For Love Of Neighbor
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"For Love of Neighbor" by Keith Wagner
"Staying on Course" by Keith Wagner
For Love of Neighbor
by Keith Hewitt
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
In this third book of Moses we have a list of laws that are similar to the Ten Commandments. They are concerned with holiness and behavior. The words “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” are known as the “golden rule,” which originated in the Torah. What does it mean to love one’s neighbor?
A few years ago the City of Atlanta did not prepare for the ice storm that swept the city. Unlike us in the North, our southern friends are not accustomed to snow storms. Unfortunately there were power outages and traffic jams. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina delivered death and destruction to the city and surrounding area of New Orleans. As a nation we were slow to respond. We underestimated the amount of devastation in the life of a major US city. In both of these situations the cities weren’t very good to their neighbors.
Many of the laws in Leviticus are about helping neighbors. For example, “The Lord said to Moses, you shall not defraud your neighbor, you shall not play favorites by helping the rich and not the poor, and so on.” God wants us to care for all of our neighbors.
Sometimes we get it right. In 2011 hurricane Eileen came ashore on the Eastern Seaboard. Although the storm was less severe the nation was better prepared. And although fewer people perished, the majority of the residents were saved due to the infrastructure of the community.
In other words, there was a greater “love ethic,” that prevailed. The intensity of the hurricane was not minimized and the storm was treated with a genuine sense of urgency. There was no procrastination, no “let’s wait and see.” The community took action. But unfortunately we do not always respond in loving ways.
I believe when it comes to love, children are often our best teachers.
Billy Harley once told the story about a children’s T-ball game he observed. A young girl named Tracey ran with a limp. She couldn’t hit the ball to save her life. But everyone cheered her on. In the last game of the season Tracy did the unthinkable. She finally got a hit. Her coach hollered at her to run the bases. She made it to first base and her coach told her to keep going. She then made it to second base. Everyone in the stands was encouraging Tracy to keep running.
While running to third base Tracy noticed an old dog that had loped onto the field. It was sitting in the baseline between third and home. Tracy was just seconds away from a home run. She then made a monumental decision. She knelt down and hugged the dog. Tracy never made it to home plate. But the fans cheered her anyway. She made her priorities clear. Love of an animal was more important than winning.
Although we know that love is the basic tenet of our faith there is always need for improvement. We can do better. More people can be helped. We have to use every available resource and especially the resources of modern times. It’s about loving our neighbors and even god’s creatures.
How do we devote ourselves to God in modern times? We honor God by giving God our very best and the love we give to others needs to be quality love. A neighbor can be anyone, a friend, a stranger or even someone who is close to us.
Paul Harvey once told the story about a terrible winter in Chicago. Many of the roof tops were overloaded with snow. Robert McGrath watched his wife go into the backyard garage to fetch some boxes. Seconds later he heard a crash. Looking out, he saw that the roof of the garage had caved in. Without stopping for his hat or coat, Mr. McGrath ran from the house, grabbed a snow shovel and called out for his neighbors to come and help. Yelling and digging with his sweat freezing on his face, frantically throwing snow and pulling away boards, he heard his wife’s voice and then saw her hand. He kept working until his wife was safely in his arms and asked if she was all right. She was.
As you know there is always more to the stories that Paul Harvey tells. It seems that a neighbor witnessed the whole event and told everyone later what really happened. Apparently Mrs. McGrath had gone into the garage through one door and left through another. She was safe in the house when she looked out and saw her husband digging and shouting orders and throwing lumber. She couldn’t let her gallant rescuer down. She put on her coat, went into the garage by the back door and crawled under some boards. She let her husband Bob, be her hero.
Karl Menniger organized the work of the Menniger Clinic around love. “From the top psychiatrist down to the electricians and caregivers,” Menniger said, “all contacts with patients must manifest unlimited love.” One of the patients at the clinic was a woman who sat in her rocking chair for three years and never said a word to anyone. Her doctor called a nurse and said, “Mary, I’m giving you Mrs. Brown as your patient. All I’m asking you to do is to love her till she gets well.” The nurse accepted the challenge. She got a rocking chair of the same kind as Mrs. Brown’s, sat beside her, and loved her morning, noon, and night. On the third day, Mrs. Brown spoke. Within a week, she was out of her shell and she was healed.
Real love is when you put yourself totally in another person’s shoes. It may require a long-time personal investment and much patience. The end result however, is that a life can be transformed and a neighbor is helped.
* * *
Staying on Course
by Keith Wagner
Psalm 119:33-40
The psalmist wanted God to grant him understanding and to be able to keep the law which would prevent him from making mistakes. He wanted to be led in “the paths of his commandments.” In other words, he wanted help in staying on the right course.
My sailing friends and I had a dream of circumnavigating the Delmarva Peninsula in a 29 foot sailboat. After much planning and preparation we made the journey in July, 2015.
We stayed on course using nautical charts and GPS. Although these were necessary there were times when we had to rely on personal experience and faith.
While we were heading south in the Delaware Bay we encountered a heavy storm. There were ships in the area and the visibility was less than 10 feet. We watched and listened for motor sounds all the time paying attention to our position on the GPS. The winds caused us to drift from course. I was at the helm while my two shipmates stood watch. We kept in constant communication and tried to keep in the right side of the channel. Fortunately the winds abated and we were no longer in any danger.
What kept us on course was our comradery and faith. Together we have weathered many storms. We tethered ourselves and we all had on our foul weather gear. We trusted one another and believed in our common mission.
It’s not easy to stay the course in the midst of a crisis. For me, staying the course means relying on common sense, good judgment and experience. The worst thing to do is to panic.
One time on National Public Radio, I heard the story about two elderly ladies in Punta Gorda, Florida. They found themselves right in the path of Hurricane Charlie. They called the weather hot line and the man on duty told them it was too late to escape. All they could do was hunker down and weather out the storm. For three hours the hurricane pounded against their mobile home. They heard metal crashing into the sides of the house and they saw debris flying everywhere. They watched in horror as a huge catamaran overturned like a toy boat. During the storm, they huddled together in the kitchen praying to God that they would survive. Finally, the storm passed and both their lives and their home were spared.
For them God was with them in the form of a man on the hotline, who warned them from trying to flee across the bridge to the mainland.
The British Navy has a strange custom. If there is a sudden disaster aboard ship, the “still” is blown. A still is a whistle that calls the crew to a moment of silence in a time of crisis. When the still is blown, people aboard know that it means it is time to prepare and do the wise thing. The British had learned over the years that a moment of calm has helped to avert many catastrophes. Sailors have acted by patience rather than panic.
Rev. Dr. Keith Wagner is the pastor of St. John's UCC in Troy, Ohio. He has served churches in Southwest Ohio for over three decades. He is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and has an M.Div. from Methodist Theological School, Delaware, Ohio, and a D.Min. from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has also been an adjunct professor at Edison Community College, Piqua, Ohio. He and his wife, Lin, live in Springfield, Ohio.
*****************************************
StoryShare, February 19, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"For Love of Neighbor" by Keith Wagner
"Staying on Course" by Keith Wagner
For Love of Neighbor
by Keith Hewitt
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
In this third book of Moses we have a list of laws that are similar to the Ten Commandments. They are concerned with holiness and behavior. The words “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” are known as the “golden rule,” which originated in the Torah. What does it mean to love one’s neighbor?
A few years ago the City of Atlanta did not prepare for the ice storm that swept the city. Unlike us in the North, our southern friends are not accustomed to snow storms. Unfortunately there were power outages and traffic jams. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina delivered death and destruction to the city and surrounding area of New Orleans. As a nation we were slow to respond. We underestimated the amount of devastation in the life of a major US city. In both of these situations the cities weren’t very good to their neighbors.
Many of the laws in Leviticus are about helping neighbors. For example, “The Lord said to Moses, you shall not defraud your neighbor, you shall not play favorites by helping the rich and not the poor, and so on.” God wants us to care for all of our neighbors.
Sometimes we get it right. In 2011 hurricane Eileen came ashore on the Eastern Seaboard. Although the storm was less severe the nation was better prepared. And although fewer people perished, the majority of the residents were saved due to the infrastructure of the community.
In other words, there was a greater “love ethic,” that prevailed. The intensity of the hurricane was not minimized and the storm was treated with a genuine sense of urgency. There was no procrastination, no “let’s wait and see.” The community took action. But unfortunately we do not always respond in loving ways.
I believe when it comes to love, children are often our best teachers.
Billy Harley once told the story about a children’s T-ball game he observed. A young girl named Tracey ran with a limp. She couldn’t hit the ball to save her life. But everyone cheered her on. In the last game of the season Tracy did the unthinkable. She finally got a hit. Her coach hollered at her to run the bases. She made it to first base and her coach told her to keep going. She then made it to second base. Everyone in the stands was encouraging Tracy to keep running.
While running to third base Tracy noticed an old dog that had loped onto the field. It was sitting in the baseline between third and home. Tracy was just seconds away from a home run. She then made a monumental decision. She knelt down and hugged the dog. Tracy never made it to home plate. But the fans cheered her anyway. She made her priorities clear. Love of an animal was more important than winning.
Although we know that love is the basic tenet of our faith there is always need for improvement. We can do better. More people can be helped. We have to use every available resource and especially the resources of modern times. It’s about loving our neighbors and even god’s creatures.
How do we devote ourselves to God in modern times? We honor God by giving God our very best and the love we give to others needs to be quality love. A neighbor can be anyone, a friend, a stranger or even someone who is close to us.
Paul Harvey once told the story about a terrible winter in Chicago. Many of the roof tops were overloaded with snow. Robert McGrath watched his wife go into the backyard garage to fetch some boxes. Seconds later he heard a crash. Looking out, he saw that the roof of the garage had caved in. Without stopping for his hat or coat, Mr. McGrath ran from the house, grabbed a snow shovel and called out for his neighbors to come and help. Yelling and digging with his sweat freezing on his face, frantically throwing snow and pulling away boards, he heard his wife’s voice and then saw her hand. He kept working until his wife was safely in his arms and asked if she was all right. She was.
As you know there is always more to the stories that Paul Harvey tells. It seems that a neighbor witnessed the whole event and told everyone later what really happened. Apparently Mrs. McGrath had gone into the garage through one door and left through another. She was safe in the house when she looked out and saw her husband digging and shouting orders and throwing lumber. She couldn’t let her gallant rescuer down. She put on her coat, went into the garage by the back door and crawled under some boards. She let her husband Bob, be her hero.
Karl Menniger organized the work of the Menniger Clinic around love. “From the top psychiatrist down to the electricians and caregivers,” Menniger said, “all contacts with patients must manifest unlimited love.” One of the patients at the clinic was a woman who sat in her rocking chair for three years and never said a word to anyone. Her doctor called a nurse and said, “Mary, I’m giving you Mrs. Brown as your patient. All I’m asking you to do is to love her till she gets well.” The nurse accepted the challenge. She got a rocking chair of the same kind as Mrs. Brown’s, sat beside her, and loved her morning, noon, and night. On the third day, Mrs. Brown spoke. Within a week, she was out of her shell and she was healed.
Real love is when you put yourself totally in another person’s shoes. It may require a long-time personal investment and much patience. The end result however, is that a life can be transformed and a neighbor is helped.
* * *
Staying on Course
by Keith Wagner
Psalm 119:33-40
The psalmist wanted God to grant him understanding and to be able to keep the law which would prevent him from making mistakes. He wanted to be led in “the paths of his commandments.” In other words, he wanted help in staying on the right course.
My sailing friends and I had a dream of circumnavigating the Delmarva Peninsula in a 29 foot sailboat. After much planning and preparation we made the journey in July, 2015.
We stayed on course using nautical charts and GPS. Although these were necessary there were times when we had to rely on personal experience and faith.
While we were heading south in the Delaware Bay we encountered a heavy storm. There were ships in the area and the visibility was less than 10 feet. We watched and listened for motor sounds all the time paying attention to our position on the GPS. The winds caused us to drift from course. I was at the helm while my two shipmates stood watch. We kept in constant communication and tried to keep in the right side of the channel. Fortunately the winds abated and we were no longer in any danger.
What kept us on course was our comradery and faith. Together we have weathered many storms. We tethered ourselves and we all had on our foul weather gear. We trusted one another and believed in our common mission.
It’s not easy to stay the course in the midst of a crisis. For me, staying the course means relying on common sense, good judgment and experience. The worst thing to do is to panic.
One time on National Public Radio, I heard the story about two elderly ladies in Punta Gorda, Florida. They found themselves right in the path of Hurricane Charlie. They called the weather hot line and the man on duty told them it was too late to escape. All they could do was hunker down and weather out the storm. For three hours the hurricane pounded against their mobile home. They heard metal crashing into the sides of the house and they saw debris flying everywhere. They watched in horror as a huge catamaran overturned like a toy boat. During the storm, they huddled together in the kitchen praying to God that they would survive. Finally, the storm passed and both their lives and their home were spared.
For them God was with them in the form of a man on the hotline, who warned them from trying to flee across the bridge to the mainland.
The British Navy has a strange custom. If there is a sudden disaster aboard ship, the “still” is blown. A still is a whistle that calls the crew to a moment of silence in a time of crisis. When the still is blown, people aboard know that it means it is time to prepare and do the wise thing. The British had learned over the years that a moment of calm has helped to avert many catastrophes. Sailors have acted by patience rather than panic.
Rev. Dr. Keith Wagner is the pastor of St. John's UCC in Troy, Ohio. He has served churches in Southwest Ohio for over three decades. He is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and has an M.Div. from Methodist Theological School, Delaware, Ohio, and a D.Min. from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has also been an adjunct professor at Edison Community College, Piqua, Ohio. He and his wife, Lin, live in Springfield, Ohio.
*****************************************
StoryShare, February 19, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
