“What Love Looks Like”

Fourth Sunday in Easter

April 21, 2024

1 John 3:16-24

John 10:11-18

Children’s Message:

In a circle, pass a ball around. What is the most obvious thing to do if I pass this ball to you? You pass it to someone else, right? And we start playing a game of catch. It reminds me of a Friends episode where the characters started passing a ball, and it became a challenge to keep it going for as long as possible—without dropping it. That’s quite a challenge, isn’t it? Especially when someone had to go to the bathroom.

But they kept it going until one person who hadn’t known the game was going on happened to catch the ball—and set it down. And that was the end.

In today’s first reading, John talks about how we show love. It’s more than the words we say. It’s action. But we don’t show love in order to impress anyone, especially God. We show love because God loves us first. Just like we throw the ball because someone threw it to us first. And it seems that we all instinctively know to pass the ball on. Just like we should all know how to pass God’s love on.

Shall we pause the game, now, so that we can pray?

Dear God, you love us more than we can imagine. Show us how to share that love with others. Amen.

Message:

People experiencing mental health issues in Lancaster County are often unable to access timely and appropriate care and end up interacting with the criminal justice system, which is costly and robs them of the opportunity to receive the ongoing care they need to lead productive and positive lives.

That is the problem statement from our mental health navigation team in Justice in Action. Last week, I shared about the pre-trial diversion issue that we hope to tackle on May 2. And we’ll continue learning about the issues these Sundays leading up to the Nehemiah Action Assembly that evening.

Two years ago, when we held our first listening sessions throughout the county, mental health concern was one of the top issues that continually came up in conversation. We heard stories about people with chronic mental health falling through the cracks because they aren’t severe enough for hospitalization, but too severe for other services. Often, law enforcement officers are called out to handle situations involving someone in a mental health crisis. And sometimes, people with multiple crisis events are turned away from the hospital.

Not only that, but those who do seek help find the resources disconnected. Looking for help regarding a particular issue or focus may take several phone calls, only to leave a person in limbo. One provider doesn’t handle that issue. Another doesn’t serve that age group. Yet another doesn’t take that insurance. When someone is in need, the last thing they want to do is jump through hoops and end up worse off than when they started.

Our proposal is to provide a navigation service for nonemergency mental health concerns. It would include a centralized point of contact with a timely response from a trained staff person, who ‘gets in the boat’ with those seeking care. They make phone calls and appropriate referrals, knowing what is available locally. In addition, an app would be created that provides appropriate referrals for mental healthcare in our county. The app would be available for all phones and tablets, as well as at kiosks in certain public areas such as libraries and city/county buildings.

Last year, we had asked the county to back such a proposal. While the willingness was there, the infrastructure wasn’t. This year, we’ve been partnering with local agencies and will be asking Region V Services to provide the infrastructure. And we’re asking the county to help fund it.

Mental health is one of those areas in which we often feel particularly helpless. A scrape gets cleaned and bandaged. It might even get a little kiss to heal the boo-boo. A broken bone gets a splint and a cast. The physical ailments are recognized and identified. It’s not terribly difficult to support someone with an obvious need. Hold the door open. Don’t park in the lined space next to a handicapped parking spot. It doesn’t take much out of us to provide for visible illnesses.

But we don’t always know about the invisible ones. Addiction, depression, anxiety, gender dysphoria—those don’t always have physical markers. Most of the public has no idea what’s happening until the bottom drops out. So, more often than not, we feel powerless. We offer our thoughts and prayers. Our hopes. Our hugs—if they’re appropriate.

But John tells us that love must not be simply words. True love shows up in action grounded in truth. And often, it costs us something more than thoughts and prayers. It means spending time to advocate. It means giving material possessions to support those without. And not just cast-offs but the good stuff. It means showing up when we’d rather stay home. It means putting aside what we want, what we like, what we understand in order give what someone else needs.

If for this reason only, I encourage your participation at our Nehemiah Assembly on May 2. Our research teams and board have already done the hard work. We’ve interviewed people and organizations, dug through a ton of data, worked toward manageable solutions, and negotiated with officials. The core of Justice in Action is to put forth a unified front by gathering the people to show support for the work that has been done. To love, not just in words and talk but in truth and action.

Jesus uses the phrase “lay down one’s life” several times in our gospel reading, and John picks up the theme again in our first reading. Jesus shows what that looks like—first, in the garden of Gethsemane. He stands between his sheep—the disciples—and the authorities, protecting his flock from the wolves. And then he hands himself over. He lays down his life by allowing himself to be arrested, diverting the authorities from coming after the disciples. He puts himself in the way in order to shelter those who are unable to defend themselves. And then, of course, he literally lays down his life on the cross—an act of defiance; an act of hope; an act of radical love.

Because this is what love looks like. The kind of love God has for God’s children. It is a love that refuses to fight back—a love that takes on all the sin and death we throw at it—a love that shows up in action and is grounded in truth. And that truth is that God gives up everything to be in relationship with us. It is that God challenges us into action so that God’s love can be shared with all those who haven’t yet known it.

Love looks like changing systems and challenging leaders and standing with our shepherd, protecting the vulnerable against the wolves of fear and the status quo. Love looks like action—like Justice in Action.

Pastor Tobi White

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

Lincoln, NE