31st\u00a0October 2021 Pentecost 23 & Reformation Sunday
\n(Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost)
\nTitle: The Greatest Commandment
\n(Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Mark 12:28-34)
\n By Heeyoung Lim <\/p>\n
About Reformation Sunday & The Five Solas of Reformation \u2028(Scripture, Faith, Grace, Christ Alone & To the Glory of God Alone)
\nReformation Sunday reminds of Luther\u2019s and other reformers\u2019 efforts in reforming ecclesial duty and responsibility. This day calls to remembrance the cost the poor have paid, the cost people were deceived at the hands of material greed with the name of indulgence. Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the Cathedral door in Wittenberg, Germany. His action sprang from his faith and theology. He began seeing a great truth of Scripture that had been lost to many in the church of that day and he realised and confirmed that we are saved by grace through faith declared righteous in God\u2019s sight by Christ alone.
\nToday\u2019s Old Testament reading starts \u201cHear, O Israel:\u00a0The LORD our God, the LORD is one. \u00a0Love\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0your God with all your heart\u00a0and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.\u201d\u00a0Strength in this passage refers not to a person’s physical strength, but to his\/her intensity.
\nThe Lord invites us to \u201cHear\u201d and \u201cLove\u201d God. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 constitute the core statement of faith. In this context, the command to hear implies “to listen closely for the purposes of obedience.” God wants people to be sincere in their faith and love.
\nGod’s commandments are not to be treated as a list of the acts we perform but as a description of who we are. It is more related to our whole \u201cbeing\u201d rather than our partial \u201cdoing” because God wants us to love Him with all that we are. His truth is to be placed upon the hearts of his people. (6)
\nAs today’s Bible verses, godly parents would impress God’s commandments upon the inner parts of children and each generation. God wants us to talk about His commandments when we sit, walk along, lie down, and get up.
\nIn Mark 12, one of the teachers of the law\u00a0came and asked Jesus, \u201cOf all the commandments, which is the most important?\u201d By quoting the Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Jesus emphasized that we must give our whole being to God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength when we love God. Jesus then quotes Leviticus 19:18, calling for love of neighbour as self. He is reciting a command from the law of Israel as an answer to a question. The question is \u201cWhich commandment in the law is number one?\u201d He is emphasising the idea that what God really wants from us is to live our lives based on love and not based on strict obedience to a bunch of religious laws.
\nJesus brings these two commands together in a way that links love and justice. Why is Jesus giving us a command to love? The scribe answered wisely, \u201cloving God and neighbours are more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.\u201d It reminds us of Amos 5, \u201cI hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them.\u201d (21-22)
\nJesus said to him,\u00a0\u201cYou are not far from the kingdom of God.\u201d\u00a0(34) It was meant to encourage the scribe to continue down this path he had described by himself. It may be the equivalent of Jesus\u2019 \u201cFollow me\u201d statement. No one asked Jesus any more questions after this encounter. His enemies seem to be failed to trap Him. An honest seeker in Mark 12 was the only scribe who received a commendation from Jesus. This reminds us of that there are always individuals within any group who are open to the gospel and to God\u2019s movement in their lives. Jesus will not turn away any person who seeks Him with sincerity.
\nJesus is giving us a command to love God and neighbours. To love God and neighbours is to be near to the kingdom of God. Love is something where there is always room for improvement. The fullness of love is always something that we hunger for but can never be enough.
\nHowever, Christ\u2019s love compels us to love God with all that we are and leads us to love others as we love ourselves. Are we loving God with all that we are? Will we love our neighbours by letting \u201cjustice roll down like waters,\u201d as the book of Amos tells us to do? (24) May all of us aspire to grow in love.
\nWe are commanded to \u201cLove\u201d and \u201cListen\u201d. We can surely respond to a command to love and listen because Christ’s command helps us keep striving to love. I believe that every move of love we make helps to accompany in God\u2019s kingdom of love. Every step of love we take can be a way of reformation. Even our weak efforts at love become little signs of hope in the present and the future. Every single act of love in faith contributes to being a witness for the kingdom of God.
\nI believe that these ritual expressions of love will grow in the fullness of love and become deeper, richer, and more meaningful as our lives and communities be filled with our growing love. For the scribe and all the characters in Mark\u2019s Gospel, including the disciples, love is not complete until they see the cross of Jesus and the power of God. May we experience the full life of love of God and neighbour when Christ’s love embraces us. Then we will be in joyful obedience and take up our cross and follow Jesus with love.
\nToday’s text invites us to focus on how our faith draws us into relationship with God and with each other. In John 14:21, Jesus says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” In John 8, He says, \u201cthe truth will make you free.\u201d\u00a0True believers become disciples by remaining with Jesus, staying in relationship with Him, and letting His words change us. His presence challenges us when the sins and lies that enslave us. Jesus invites believers to know Him so deeply that His truth sinks into our very being. He calls us to embody his truth in our lives, so that we walk his way of love in the world. It is time for us to transform our lives in faith and reform churches and communities with love. We are reforming ourselves in the relationship of God and sharing the love of God in the world.
\nLove calls us to invest our whole selves. May we love God with all that we are and love our neighbours as ourselves. I hope we love God with all our mind by listening his Word and learning about him. I pray that we love God with all our heart by allowing Him to heal wounded emotions. May we love God with all our soul and strength by making ourselves available to Him and His work.
\nThanks be to God! Amen. \u2028(Ref. Bible, commentaries, theological books, UCA materials) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
31st\u00a0October 2021 Pentecost 23 & Reformation Sunday (Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost) Title: The Greatest Commandment (Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Mark 12:28-34) By Heeyoung Lim About Reformation Sunday & The Five Solas of Reformation \u2028(Scripture, Faith, Grace, Christ Alone & To the Glory of God Alone) Reformation Sunday reminds of Luther\u2019s and other reformers\u2019 efforts in reforming ecclesial duty and responsibility. This day calls to remembrance the cost the poor have paid, the cost people were deceived at the hands of material greed with the name of indulgence. Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the Cathedral door in Wittenberg, Germany. His action sprang from his faith and theology. He began seeing a great truth of Scripture that had been lost to many in the church of that day and he realised and confirmed that we are saved by grace through faith declared righteous in God\u2019s sight by Christ alone. Today\u2019s Old Testament reading starts \u201cHear, O Israel:\u00a0The LORD our God, the LORD is one. \u00a0Love\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0your God with all your heart\u00a0and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.\u201d\u00a0Strength in this passage refers not to a person’s physical strength, but to his\/her intensity. The Lord invites us to \u201cHear\u201d and \u201cLove\u201d God. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 constitute the core statement of faith. In this context, the command to hear implies “to listen closely for the purposes of obedience.” God wants people to be sincere in their faith and love. God’s commandments are not to be treated as a list of the acts we perform but as a description of who we are. It is more related to our whole \u201cbeing\u201d rather than our partial \u201cdoing” because God wants us to love Him with all that we are. His truth is to be placed upon the hearts of his people. (6) As today’s Bible verses, godly parents would impress God’s commandments upon the inner parts of children and each generation. God wants us to talk about His commandments when we sit, walk along, lie down, and get up. In Mark 12, one of the teachers of the law\u00a0came and asked Jesus, \u201cOf all the commandments, which is the most important?\u201d By quoting the Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Jesus emphasized that we must give our whole being to God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength when we love God. Jesus then quotes Leviticus 19:18, calling for love of neighbour as self. He is reciting a command from the law of Israel as an answer to a question. The question is \u201cWhich commandment in the law is number one?\u201d He is emphasising the idea that what God really wants from us is to live our lives based on love and not based on strict obedience to a bunch of religious laws. Jesus brings these two commands together in a way that links love and justice. Why is Jesus giving us a command to love? The scribe answered wisely, \u201cloving God and neighbours are more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.\u201d It reminds us of Amos 5, \u201cI hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them.\u201d (21-22) Jesus said to him,\u00a0\u201cYou are not far from the kingdom of God.\u201d\u00a0(34) It was meant to encourage the scribe to continue down this path he had described by himself. It may be the equivalent of Jesus\u2019 \u201cFollow me\u201d statement. No one asked Jesus any more questions after this encounter. His enemies seem to be failed to trap Him. An honest seeker in Mark 12 was the only scribe who received a commendation from Jesus. This reminds us of that there are always individuals within any group who are open to the gospel and to God\u2019s movement in their lives. Jesus will not turn away any person who seeks Him with sincerity. Jesus is giving us a command to love God and neighbours. To love God and neighbours is to be near to the kingdom of God. Love is something where there is always room for improvement. The fullness of love is always something that we hunger for but can never be enough. However, Christ\u2019s love compels us to love God with all that we are and leads us to love others as we love ourselves. Are we loving God with all that we are? Will we love our neighbours by letting \u201cjustice roll down like waters,\u201d as the book of Amos tells us to do? (24) May all of us aspire to grow in love. We are commanded to \u201cLove\u201d and \u201cListen\u201d. We can surely respond to a command to love and listen because Christ’s command helps us keep striving to love. I believe that every move of love we make helps to accompany in God\u2019s kingdom of love. Every step of love we take can be a way of reformation. Even our weak efforts at love become little signs of hope in the present and the future. Every single act of love in faith contributes to being a witness for the kingdom of God. I believe that these ritual expressions of love will grow in the fullness of love and become deeper, richer, and more meaningful as our lives and communities be filled with our growing love. For the scribe and all the characters in Mark\u2019s Gospel, including the disciples, love is not complete until they see the cross of Jesus and the power of God. May we experience the full life of love of God and neighbour when Christ’s love embraces us. Then we will be in joyful obedience and take up our cross and follow Jesus with love. Today’s text invites us to focus on how our faith draws us into relationship with God and with each other. In John 14:21, Jesus says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Leighmoor.Master","author_link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/author\/leighmoor-master"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Sermons<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"31st\u00a0October 2021 Pentecost 23 & Reformation Sunday (Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost) Title: The Greatest Commandment (Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 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