November 21, 2003 We hope you enjoy  Sample Sermon Number 6 from the Sunday Sermons CD-ROM Collection Dear fellow preacher: We are delighted to offer free sample sermons selected from the Sunday Sermons CD-ROM Collection Classic Edition. Click here to order the full version (1,147 full-text sermons).

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Footprints
Lord, shall I abandon You?

"You shall love the Lord Your God...You shall love your neighbor as yourself"
Mark 12:29,31

Many years ago, on the busiest block of the main street in a small, midwestern town, a smooth cement sidewalk was laid to replace the old, worn and rough brick walk. When the masons had completed their work, they covered the newly laid cement for several days while it dried out. A little civic ceremony was arranged to celebrate the uncovering and most of the townspeople turned out for the event. The mayor stepped up to do the honors and, as he rolled up the covering to expose the new sidewalk, a strange silence came over the crowd. Then, suddenly, it seemed that, without exception, everyone present was smiling tenderly, some with tears rolling down their cheeks. For, there on the new sidewalk, for the length of the whole block, they saw the tiny prints of a barefoot toddling baby. Today, those footprints are still there. And anyone in town will tell you that never has a heavy heart passed down that street without being cheered up by the sight of those baby footprints; never has a desperate soul passed down that street without deriving some degree of hope from the sight of those baby footprints.

Whether we realize it or not, we must leave footprints. Whether we will it or not, wherever we go and whatever we do, we are always leaving footprints. It may be in a tender word of kindness or it may be in a thoughtless gesture of indifference, but each tiny act is making its imprint on the hearts of those with whom we come in contact. A single loving act may grow forever as a golden imprint in the heart of the other. And a single display of arrogance may further crush an already embittered, downtrodden soul. And, for the most part, we are as unconscious as that toddling baby of the far-reaching effects of our everyday acts.

In today's Gospel Lesson, one of the Jewish religious leaders asks Jesus this question: "Which commandment is the first of all?" (Mk. 12:28). In other words, "What is God's Will for the way we live?" He might have asked, "What kind of footprints are pleasing to God?"

Jesus' answer is clear and unequivocal:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength...You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these (Mk. 12:30,31).

The Gospels teach us that these are not two commandments, but one; that love of God and love of neighbor are inseparable; that we cannot love one without the other; that love of God is impossible without love of neighbor; loving our neighbor is the indispensable means of loving our God.

When Jesus answers his question about which is the greatest commandment, the scribe's response contains a warning which we should take seriously with respect to our experience in Worship. "You are right, Teacher," says the scribe...to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." Seeing that the scribe has answered wisely, Jesus replies, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God" (Mk. 12:32, 33, 34). In other words, what is most important is love, not ritualism. What gives ritualized Worship experience its value is the love that enters into it. It is our attitude toward God and neighbor that counts. We should always be striving to make our actions as a Worship Community to be a reflection of our love. If our attitude is worthy, in this sense, then our rituals and external actions will be a true expression of it.

In an insightful commentary on this Gospel Lesson, a distinguished author and theologian says that "Love for our neighbor is a matter of deeds, not feelings. It means sharing with others the unmerited love that God lavishes on us. This is the love for neighbor that God commands in His law."...

Human laws command us to respect our neighbor's rights. Obedience to such laws, however, is always impersonal, formal, cold. If I merely respect your rights, there is not true human contact between us. Hence the enormous amount of loneliness in our society. Mother Teresa calls loneliness "the worst disease of modern times." And there is only one cure for loneliness: love!

Our world is full of schemes for serving people in need. In many Western countries they are called the "Welfare State"; elsewhere we speak of Socialism and Communism. Why do these efforts so often leave people still hungry, hurt, and lonely? Because they are not empowered by the love of God! All forms of welfarism without love are cold. And they usually end by exploiting those they wish to serve. There is the explanation for the failure of so many ambitious and well-intentioned schemes for human betterment in our world. For all these failures, despite the enormous amount of goodwill involved there is but one remedy: the unbounded love of God. We are here to receive that gift, and the One who gives it to us sends us out to share it with others. Again, love of God and love of neighbor are inseparable.1

A brilliant musician, highly respected in her profession, volunteered for an assignment to teach in a slum neighborhood. The children were unmannerly and coarse. The physical equipment was in bad repair. A feeling of squalor and despair permeated the entire school. But the volunteer teacher refused to be discouraged, saying, "I always keep in mind that I am a window through which these poor children will get a glimpse of a better world. And that keeps my own soul serene and gives me strength, and saves me from surrendering to all the hopelessness about me." Small wonder that she eventually became the favorite teacher in the school! And, even though she has been long gone, no wonder that heavy hearts continue to be cheered and desperate souls continue to receive new hope from the loving footprints she left behind.

Said a man whose life was without meaning: "Lord, I shall abandon You. I shall look elsewhere for answers"...

I went to the world, desperately looking for answers to the Mystery of Life. The world gave me reasons, explanations, theories and endless possibilities. But it gave me no hope.

I went to the flesh and for a while I forgot. But the pain returned with even greater intensity.

I went to the devil, but he delighted in my anguish.

Lord to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal truth. Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.2

"LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, MIND AND STRENGTH...LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF...LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU...AND WHATEVER YOU MAY DO, WHEREVER YOU MAY GO, LEAVE LOVING FOOTPRINTS AND YOU WILL HAVE YOUR BEST GLIMPSE INTO THE MYSTERY OF LIFE, AND YOU WILL DELIGHT IN IT."

1 - Hughes, John J., "Proclaiming the Good News," OSV, Inc. (adapted).
2 - Aurelio, J.R., "Mosquitoes In Paradise," Crossroad Publ. (adapted).

 

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