will never be in a position of power that is greater than God's power. But, are there other ways we can return that love?
If you have a story about how you have experienced someone's love for you, please let me know.
Peace,
Richard
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