EDITOR'S NOTE: In October 2017 I began a new venture as a synodically authorized minister at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. The ride over the past 2.5 years has been an amazing journey of learning, growing and the deepening of my theological mind. This sermon originally took place on May 19, 2019.
“Life is amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between the amazing and the awful it’s ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale through the ordinary. That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.”
Some of you may have heard that quote before. It’s a pretty popular quote on social media these days.
It is a quote by L.R. Knost, an award-winning author, probably most known for her books about parenting and her work in the arena of children’s rights advocacy.
That quote rattled around in my head a lot yesterday as I ran 13.1 miles for the first time in my life, sometimes under some really ugly conditions, other times during moments of awe-inspiring wonderment and then finally during a lot of boring stretches, frankly, where there wasn’t much to look at, and only so many more miles ahead to think about. … Some very long miles.
But despite those tough miles, I couldn’t help but be awed by the displays of camaraderie, compassion, generosity, strength, and raw human spirit that were on display yesterday. ... And the best part is that I don’t think it couldn’t have matched better with this week’s gospel than if I had scripted it myself.
Admit it: When some of you saw the gospel this week, you were thinking, “Oh boy, not again. Another sermon on loving our neighbor.” … I know. I know.
But, first, welcome to the Gospel of John, who gives us a heaping helping of love throughout his gospel.
And second, if that’s how you are feeling, I’d ask you to take another look at this week’s gospel. A closer look. … Because what’s different about this commonly heard message is not only the commandment that we love another. … But, what’s really important not to miss is that Jesus tells us to love one another … as I have loved you.
Whoa, now that’s a little bit taller of an order now isn’t it?
I mean it’s one thing to consider loving our neighbor. Wishing them well, and such. That seems simple enough. ... But to be commanded to love one another as Jesus loved people, well that’s an entirely different story isn’t? … Maybe that seems a little bit more daunting. … At least it does to me.
And before I ever hit race day yesterday, I had spent a good bit of time last week mulling over this message in my mind. And I’m not going to lie: I wrestled with just how to bring this message to life. … In fact, I even put the question to several of my seminary friends, as I seemed to be struggling with coming up with a message.
I asked them, what this week’s gospel meant to them. … What did it mean to them to love as Jesus loved people? … What did that mean its most tangible form?
And you know what? … My seminary friends were as stumped as I was. They emailed me back to say: We’ve got nothing. Good luck with the sermon!
Thanks a lot, I thought!
And then I trucked off to the race with the family on Friday night, and was I again blown away by the experience of running the 5K with my family and 5,500 other people.
And then I woke up early on Saturday and found myself at the starting line of the half marathon, among people from all 50 states, and many from Canada and other nations. And we all got to witness a couple from Florida get married at the start line of the race at 6:30 in the morning, and then they ran the marathon together.
And then we were all off ...
And somewhere in the middle of that sometimes beautiful, sometimes awful and a lot of the time very often mundane 13.1 miles that I ran, it struck me that I was actually witnessing how Jesus loved people all around me. … And this entire time I had just had to open my eyes to see it.
If that seems strange, let me explain.
In the few short years that I’ve been running, I’ve learned that even though on the surface it’s appears to be a solo sport, the truth is that it is very much a communal experience, and if you ever want to see that on its full display you need to go witness a Fargo Marathon race day.
And thanks to the poor running weather on Saturday, I think I may have witnessed that love more than on any previous race day.
So when I say that I witnessed what it means to love people like Jesus did, I mean that the explanation came to me in the many ways I saw people treating each other throughout the race weekend. Let me try to paint a picture for you …
Imagine the start of the race, when all around you you are surrounded by runners of all ages, nationalities and abilities, and there’s nothing but a huge communal sense of encouragement and respect. There’s not a single iota of animosity that permeates through that crowd.
You turn around to see runners in specially designed wheelchairs, and runners who are missing a leg and will be competing on crutches, men and women into their 70s and children as young as 10 or 11 years old. … And you know that each of them has their own very intimate story as to why they are there standing on that starting line with you, ready to put their hearts on the line during a grueling, windy and rainy race day.
I also saw Jesus in the thousands of spectators who filled the stands at the Fargodome, who took the time to write inspirational signs and who were there to cheer all of us on as we exited the building.
While many of the fans there certainly came because they had someone running in the race, but there were many others who came just for the spectacle and to cheer on thousands of runners whom they didn’t know.
I also saw Jesus in the many, many runners who fought through incredible circumstances just to be a part of that crowd, just to be there and be energized by thousands of other people running for their own intensely personal reasons.
I saw Jesus in the aid station volunteers who braved the wind and rain to stand there to provide water and Powerade to the runners to keep them hydrated and on the course.
I saw Jesus in the dozens and dozens of emergency personnel who donned their rain gear to stand for hours at end at sometimes dangerous intersections to protect us runners, to keep far too many distracted motorists from running us over.
I saw Jesus in the many groups of runners who were on the course to celebrate a loved one, or running with a loved one who may be fighting cancer or in remission, or running in memory of a loved one whom they had lost.
In fact, the number of runners who are there for a cause is astounding.
I saw Jesus in my friend Scott, a Moorhead police officer who ran the entire full marathon in his police uniform in honor of those who serve and protect. It was a moving site.
I saw Jesus in the hundreds of volunteers who staffed the Fargodome when we runners got back, soaked, dehydrated, cold and hungry. As we drug our butts back into the Dome, there were dozens of volunteer medical personnel, dozens of volunteers to hand out the finishers’ medals and give you a kind word, and dozens more volunteers to hand you chocolate milk and pizza and bananas to help restore some of those nutrients you burned away.
I saw Jesus in a running friend of mine, who finished his leg of the marathon relay that he was running, and then doubled back out onto the course to come find me in my finals miles just so that he could run with me home because he knew it was my first half marathon and he wanted to support me.
I saw Jesus in young girl, I’m guessing about 10ish, standing with her parents in the rain outside there home at about Mile 11, holding a sign that read: “Keep going. You inspire me.” … A sign that came along at just the right time.
And finally, I saw Jesus in so many other large and small acts of kindness along the way. Runners high-fiving each other on the course. Sharing a friendly smile, that said, “Keep going. You got this.” …
Runners generously giving up words of encouragement. Sharing racing gel packets, and garbage bags to help keep each other dry, and other race gear. Families lining the streets to give away fruit, and liquids, and yes in some instances even beer.
And my point in all of this is … that this week while I labored so hard to extract some brilliant theological message from this week’s gospel, all I really needed to do to see Jesus’ love in action was to look around me.
And maybe in that observation is this week’s lesson: Yes, we are commanded to love another as Jesus did. … But, no, maybe we don’t have to make it complicated.
For instance, sometimes Jesus’s love is as simple as a woman standing in her rain gear, getting drenched, at the corner of about Mile 10 holding a sign that read, “It’s just the world’s biggest game of follow the leader,” in one hand, and an open jar of Vaseline in her other hand. … And, if you need me to explain that reference to you, you can see me after service.
So my question to you this Sunday on Fargo Marathon weekend is this: This coming week, how can you make a difference in someone’s life? How can you love others as Jesus did?
Big. ... Small. … It makes no difference. Love breeds love, and that is what Jesus calls on us to do in today’s gospel.
And that is the good news for this week. … Amen.
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