Be a Sacrifical Bear ~ Romans 15:1-7

15 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. ² Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. ³ For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”[Psalm 69:9] ⁴ For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.⁵ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, ⁶ so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Welcome one another, then, just as Christ welcomed you, in order to bring praise to God.

The comedian Jerry Clower was one of my favorites as a kid. My family would listen to him for hours on road trips laughing and laughing at his quick Southern wit. A hysterical story-teller, he was known for delightful twists which would turn an interesting story into an unbelievable joke. One of his favorite characters to talk about was a young man named Nugene Ledbetter, who Jerry said was a consummate liar. In one story, Jerry shared that Nugene called him and told him that he was giving up lying for good. He then shared about traveling to Alaska to go bear-hunting where he had had a close call– if not for his brother shooting a bear that was about to kill him. He told Jerry, “I shot a bear but I didn’t kill it. And the bear came after me and I fell down, and lost my gun. And I didn’t know what else to do other than hit my knees and pray, ‘Lord, let this bear be a Christian bear. Please Lord, let this bear be a Christian.’ And this bear came and hunkered down over me, he said, tied a napkin around his neck, folded his hands, bowed his head, and said, ‘O Lord, I thank you for this food I am about to receive.’

The Apostle Paul, in our passage from Romans 15:1-7, also talks about Christian bears. Well, okay, not praying bears or

bears in church per se but how Christians should “bear with” the weak, with their neighbors, and with one another. So in our final sermon of our Lenten series on welcome and hospitality, I want to encourage you to . . .

          1.    Be a strong, sacrificial bear, vss. 1-3.

Paul writes, “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. ² Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. ³ For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written (quoting Psalm 69:9): ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’ ~ Romans 15:1-3

 It doesn’t say “We who are strong ought to . . .”: “fix the failings of the weak” or “scold the failings of the weak”; “gossip about the failings of the weak” [You’ll call it “prayer” but it’s really gossip] or “dismiss the failings of the weak.” It says “bear.” The word means to both “carry a burden” and “to endure or put up with.” Paul is saying that the strong are called upon to help the weak in shouldering burdens, even of their own making, and to patiently endure their immature attitudes.

How do you become a strong Christian bear? What does such “bearing” look like? You are a strong, Christian bear when you . . .: 1. Refuse to quarrel over non-essentials (Romans 14:1-2, 5-6). For the Apostle Paul this could mean what one ate, or on which day one worshipped. It acknowledges that there are plenty of religious choices that are adiophora – “a thing indifferent” in God’s salvific work. We will never be able to welcome well if we quarrel over petty things. It’s interesting that in Paul’s description of the weak and strong – the weak are the ones who have a lot more rules, which they demand for others to follow, that they believe are non-negotiable. 2. Don’t despise or judge someone else (Romans 14:10).  How do you know if you’re judging someone? You don’t believe they can change and always assume you know how they will behave. You simply try to sit in God’s seat. 3. Don’t cause someone to stumble. Don’t use your freedom to harm others or imagine that freedom means you aren’t responsible for others.  4. Be sure to please the right person – that’s not you (Romans 15:2-3). One of the ways in which “bearing” can go wrong is when we rely only on our intent. The others whom we seek to love and welcome also get a say in what “bearing” looks like. If they are never “pleased,” if they never feel “built up” then bearing is not happening. Paul doesn’t say love others “as it pleases you.” 5. Finally, read the Bible, Paul says, with Jesus in mind (vss. 3-4). Jesus is the bear(er). Paul uses Psalm 69:9 to point us toward Jesus. We must bear with one another sacrificially because Scripture reveals that’s what Jesus did. And Paul uses the Old Testament to make the point! So “bearing” is an attitude and a strategy for reading the Bible. How do you know you’re reading the Bible correctly? If your reading doesn’t cause you to love others more sacrificially, if you aren’t finding resources for endurance, if you aren’t ever receiving encouragement, if you are finding yourself forever hopeless, friends, you are not reading the Bible rightly. You’re not reading with Jesus in mind.

Does someone not behave as you or God might wish – bear it. Does someone believe something you disagree with – bear it. “Bear it” is not a statement to do nothing, to say we should keep our head down and never talk about anything hard, or disturbing, or challenging. That’s not the way of Jesus. But it’s an encouragement to lead with sacrificial love, to seek the

good for the one in trouble, to embrace first before you necessarily witness any change. A Christian Bear understands that the “bear trap” or greatest enemy to the gospel, is perhaps, not so such much run-of-the-mill sin but self-righteousness because self-righteousness can easily camouflage itself as justice.

To illustrate what “bearing” looks like, I want to tell you a true story from the early church about the famous monk, Abba Achilles. Three old men, one of whom had a bad reputation, came one day to Abba Achilles. The first asked him, ‘Father, make me a fishing-net.’ ‘I will not make you one,’ he replied. Then the second said, ‘Of your charity, make

one, so that we have a souvenir of you in the monastery.’ But he said, ‘I do not have time.’ Then the third one, who had a bad reputation said, ‘Make me a fishing-net, so that I may have something from your hands, Father.’ Abba Achilles answered him at once, ‘For you I will make one.’ Then the two other men asked him privately, ‘Why did you not want to do what we asked you, but promised to do what he asked?’ Abba Achilles responded, ‘I told you I could not make one because I didn’t have time. And you understood and were not disappointed. But if I had not made one for him, he would have thought, “Abba has heard about my sin, and that is why he does not want to make me anything,’ and so our relationship would have broken down. But now I have cheered his soul, so that he might not be overcome with grief [and can repent]. (excerpt taken from The Way of the Heart, Henri Nouwen). To be a Christian bear is to sacrificially love a sinner, to bear their bad reputation, to bear that inconvenience.   

          2. The best way to become a Christ bear(er) is to follow the “Platinum Rule”, vss. 4-7.

I hope that this series has revealed that welcome is not primarily a church growth strategy, a recruitment tool, a means making of budget. When Paul is talking to us about welcome he is talking about nothing less than the gospel of Jesus Christ. Most of us tend to think of the Gospel as a door by which enter into a house of discipleship, worship, prayer, etc. The Apostle Paul, however, argues that the gospel message that we receive is also the ethic of grace by which we are to live. As Christians we need to continue to be evangelized by the welcome of God in Jesus Christ. We need to understand that Jesus’ life and death which grant us our salvation reflect the standard by which we are also to live our lives. It means going even farther than the golden rule. The Golden Rule, of course, is the teaching of Jesus found in

Matthew 7:12: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It’s a wonderful teaching but Paul takes it one step farther in vs. 7, which I am calling the “Platinum Rule”: “Do unto others as Jesus has done unto you.” Do that when you’re at work. Do that when you’re driving. Do that when your angry Uncle is sharing his political views. Do that in small, ordinary ways by bearing the failings of others with great love. Here’s another true story from the early church to guide us.

One day Epiphanius, the bishop of Cyprus, sent someone to Father Hilarion with this request: ‘Come, and let us see one another before we die.’ When he came, they rejoiced in each other’s company. During their meal, they were brought a

fowl; Epiphanius took it and gave it to Hilarion. Then the old man said to him, “Forgive me, but since I took my [vows] I have not eaten meat that has been killed.” Then Epiphanius answered, “Since I took my [vows], I have not gone to rest with a complaint against me, and I have not gone to rest with a complaint against anyone.” Hilarion replied, “Forgive me, your way of life is better than mine.” (excerpt taken from The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers)

Epiphanius rightly understood that the way to God is not only determined by private practices but also personal relationships – how we treat and love others who even complain about us. Sometimes in the church we’ve assumed that we can have a personal relationship with God without actually attending to our relationships with people. We’ve forgotten that to actually grow closer to God demands a disciplined effort to grow closer to others, even strangers and enemies. In the ancient Church, early theologians would often reflect this truth – that it is impossible to grow closer to God without also becoming close to others – by pointing to a

spoked wheel. They would point out that as one moved down a spoke toward the center, which is God, one always becomes closer to the other spokes, which are people.

Dorothy Day put it even more strongly, “We love God only as much as the person we love the least.” Be honest – what would it mean to “welcome” that person in your life – the person you love the least? I want to encourage you to write their name as a symbol for your desire to grow, to become strong, to be a sacrificial Christian bear.