Love First
Love First
The most essential human need.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Welcome to the Light of Christ weekly podcast. Light of Christ Anglican Church is located in Georgetown, Texas at MLK and University Avenue. We are a modern expression of the ancient faith. You can learn more about us at lightofchristgeorgetown.org.
During this time of uncertainty because of COVID-19, it's important that we reduce our social contact in order to protect the vulnerable among us. But why do we do this? Is it because safety is first or is it because love is first? Today's sermon soundbite is based on Romans chapter 8, verse 35. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” We can follow Jesus in this time by listening primarily to God. It is the first priority. Often you hear safety first, safety first. Well, as Christians we have to push back on that. No, it's not safety first. It's love first, right? The commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself.
Sometimes love means taking risks for the sake of the other, but love is also the reason that we want to be prudent and we want to be careful with how we are interacting with people today because we don't want to unnecessarily spread this disease as we heard before. But our primary human need is not safety in this temporary life which is inherently unsafe and eventually will end for all of us. The first and primary need of humans is to know, to know relationaly, that they are loved by God. We see this in our gospel reading as Jesus is there with the Samaritan woman. He knows the issue isn't physical water. Physical water is the most important thing for us besides air. Is it not right? We're mostly water. We need water, but Jesus is clear. What is more important than water? What really refreshes the soul? The living water. To know the love of God through Jesus Christ who poured out the love of God through his wounds on that cross for you, for your community.
This is the most essential thing, to know you are loved of God. To know that your neighbor is loved of God. Romans 8. Paul is going to talk about the power of God's love. The true safety is in God's love because when we know we are loved by God, when we are in a relationship with God, no virus can take us and snatch us out of God's hand, not even death itself. The cross proves that. Jesus went into death and rose again. Not even death itself can separate us from the love of God, from our belonging and from our eternal destiny. Listen to the faith of Paul as he speaks to us.
Romans 8:35. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword, (and you could put in there pestilence coronavirus, economic uncertainty?)” What is the answer? “As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Thank you for listening to the Light of Christ weekly podcast. Let us end our time together with a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. You can find the collect for the third Sunday in Lent on page 606.
Heavenly Father, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you: Look with compassion upon the heartfelt desires of your servants, and purify our disordered affections, that we may behold your eternal glory in the face of Christ Jesus; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
