Sermon Index
April 28, 2013, Easter 5C
Do you like the game of Ping Pong? I do. My old church in Kitami, Hokkaido, had a ping pong table in the main hallway of the church. We would play nearly every Sunday. Ping pong is a great game for the church, because it is more than just a game, it is a way of life, it is the way of life that Jesus taught. I like to call it gping pong love.h
The game of ping pong is most fun when the ball is served and returned across the net many times before someone misses it. The more times that the ball crosses the net, the more fun it becomes. It takes some skill to do this. A beginner often misses the ball or misses the other side of the table. A beginner tries to play like a professional, wants to look cool, and so tries to hit the ball hard so the other person cannot get it, and they usually hit it wild off to the side or too far. Then the game is frustrating and boring. An easy-going game where one player tries to hit the ball on the other side of the table so that the opponent can easily return it, I think, is the most fun. I think that this is the way Jesus wants us to play it. This is gPing Pong Love.h Jesus said it this way, gA new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.h This command, is the only rule of the game, that we "love one another" just like Jesus loved us. In other words: love, then love in return, then return the love, and so forth.
Unfortunately, rather than gping pong love,h what we regularly see is gping pong hate.h Someone says something rude, the other person returns an insult which is returned with an even bigger insult, etc. If our sister hits us, we hit back, etc. Revenge is an un-ending game. It seems that people love the game of gping pong hate.h It is so popular that most people engage in it. It is even an international sport where war and civil war go on for ages. There is no winner in this game, except the devil. He would say that the only rule of the game is, gHate one another as I have hated you.h And when we play the devil's game, we are losers -- we are eternal losers. We lose love, we lose friends, we lose self-respect, we lose salvation.
Jesus said, gA new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.h And how did Jesus love us? He played the game of gping pong love.h He served the ball easily so we could return it. He serves us, so that we can serve him and others.
But the sinful world wanted to play gping pong hateh with Jesus. He was arrested and accused of breaking their rules. But when they served hate, Jesus returned love. He refused to play by sinful rules. When sinned against, he returned love -- over and over again. Even on the cross, when people shouted insults against him, he spoke words of love: gFather forgive them, for they know not what they do. -- They don't know how to play the game of love.h Jesus was crucified because he loved other people. He was killed and buried. But on the third day he arose again. Like the ping pong ball coming back, Jesus came back. He arose. His love forgives us. His loves gives us eternal life. His love teaches us the new rule of the game of life. There is just one rule, one gcommand,h to love one another.
To become good at any sport, you need practice. The same is true with gping pong love.h We need teachers. The best coach is Jesus, of course. gLove each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.h The other coaches and teachers are our fellow believers who live according to this rule of love. They become examples for us, even mentors. And love does take practice. But we can get better at it if we practice it. Just return love with love. Just return hate with love. Just return an insult with a complement. Just return a hit with a smile. Just return rudeness with kindness.
The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it this way:
Why? Because that is how Jesus loves us. When we ignore Jesus, he does not desert us. When we break his commandments, he is faithful to his promises. When we don't love our neighbor, he is still kind to us. When we don't return the love of Jesus, he shows his love. He gives us forgiveness. He gives us eternal life. He gives us resurrection. He gives us compassion. He gives us peace. He gives us love.
God started gping pong loveh when he created the world. Is he keeping score? The only points that count are when Jesus loves us. The only point that counts is when Jesus died on the cross and rose on the third day. What is the score? Infinity! Eternal life!
Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church