March 6 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent

Create in us clean hearts, O God, and renew a right spirit within us.  AMEN.

One of my favorite uncles, my mom’s little brother -- Uncle Steve -- got remarried 2 years ago in St. Louis.  

Uncle Steve got remarried, because my wonderful Aunt Kim died at the age of 43 of an unexplained cardiac arrest.  Their kids were 8 and 4, and dear Uncle Steve pretty much raised them through their elementary and middle school years on his own -- with some major help from my grandparents in St. Louis.

But about 5 years ago, he started seeing a woman named Karen from his church.  Steve had tried dating, I think, as early as 3 years after Aunt Kim’s death, but nothing was looking very serious or frankly all that joyful for him.  But one thing led to another with Karen, as the months went by, and before you knew it, they were a serious couple. 

Did I mention this is my mom’s little brother?  They frequently fly up to St. Louis, to visit my grandparents and the rest of her family, and I remember Mom talking to me on the phone about going to meet Karen.  And the way she talked about it, it was like she was going into battle:  “I’m going press her.  She’s not going to know what hit her.  I’m going to find out what’s her deal.  I’m going to [here it comes] ask her what her intentions are with my little brother.”  (He’s in his late 50’s, btw.)  

I said a few things like, “Take it easy, Mom”.  But she wasn’t just the mama bear, I had always known.  She was also apparently quite the big sister bear...and she was pretty determined.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized, this is all coming from a place of heart-aching love.

(Turned out all went well!  Karen’s intentions were indeed good and wonderful.  She actually has a son out here, serving in the Marines, and when she came to visit him, she came to church here at SVLC a couple years ago.  I didn’t introduce her as my uncle’s boyfriend or anything, but some of you greeted and welcomed her, and [Pat Swanson] even told me about this incredible woman that we need to make sure we reach out to and invite back.  That was all the endorsement I needed.  Steve and Karen are now happily married, and are really doing the happily ever after thing...)  

But was that question of intentions, that my mom first asked, that I wanted to lift from that story, for our text today.  “What are your intentions?  What’s deep down there that you’re after?  I’m not buying the whole surface act, that everyone else seems to love.  What’s the real deal, pilgrim?”  My mom :)

Jesus in our text is not vetting anyone like Mom was, but he was certainly interested in the intentions too.  That’s really what this whole lesson is about.  Which commandment is the greatest?  “Love God.  And love your neighbor.”  At it occurs to me that these two are so intimately linked.  How can someone say they love God but show no mercy or hospitality or affection for their neighbors?  Our love of God is reflected in our love of the neighbor.  This is where the intentions come to the surface.  

Think of the most hospitable, friendly, loving person you know.     Who comes to mind, for you, as the best at caring for their neighbor? [pause]  I would venture to say that that person has a deep faith.  Might not even be a Christian or even an avowed believer!...but from my perspective, their lived faith is more profound than a statement of faith, and God is very real in their lives and hearts, even if they don’t confess it.  I’d wonder if they do in fact know the God-whose-name-is-Love.     

It’s quite the opposite of those who walk around in long robes, putting on airs, saying long prayers -- How many of you think of pastors?  That might be fair critique, but there are many different kinds of long robes in our society -- expecting to be treated with respect in the marketplace, meanwhile devouring (not just ignoring) but devouring the poor and the voiceless with their lifestyle, their choices, their behind-closed-doors transactions.  “They devour widows houses and for the sake of appearances say long prayers.”   

Who in your life, on the other hand, is the best at caring for their neighbors?  That’s deeply and intricately and profoundly linked to loving God with heart, soul and mind.   [pause]

Here’s the other thing that occurs to me.  As we practice, in this Lenten wilderness, greater devotion, discipline, prayer, fasting -- btw, I hope you’ve been able to spend some time these days digging deeper, getting more reflective, praying more than normal, and to that end, struggling.  The mirror is a great tool and image to dig into Lent -- both literally and even more, spiritually.  What do you see when you look at yourself?  As you look at yourself.  The other thing that occurs to me, is that “who is my neighbor, who is that person that God is calling me to love” is a deeply personal question.  [pause]

For some the strange neighbor might be the gay man across the street, who I just don’t get.  For others, the gay man is my brother and I, not only get him, I love him.  So that’s not the street crossing, boundary crossing, radical love Jesus it talking about.  

For some it means figuring out how to love a Democrat, for others it means figuring out how to love a Republican, right?  

“Who is my neighbor” is deeply personal.  

For some it’s a Muslim, for others, who might have a Muslim best friend or in-law, it’s a Christian who openly and harshly condemns all Muslims.  

So who is your neighbor?  And what are your intentions toward your neighbor?  (Note space in the bulletin.)

I think, getting at these questions, helps us understand our deepest intentions toward God.

Love God?  Then love your neighbor.  “I love God, but hate my neighbor.”  Then maybe something’s not connecting in your heart...

Lent is a time to get away and reflect on these hard questions, and frankly it’s not something we can do together.  In Lent, we need to go into solitude...and then come back together at the foot of the cross.  Lent is a time to try to make ourselves better on our own.  And then we need to come back together at the foot of the cross?  Why? Because in the end, we can’t do it alone.  We need come back together because we need this God-whose-name-is love.  When we’re honest -- we need God’s help to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves.  We need God’s help to unearth and examine our intentions.  And sisters and brothers in Christ, [pause] God is there to help us.

There’s a gift in all this hard work.  In all this digging.  In all this wrestling.  We find God.  We find our need for God, we open ourselves to being cleaned out.  By God.  There’s a gift here when we examine our true intentions.  Like my mom, like Mama Bear, like Big Sister Bear, Jesus‘ challenge to us is coming from a place of heart-aching love.  As one of our children’s Bibles says, from a place of “God’s never stopping, never giving up, un-breaking, always and forever Love.”  That love, that grace, that hope is yours, even today.  AMEN.