“I’m Third”
Sermon for 23rd Sunday after Pentecost (LWML Sunday)

Text: Matthew 22:34-40
Goal: that the hearers may be able to know how they can serve both God and their neighbor through the love that we receive from God Himself in faith.

1. What is love? In our Gospel lesson for today, taken from the book of Matthew, Jesus talks about the greatest commandment. The greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind. God desires that we love Him because He’s the one who has created us. He knows more about us than we do. He even sent His Son to suffer and die in our place so that we may be with Him. As my favorite poet Robert Frost once said, “Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.” God desires that we love Him and put Him first in all that we do, because He loves and desires us. He promises to cause within our hearts the ability to love Him, because He’s the epitome of love. 1 John 4:8-11 talks about love in this way, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." This is why we’re to love God first in all that we do. Only from Him and His power are we able to truly love anyone, for He’s the Creator and essence of love.

2. This leads us to ask how does love sum up all of the commandments. In our Gospel lesson for today Jesus answered one of the teachers of the law on what the Greatest Commandment is. Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-40, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." When we love God first in all we do, then we’re able to love our neighbor and serve them.

3. The Old Testament lesson for today taken from the book of Leviticus shows us that God wants us to be holy and in what ways God expects us to show love to our neighbors. God says to Moses in Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18, "Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. "'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. "'Do not go about spreading slander among your people. "'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the LORD. "'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. "'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

4. God expects a lot from us as His people. We’re called by Him to defend our neighbor in everything that we do by not spreading gossip, perverting justice or showing favoritism. God calls us to keep our neighbor safe, to rebuke our neighbors for their own sins and not hate them. He wants us to be holy as He Himself is holy and to show this holiness to our neighbor in all that we think, say and do. We know because of our sin that we haven’t always kept the commandments perfectly such as you shall not steal, you shall not desire what your neighbor possesses and you shall not gossip and spread lies about your neighbor. So how are we able to show love to our neighbor? Through God’s power. He’s the one who enables us to love Him through the power of His Word so that we can show love to others. This is why it’s so important to be in God’s Word daily so that we may continually have the power of the Holy Spirit working within us to do good deeds and show acts of love to the people God puts into our care.

5. God wants us to put ourselves third in all that we do. What does it mean to put one’s self third? It means that through God’s power we put Him first, others second and ourselves third. The story of Captain John Ferrier gives a great example of this Christian command. It was on the morning of June 7, 1958, and the Air National Guard’s jet precision team was headed for the famed Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, just outside Dayton, Ohio. The team was doing a routine maneuver for the crowds that had gathered to watch the airplane show. In the middle of the maneuver Colonel Williams glanced back over his shoulder in terror. Far across the sky to the east, Captain John Ferrier’s plane was rolling and it was headed right for a small town. Steering his jet in the direction of the crippled plane to race after it, Williams radioed urgently, “Bail out, John! Get out of there!” But, there was no answer. He understood immediately. John Ferrier didn’t have control of his plane, something was horribly wrong.. Suddenly a terrible explosion shook the earth. Major Win Coomer raced to the scene to find that Captain John Ferrier’s Sabrejet had hit the ground midway between four houses, in a backyard garden. It was the only place where he could have crashed without killing people. The explosion knocked a woman and several children to the ground, but no one had been hurt, with the exception of John Ferrier. He had been killed instantly. “A bunch of us were standing together, watching the show” an elderly man with tears in his eyes told Coomer. “When the pilot started to roll, he was headed straight for us. For a second, we looked right at each other. Then he pulled up right over us and put it in there.” In deep humility, the old man whispered, “This man died for us.”

6. A few days after this tragic accident, John Ferrier’s wife, Tulle, found a worn card in his billfold. On it were the words “I’m Third.” That simple phrase exemplified the life—and death—of this courageous man. For him, God came first, others second, and himself third. True to his Christian beliefs, John Ferrier sacrificed his life for people he’d never met. This story reminds all of us of the importance of human life. God wants us to show love to one another in whatever way we can and He enables us to do so through the power of His Word. Jesus said it best in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.” He proved that to us through His death on the cross. He was willing to suffer and die in our place so that we may have that wonderful gift of eternal life. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross reminds all of us that He wants us to put Him first, others second and ourselves third. In this way we’re showing love to God and to our neighbors.

7. So how are the American people showing love to one another? In a recent article I read from CNN.com a survey finds that rudeness is getting worse among the American people. A full 79 % of the 2,013 adults surveyed in January of this year said that a lack of respect and courtesy in American society is a serious problem. 61% believe things have gotten worse in recent years. Poor customer service has become so extensive that nearly half of those surveyed said they have walked out of a store in the past year because of it. 50% said they often see people talking on cell phones in a loud or annoying manner. And 6 out of 10 drivers said they regularly see other people driving aggressively or recklessly. Many people admitted to rude behavior themselves. More than a third said they use foul language in public. About the same percentage confessed to occasional bad driving.

8. The people who were surveyed had some positive ways to react to rudeness and self-centeredness. 36 % said that when confronted with rude behavior, the right thing is to respond with excessive politeness. 20 % said it’s best to point out the bad behavior. But 42 % said the best thing to do is to walk away. We as Christians are called to be a light in the midst of a dark world. When we see rudeness and acts of self-centeredness in our area of influence God wants us to address what’s going wrong. We are to show acts of kindness to those who are around us, even if they’re giving us a hard time. In fact Proverbs 25:21-23 says, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.” Jesus also turned the other cheek when people were hurting Him. As He was being beaten and tortured before His trial He did nothing while the guards spat on Him, said curses and whipped Him, even though He’d done nothing wrong. Jesus really did turn the other cheek, but in order that the whole world may have the gift of eternal life through His death on the cross.

9. Today we celebrate and thank God for the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League who have been about sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ for many years. They’ve shown love to their neighbors. They’ve done this through acts of service in their communities, in funding missions at home and abroad and gathering around God’s Word for strength and instruction in all their years of existence. This organization of women of all ages has modeled self-sacrifice with their “Mite Boxes” and with bold mission directives. Their example speaks as a living parable of how unique individuals from all over the country and the world – women of God – work together to carry out the Great Commission. They’ve even shown God’s love and concern to me as a Seminary student and now a vicar. My home congregation, Our Savior Lutheran in Excelsior, MN has provided me with prayers and financial support while I’ve been studying to become a pastor. The LWML group here at Faith Lutheran is also showing love and support by helping me with their prayers and financial giving. The LWML truly is carrying out God’s commandment to both love Him and the neighbors that surround them.

10. The sermon hymn, “Serve the Lord with gladness” reminds us that we’re called to serve God and our neighbor. It describes what God wants of us. He wants us to build His Kingdom so that others too may have the wonderful joy of eternal life with Him in heaven. He wants us to put Him first, others second and ourselves third. We serve God in many ways and the words to the second verse of the hymn put it well, “Serve the Lord with gladness!” He gave us command to proclaim His Gospel now in every land so that fellow sinners may, like us, be blest. Leading them to Jesus, we can serve Him best. Onward, then, for Jesus! Let this be our aim: “Serve the Lord with gladness!” Glorify His name!” God wants us to continue to serve one another, even our enemies, because in doing so we’re showing love to God, which is the greatest commandment. God wants us to show love to our neighbors because Jesus Himself showed love to us by dying on the cross for our sins. In doing so we will be fulfilling what God has called us to do as His people. May He enable each and every one of us to show Jesus’ love to all that we come into contact with so that the body of Christ may be built up and strengthened for the Kingdom of God.

Blessing: Now may the peace that passes all understanding enable each of you to show that love of Christ in whatever situation you may find yourself in, in this life. May you go in peace serving the Lord with gladness and enabled through the power of the Holy Spirit to keep God first, others second and ourselves third.