Love above the average
Steve Jobs once spoke to John Sculley of Pepsi-Cola. "When are you going to do something
that changes the world, instead of selling
sugar water?"
Steve Jobs had a right thought.
The theme of our lives is to change the world.
The death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ changed the world.
There is no grave of Jesus Christ.
This man Jesus died and rose again. He is alive. He is still alive.
Even after 2000 years, he is still alive.
Thousands of churches celebrate the Lord's Supper and remember his death.
Today - on Easter - the whole christian world celebrates the resurrection.
Only love can change our personal lives.
Only love can change the world.
Only the encounter with Jesus will change your world.
Only the love which Jesus has for you, can change you inside.
Only an encounter with Jesus changes your life.
We read this in a story in John in chapter 20 starting in verse 1 [ John 20:1].
Early in the morning............Mary stood outside weeping............Jesus says to her, but go to my brothers.... she goes and announces to the disciples: I have seen the Lord and this is what he said to me.
Mary Magdalene or Mary of Magdala. A native of Magdala.
She loved Jesus more than anyone else.
She had learned a lot from Jesus.
Especially she learned from him how to love her neighbor.
He was her teacher, she was his disciple.
This was a woman who was possessed by demons.
But Jesus cast out these ungodly spirits.
But now this woman, with whom no one wanted to have anything to do, this ex-possessed woman, has been healed by him.
[Lk 8:2 Mk 16:9 Lk 8:3 Mt 17:55 Mk 15:47 Mk 16:1-5 Jn 10:1]
And now there begins a learning process with her.
She serves him, she observes his life and little by little this woman is transformed into a woman who is a shining example in her love, in her deeds.
She outshone the disciples here at this point with what she did.
She was forgiven much and she loved much .
How did she express her love for Jesus?
We read: on the first day of the week when it was still early.....
When it is still dark early in the morning most want to stay in bed.
Mary and the other women get up while it is still dark outside.
Why do they get up so early?
What do they want at the tomb early in the morning?
Two days ago Jesus was crucified and now - on the third day - they want to go to the tomb again.
Here we see something:
This above average love goes later and comes earlier than others.
When Jesus was crucified, he was taken to the tomb.
The last people who were there at the tomb were the women.
They were the last to leave the tomb late at night and came back early in the morning on the third day.
They were the first ones back at the tomb.
David looked for Jesus in the early morning.
David also sought Jesus at night to have fellowship with HIM in prayer.
Daniel sought God in the daytime, when the rest of the world was rushing through the hectic workday.
Daniel said to himself, " Stop - pray now".
Daniel had his times of prayer three times a day when he went and knelt down and prayed to God.
Jesus himself constantly sought prayer with the Father.
And Mary had learned this from him.
Love above the average seeks the encounter with Jesus when others are
are already asleep or when others are still asleep
Love remains in contact with Jesus all day long.
What about us today?
When do we seek contact with God?
Maybe there are people who have broken off contact with God, there are people who have never made contact with God; the Bible says:
DRAW NEAR TO GOD AND HE WILL DRAW NEAR TO YOU
But Mary expressed her love in a second act.
The higher than average love for Jesus gives away more possessions and money than others.
We see, in the past, when people were dead (among the Jews), they were wrapped in such linen cloths and embalmed in oil, they were perfumed with various aromas.
This was the custom at that time and we see that when Jesus was taken down from the cross, the same thing happened to him.
Then Nicodemus came and brought 34 kilograms of myrrh and aloes, the whole thing was put in with the linen cloths and Jesus was wrapped in it.
So we say to ourselves: 34 kilos, that should be enough.
But we see Mary Magdalene preparing her own ointment and oils and perfumes at home, and when they got up in the morning in that early morning the women still went to the store and bought more oils, more of these spices.
We ask ourselves: why all this expenditure?
Jesus has already been embalmed, and what is the point of all this waste?
I think Mary and the other women wanted to give HIM something as a farewell gift.
Such a farewell gift to Jesus.
Yes, he is already embalmed with the oils,
no, you don't need it anymore.
But they still want to give him something. And do you remember?
When the wise men from the east came to the birth of Jesus, they also brought gifts.
Children, what did they bring? ......Yes ?........Myrrh gold and frankincense. Exactly !
They also had the desire to give something to the king.
And here these women come and want to give him these ointments and oils for the burial.
You know it, Jesus was the same way.
He gave up everything in heaven to have nothing here on earth.
He gave up everything, he gave up himself, his whole life, for whom?
For those who deserved it?
For the people who would then welcome him with a red carpet?
Never ever. They nailed him to the cross.
And he knew that.
And yet he left everything, he left everything for the sake of people.
And this is what Mary learned from him.
She learned that his love is exaggerated.
That his love is irrational, that his love does not follow any logic, but she loves.
That's what Mary had learned from him. That Maria had learned from him and the love above the average.
Love does not count its own euros and cents when it comes to serving God and fellow man, it is generous, it is ready to give.
She is ready to give more than others give. Love appears in the widow's two mites, love is in the money the Good Samaritan gives to the innkeeper.
And the third act in which Mary demonstrates love for Jesus, this higher than average love for Jesus, that is running; no road is too far for her.
If we read the resurrection story, Mary walked the most distances.
Let us count:
Way 1 Mary goes to the store early in the morning and buys those oils.
Way 2 she goes to the tomb
Way 3 she runs from the tomb to Peter and John to tell them that the Lord is no longer in the tomb.
Way 4 She returns from Peter's house to the tomb.
Way 5 Jesus sends her to the disciples and tells them that Jesus has risen and met her.
Way 6 at last she went home only after all these events
We sing a song in our church:
"The first one I see shall be Jesus and then everything else will please me."
That's what we sing in this song and that's what it's about here.
Jesus was like that: he saw only the will of his Father.
And this is what Mary had learned from him.
The love above the average does not need the golden streets and the
It doesn't need angels or other people, it only needs Jesus and Jesus alone.
It needs:
His mission, his will, his guidance.
"Lord, if I have only you, I ask nothing of heaven and earth".
And the last point where Mary proves her love is this higher than average love:
she does not give up like the others give up.
We see John and Peter running to the tomb.
They look in, then go in and Jesus is not there.
They are amazed and then they go back home.
Mary could have done the same thing.
She looks in, there is no Jesus and goes home again.
But no, she wanted to look for him. She cries. And why is she crying?
Maybe she is crying because she was so sorry that Jesus was crucified.
She cries perhaps because he has no rest in the tomb after his death.
Someone comes and steals him, apparently; maybe she was crying for the other Mary, for Jesus' mama, her son was crucified. This is terrible.
Everyone has seen it.
Perhaps she felt pity. She may simply be weeping for Jesus.
And now she wants to look for him and get him and put him back in the tomb.
She tells the angel, she tells the supposed gardener.
So we see: she doesn't give up.
And so was Joseph. The father sent him and he did not find the brothers where the father had told him. He searched for them. And he found them.
Jesus was also like that. How many times had people driven him away...rejected him...wanted nothing to do with him.
But he did not give up and accomplished his mission.
Love above average does not stop half way, it strives for others even if it is rejected.
It completes, it accomplishes, it conquers.
And the question is, how do we do it in our lives today?
When difficulties arise and we have a mission or a task, do we leave it halfway?
Do we give up and say: then not with me! If you don't want to, then it's your own fault; then I'll leave you alone. And go your way to your doom.
Jesus did not do that. And Mary learned it from him.
It is a splendid picture that she gives there.
Against the background of twilight and tragedy, there appears a sparkling woman in the footsteps of her Master.
Let us ask the question: why did she do this?
Does she need to do this? Why is she doing this?
She was delivered from demons, her life was at the end, she was broken, she was NOTHING, nobody wanted to have anything to do with her and then Jesus came into her life and changed her life SO THAT she was happy, she was glad that she could live a happy life.
And therefore: she wanted to give thanks.
She wanted to forgive and that can happen to us today too.
If there are people who say to themselves, I can't do much with my life anymore, it's not nice, but then Jesus can change this life.
Jesus works on us with his love.
And then we can become like Mary, live a happy blessed life.
Now how does Jesus reward this higher than average love?
Jesus, this is one who sees everything we do what we think.
He sees why we do something.
That is why he appeared first to Mary.
He appeared to her first, he wiped away her tears, he comforted her, he rejoiced her and he told her this beautiful news of the resurrection.
Not to the others, not to the disciples first,
but to HER.
Why are there Christians who see the guidance of God much more clearly and much earlier than others?
Simply because they love God more than average.
The divine special presence is seen in people who love God higher than average.
We read: God is love
and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
God remains with such people; and guides them.
And another very strong argument how God rewards love:
the perfect love casts out fear.
We see these women and Mary are A PICTURE FOR LOVE.
The disciples behind closed doors are a PICTURE OF FEAR.
They were afraid. Jesus was crucified a few days ago, maybe WE are next?
And they didn't want to get out of their houses.
They didn't want to, they were afraid. Why were they afraid?
Because in their heart there was concentration on themselves:
they were afraid for themselves.
With Mary, only Jesus was in the heart, and he pushed out the fear.
Our heart cannot remain empty.
And if it is only half full of love, then the other half is ANGST.
Anxiety along with fear and worry.
And how many people, how many Christians are there today, who are entangled in worries, in fear, in hardships, without future and so on.
We see, the Bible gives a wonderful recipe of healing and a key to a fear-free life.
This is the exaggerated, the love above the average.
Then man begins to think not of himself, but of God and of other people; he then does something, he is busy, he is there for others.
And this life pushes the fear out of the heart. It pushes fear out, and we saw that with Mary.
That's how it was with her and that's how it will be with everyone who decides today to live this above average love.
But how can I learn this? How can I develop this higher than average love in myself?
It is very simple. How can pianists become above average?
How can an amateur fisherman who rod and never hooks a fish, become a professional fisherman?
How can he? How can a student become a teacher?
And how can an illiterate person become a writer?
Who has the solution? The solution is simple: practice makes perfect.
Just DO IT.
Every day just DO. Practice diligently. Put yourself aside, humble yourself, put your own interests behind, serve others, seek the benefit for God and the next.
Where and when
In big and small things
In the pure - In thinking
In speaking - In giving
In wishing - In longing
In living - In laughing
In crying - In showing
Now and then
and tomorrow
In light - In dark
In sparkling - In seeing
In the night - SEEING HIM
The exercise of the deeds of love it brings us forward simply doing even if others don't see it. Even if no one sees it; before I close now, I would like to read one more story....
A deed of love that no one saw
Mr. Elmar Bediner flew numerous bombing missions over Germany during World War 2.
He never forgot one of those missions.
His plane came under particularly heavy fire.
Eleven shells penetrated the fuel tank. If just one of those shells had exploded, the plane would have fallen from the sky. Incomprehensibly, however, everything remained intact.
Only much later did Bediner get the explanation for this miracle.
When defusing experts opened the grenades, they found no explosives inside. . All the grenades were empty except for one.
This grenade contained a small note that had apparently been written by a munitions expert in the Czech Republic.
Translated, it read, "This is all we can do for you right now."
Nobody saw it.
This person could have despaired and said:
Now I am locked up and have to build the weapons here for this war.
But he took his chance, and left the grenades empty
and put this note inside one of those grenades.
Perhaps there are people among us who are above average in kindness and love.
Nobody sees that. And they are discouraged and disappointed. You know, I think that when Mary did all this, Jesus was in the garden, he was watching her, he was hidden maybe somewhere; and he saw all this.
And today the same thing happens: Jesus sees everything. And Jesus rewards this love with a higher than average happy and rich life.
This should be our conclusion. The risen Jesus wants us to be even more content, joyful, alive, confident and happy. The way to this life is called higher than average love.
The more we draw near to God, the more He draws near to us. The question Jesus asked Peter after his resurrection was answered by Magdalene with actions.
The question then was :
Do you rather have me than these have me?
A YES to this question can make our lives even more beautiful than the lives of others.
God loved this earth and man when He created it.
Jesus loved man so much that He came to save him after sin had devoured him.
The saved man is loved man.
He is also a liberated man. He is freed from his heavy baggage (his very private sin) and from his self-love. And he can love because God has poured out His divine love into his heart. Because HE first loved us and from this love we live.
That is why the question is still the same today: Do you love me?
Amen.
Key phrases
In Jesus, Mary had seen how to love her neighbor.
Mary of Magdala, this burdened woman is freed from demons .
She observes Jesus and and learns from Jesus.
She is transformed into a woman who can love.
She was forgiven much and she loves much and she expressed her love through deeds.
Main thoughts
Jesus changed the world.
His love changes the world, still today.
Love is the strongest principle on this earth.
God's love saves and renews what is about to die.
Mary is transformed into a woman who can love like Jesus.