Brotherhood/Sisterhood Week

February 16, 2003 - Lesson: Matthew 7.12

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1. Perhaps one of the greatest of the "love sonnets" was written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sonnets from the Portuguese, Number 43

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
with my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

2. There is another love sonnet that, in its own way is just as powerful.

Hagar the Horrible in a cartoon tells Helga of his love for here in these words:

"You are my Valentine sweetheart!
Here is my Valentine present to you!
How do I love thee! Let me count the ways...
I love thee more than a rare steak smothered in friend onions...
More than a piece of pie a la mode...
More than a full-course roast beef dinner...
More than a bucket full of fried chicken!"

Helga sits in a chair with a grumpy look on her face and says:

"All in all, I'd rather have a box of candy."

3. Happy Valentine's Day
1. I know that it is a little late.
2. But better safe than sorry.
3. You know, "In everything do to others as you would have them do to you."

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MAIN BODY:

1. This is a powerful and creative basis for a philosophy of life.
1. This is Brotherhood/Sisterhood Week.
1. It was started in 1934 by the National Conference of Christians and Jews (now known as the National Conference for Community and Justice.).
2. In 1986 Ronald Reagan as President of the United States spoke of this week as

"Once again, we honor the mosaic that is America--a land of mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters from every background and culture. We are a nation that is truly "one out of many.'' But America is more than a living tableau of the multitude of faiths and nationalities that have converged on our shores and helped build our character as a people. America is the embodiment of the ideal of active involvement by every citizen in building stronger communities and a better future.

"Brotherhood/Sisterhood Week reminds us, therefore, not only of our heritage of tolerance and opportunity, but of the responsibility all of us have to celebrate our belonging by achieving and contributing to the fullest extent of our abilities. Brotherhood/Sisterhood Week gives every American the chance to give thanks for the blessings we enjoy by giving something back to this Land of Liberty--through our churches and schools, charitable and community organizations, and through our families and friends.

"I ask all Americans to join with the National Conference of Christians and Jews in programs in honor of Brotherhood/Sisterhood Week, recognizing that we are brothers and sisters, above all, because we are children of God and members of one common human family."

2. The "Golden Rule" promotes brother and sisterhood.
3. It requires kindness, mercy, justice and love.
4. But it is a "Rule" that people find very difficult to learn or apply.
2. Many believe that it is better to do unto others before they do unto you.
1. Be the aggressor.
1. It's a dog eat dog world out there.
2. We are part of the evolutionary chain.
3. Competition is vital to the survival of the fittest.
4. It is better to be the top dog of whatever place you happen to occupy.
5. When climbing the ladder of success you may step on some fingers.
6. It makes no difference when you are on top.

There is a marvelous illustration of this attitude in the cartoon Calvin and Hobbes

Calvin: I'm going to paste Susie's pate with a slush ball! Heh Heh Heh

Hobbes: Some philosophers say that true happiness comes from a life of virtue.

Calvin stops to think about that statement and then, with a quizzical look on his face, flips his slush ball away.

Calvin begins to apply the virtuous principles.

He cleans his room,

does his homework,

gives his mother a Valentine's card,

shovels the walk for Dad,

eats all his dinner, every vegetable,

and takes out the trash.

Walking back to the house he shakes his hands, sees Susie, gets a means look on his face, rushes to get his coat, makes a slush ball, and pastes Susie with it.

She is lying face down in the snow.

CALVIN: Someday, I'll write my own philosophy book.

HOBBES: Virtue needs some cheaper thrills.

2. Is Hobbes right?
3. There are some who believe that you should do to others because they have done to you.
1. In tennis, there is a serve and then a volley.
1. It is back and forth.
2. It is in a sense tit for tat.
3. You stand a chance unless you are up against the William's sisters.
2. It was Edward Albee who said, "Never give the sucker an even break."
3. If someone does you dirty do dirt in return.
4. It's the only way to demonstrate your mental brilliance or physical strength.

As one kid explained to his teacher: "It all started when he hit me back." ⁽¹⁾

###

For some people, tough love means getting tough--as in getting even. Consider this report from New Zealand. ⁽²⁾

Apartment dwellers have a new weapon to use on noisy neighbors, with a New Zealand man recording a compact disc of 64 minutes of lawn mower noise.

"If your neighbors have a party Saturday night fairly late...what you do is you get up at 7 o'clock in the morning, put the hour of lawn-mowing sound on and go out to a café," Wellington noise man and café owner Geoff Marsland [said].

The astroturf-covered CD offers listeners general lawn-mower sounds along with feature moments such as the emptying of the catcher and stones hitting the blades.

Five thousand of the CDs are on the market, of which more than 4,000 have been snapped up by local retailers, Marsland said.

5. This is serious stuff.
1. It can lead to all kinds of aberrant behavior.
2. Violence may also result from retaliation, for that is what this is.
4. But when you get right down to it, Jesus statement is not an option.
1. ¹²"In everything do to others as you would have them do to you;
1. It is not do unto others before they do unto you.
2. It is not do unto other as they have done to you.
3. ¹²"In everything do to others as you would have them do to you;
4. Is that too difficult for us to do?
5. I hope not because....
2. Because...It is a required way of life.
3. In Luke this saying is set in a different context.

²⁷"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. ³⁰Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you. ³²"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. ³⁵But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:27-36 (NRSVA)

4. Jesus concludes this brief saying in Matthew with this astute and powerful observation.
1. "...for this is the law and the prophets."
2. No matter how others may apply the law and the prophets, this is the law and the prophets.
3. This is what God has been attempting to teach his followers.
4. This is what Jesus exemplifies in his own life.
5. It is one teaching that we had better learn and learn well.
6. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said:

"Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love."

5. DOES VIRTUE NEED SOME CHEAPER THRILLS?
1. We recognize our humanness.
2. We all make mistakes.
3. We will act in selfish ways.
4. Why should I think or act in any other way.
1. Aggression promotes aggression.
2. Selfishness encourages selfishness.
6. There is a deeper and much greater thrill awaiting the Christian.
1. What does it mean to be a child of God?
2. Can God can teach us kindness.
3. How does God act towards human beings?
4. That is a questions that people seek to answer in different ways.
5. There is a way to understand the kindness of God that is consistent with God's character and purpose.

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CONCLUSION

1. We and our whole society will ultimately be judged by how kind we have been.

The day will come ⁽³⁾
when the progress of nations will be
judged not by their military
or economic strength,
nor by the splendor of
their capital cities and public buildings,
but by the well-being of their peoples:
by their levels of health,
nutrition and education;
by their opportunities to earn a fair
reward for their labors;
by their ability to participate in the
decisions that effect their lives;
by the respect that is shown for their civil
and political liberties;
by the provision that is more for those
who are vulnerable and disadvantaged;
and by the protection that is afforded to
the growing minds and bodies of their children.

2. God has a vision for his people.
1. It is that they should, of all the people in the world, learn to be loving people.
2. It is that of all the people on the world, they should be a kindly people, who are acting not only for their best good, but for the best good of all other people.
3. God makes it all possible.
1. All we have to do is let it out into life and the world
1. Look at yourself
2. What do you see?
3. What image is to be seen in you?
4. Do you see, to one degree or another, something of the image of God?
5. You should.
2. This is what God is calling us to be and to do.
1. This is why Jesus encourages us to
2. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
3. This is a characteristic, an attribute of God, and the children of God.

1. © 2002 Communication Resources, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used with Permission

2. "A lawn mower CD can help get even with neighbors." Reuters News Service, September 25, 2000. © 2002 Communication Resources, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used with Permission

3. The Progress of Nations, UNICEF, 1993

4. Eric W. Johnson, A TREASURY OF HUMOR (New York: Ivy Books, 1989).

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