Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church

My dear friends in Christ,

[Show clip from Fiddler on the Roof]

As you listened to the song, how would you say Tevye and Golda define the word "love"? They defined it by the way they acted toward each other, not necessarily by saying, "I love you!"

Over the next six weeks in Lent, we are going to take a closer look at what Christian stewardship is all about. Stewardship begins with our attitude toward our Savior and each other. Today we ask Jesus and he asks us, "Do you love me?"

Let's ask Jesus. "Jesus, do you love me?" He responds, "Do I love you? Do you remember what I promised Adam and Eve?" In our first lesson today, we heard the account of Adam and Eve's fall into sin. They disobeyed God's direct command not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God promised that when they ate the fruit, they would die. God kept that promise. Paul wrote in our second lesson, "Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12).

Adam and Eve sinned. Thanks to their sin, we are all born with the same stain on our souls. Sometimes we call it "original sin" or "birth sin." We could even ask Jesus, "How could you love me?" Listen to the promise Jesus made already in the Garden. He told the devil, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel" (Genesis 3:15). Adam and Eve heard the first promise of a Savior, the first words of love to a fallen world. God promised a Savior who would come and destroy the power of the devil. Jesus didn't just say, "I love you." He promised to rescue us from our sins.

"Jesus, do you love me?" He responds, "Do I love you? Do you remember what I did for you?" Jesus took on human flesh and became one of us, body and soul. Can we see his love in our gospel for today? Jesus loved us enough to face temptation head on. His hunger was real. He had been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights—that would be from today until March 21^st. He was hungry enough that the tempter's proposition sounded good. Stones to bread. Stomach rumbling, yeast craving hunger. Do I love them? Yes, so much that I won't make bread and eat. "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).

He faced a second temptation, standing high on the temple mount overlooking the Kidron Valley. "Jump! If you are the Son of God, your Father will rescue you!" Real temptation. Real decision. "I am his Son. He promises to send his angels. I can prove it!" Do I love them? Yes, so much that I won't jump! "Do not put the Lord your God to the test" (Matthew 4:7).

Jesus stood before Satan one last time. The devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He offered them to Jesus if he would just fall at Satan's feet and worship him. Real temptation. Jesus had nothing—no home, no money, nothing he could call his own. It could all be his. Do I love them? Yes, so much that I'll keep my poverty and humility! "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only'" (Matthew 4:10).

Does Jesus love us? When we look at his life—every word he spoke, every miracle he performed, every act of service he carried out—we see his love in action. Jesus didn't just say, "I love you!" He showed it with his life.

We haven't even talked about Jesus' greatest act of love. John wrote, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us" (1 John 3:16). John's words echoed something Jesus had told them before his death. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Jesus' love is unconditional. He didn't care what we looked like, what we've said, where we live, or what we've done with our lives. He showed his love with one, final, selfless act. Jesus, the Son of God, who didn't know death and didn't need to know it, gave up his life so that we might live. "Jesus, do you love me?" He answers, "Yes, I love you!" "How much?" "I love you this much," as he stretches out his arms and dies.

Now, it's Jesus' turn to ask us, "Do you love me?" We answer, "Of course we love you! How could we not love someone who has done so much for us?" We fell in love with Jesus when we were baptized. Our love for him has grown and matured as we grow in our relationship with him. We hear his voice as we read Bible stories with our children. We hear his voice in the readings and the sermon on Sunday mornings and every time we read and study his Word. The more we spend time with him, the better we get to know him, and our love for him grows even more.

What's the best way to say, "I love you"? Thursday is Valentine's Day. I received this flyer in the mail a few days ago. It's an ad for a "Key to My Heart pendant." Under the price it says, "Show her you'll love her forever. Celebrate your everlasting love with the Key to My Heart pendant, set in 14K white gold and sparkling diamonds, nestled in a museum-quality gift box." Is that the best way to say, "I love you"? It might be a nice way to say it, but it doesn't mean much if our actions don't back up our words and gifts.

That's what John is getting at when he writes, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" (1 John 3:16-17).

First, John tells us how not to say "I love you." He describes us: people who have material possessions, that is, all the things that we need for our body and life. He describes a situation in our congregation: a brother in need. Then he gets to our hearts, the place from which the words, "I love you," come. When we see someone in need, the temptation is to lock up our hearts and refuse to help. Then he offers the gentle encouragement, "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:18). He reminds us that loving our fellow believers is more than handing them a card with sweet sounding words, or making empty promises. Love is action.

Jesus asks, "Do you love me? Do you love them?" If we want to love with actions and in truth, we might need to step out of our comfort zone. It might start with moving from the pew that we always sit in to another spot, around people that we've never met before. It means that before we make a judgment, we try to put ourselves in the other person's shoes. It's very simple to turn around and glare the single mother who's struggling with three small children who are making plenty of noise. Are we willing to love that mom? Are we willing to put some time and effort into helping her? It may include offering to sit with her and be another pair of arms to help and cuddle some of Jesus' active little sheep.

Loving in action and in truth takes effort. The Greek word for "actions" literally means "work." Are we willing to work at loving each other? That means that we may need to invest something that's very precious—time. When the phone rings and Caller ID shows it's the neighbor who is calling again, are we willing to invest more time with him or her? Are we willing to listen to their story? It may be the first time they've told it, or it could be the fifth time. That person needs someone to talk to, someone who will listen. They don't need canned answers or a quick brush off because we have places to go and things to do. We need to unlock our hearts so that we can show compassion. Can we put that kind of effort into loving them?

 There are a lot of risks involved when we love someone. The mom behind us might say, "I can do just fine by myself," and brush off our offer. The person who talks to us after church, or on the phone during the week might not appreciate the time we took to listen to them. They might not even say thank you!

We know that loving others isn't easy. We know that there are risks involved. Jesus asks us, "Do you love me? Do you love them?" Yes! No! Sometimes! Maybe! I don't know! We will always struggle to use our time, our efforts, and our possessions to show love to each other. We become frustrated and angry. We feel like others take advantage of our love. When we struggle with loving others, turn back to the way Jesus loved us. No one was taken advantage of more than Jesus. Most of the world has said no to his loving offer of forgiveness and life. All too often those of us who have received that gift forget to say thank-you. Jesus never stopped loving us. He still loves us in action and in truth. He still gives us everything we need, and even more. He died for us, and he would do it all over again if needed.

"Jesus, do you love me?" "Yes I do!"

"Christian, do you love me?" "Yes we do!"

"Do you love each other?" "Yes we do!"

"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." Amen.