A LOVE WITHOUT HYPOCRISY

Pastor Marissa preached this sermon on August 30, 2026 at Beechmont Presbyterian Church on Romans 12:9-21.

A Giraffe and a Bird

As you saw in Rebecca Bender’s picture book Giraffe and Bird, this is a story about two very different creatures who irritate each other. Bird dislikes Giraffe. Giraffe dislikes Bird. They antagonize each other and assume they would have better lives without each other.

But they are wrong.

In the end, even if they won’t admit it, they are better for each other than they realize. Human friendship is not perfect. Love is not flawless. But learning to value even someone whom we find difficult to love is a lesson we all need as we experience the Christian life.

If you think about the things that annoy Giraffe and Bird, they are small things. Bird dislikes Giraffe’s bad breath and other habits. Giraffe dislikes Bird’s faces and other behaviors. This happens between humans as well.

Interestingly, psychology has come up with a name for these irritations: social allergens. Psychologist Michael Cunningham divided them into four specific categories:

Uncouth habits: Behaviors that break basic social norms or manners, such as chewing with an open mouth, slurping, or breathing loudly.

Inconsiderate acts: Actions through which someone ignores or neglects the convenience or time of others, such as running late, leaving empty packaging in the fridge, or forgetting commitments.

Intrusive behaviors: Overly demanding or hypervigilant actions that invade personal space or cross boundaries, such as hovering, constantly offering unwanted advice, or micromanaging.

Norm violations: Disregarding spoken or unspoken rules of social interaction, such as interrupting someone while they are talking (although I would check this one for cultural accuracy) or checking a phone in the middle of a conversation.

These are all extremely annoying! And being asked to love another person when they are doing things like these can provoke an allergic reaction!

All these things happen in the different environments where we live. They even happen in churches! After all, the church is not a gathering of naturally compatible people—or it should not be. We do not all think alike, communicate alike, vote alike, pray alike, or respond to change alike. Some of us may even have social allergens!

Yet God, in mercy, has drawn us together and called us the body of Christ.

The question is not whether we will ever frustrate one another. The question is what the mercy of God will look like when we do—as a church, as families, as communities, and as nations.

Embodying Love

Carmen M. Rosario Riviere reminds us that Romans 12 stands at a decisive point in Paul’s letter. For eleven chapters, Paul has proclaimed the vastness of God’s mercy: the justice that sets us right, the grace that adopts us, the Spirit who liberates us, and the faithfulness that sustains us.

We like these things about God, sure—but do they have an impact on how we live as followers of Jesus Christ?

Then Paul, in chapter 12, turns to the church and says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.”

That word “therefore” matters. Everything Paul asks of the church grows out of what God has already done. And that is important to remember because our response to God’s grace is gratitude.

The verses that follow, including the ones we read today, are sometimes treated as a list of ethical instructions separated from the “theological” portion of Romans. But Charles Cousar suggests a better description: Paul is showing us what it means to embody the gospel. And I would add that these are lessons on embodying God’s mercy and love.

Faithful thinking and faithful living cannot be pulled apart. Theology is not merely what we say about God. Words are easy, but putting belief into action is harder. Theology takes flesh in what we do with our bodies, our possessions, our power, our disagreements, and our relationships. That is when we really become true theologians!

Romans 12 is not a ladder we climb to persuade God to love us. It is our response to the mercy, grace, and love that have already come down to meet us.

God loved us first.

God welcomed us first.

God forgave us first.

God made room for us first.

Because we have received mercy, love, and grace, we are called to become a community in which all those gifts can be seen. If we don’t, we are not genuine. If we don’t, we become the hypocritical church that people accuse us of being these days.

Being a Truly Loving Community

The challenge, then, is to be that merciful, gracious, and loving community in the world, even with all the social allergens flying around. The challenge is to heed Paul’s urgent call to action at this moment in history, when being genuine and truthful is so important in a world of conspiracy, distrust, and lies.

These are not abstract ideals. This is a way to live out our faith in what Carmen Rosario calls a wounded world. She then offers seven practices that show us what love without hypocrisy looks like in the life of the church.

First, loving without hypocrisy means taking action.

In a world wounded by violence, racism, inequality, and disinformation, genuine love does more than speak. It protects vulnerable people, confronts what destroys, and participates in the work of healing. True love takes the side of life.

Second, living as a family means building community.

The church is not a perfect family, but it is called to be a place where people are seen, heard, and honored. We embody that calling when we accompany those who are lonely, support those who suffer, and create room for conversation across divisions.

Third, Christian hope is active.

To “rejoice in hope” is not to sit back and wait for circumstances to improve. Christian hope strengthens the weary, works for justice, serves our neighbors, and participates in the transformation of society. Biblical hope should move our hands and feet.

Fourth, hospitality is mission.

In a world that builds walls, the church opens doors. We welcome migrants and strangers, accompany those who arrive with few resources, and surround people in crisis with support. In this way, hospitality makes God’s kingdom visible.

Fifth, blessing the aggressor breaks the cycle of hatred.

This does not mean excusing abuse, remaining silent about injustice, or leaving people unprotected. It means refusing to let another person’s violence determine our response. We can confront evil firmly without surrendering to hatred or contempt.

Sixth, empathy offers another way of living.

When we rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, we resist the indifference of our culture. We enter the joys and sorrows of our neighbors so that no one has to carry grief, trauma, hardship, or injustice alone.

Finally, overcoming evil with good is the strategy of God’s kingdom.

Renouncing vengeance is not passivity. It is pursuing justice without reproducing violence—organizing, serving, protecting, accompanying, and speaking the truth without becoming like the evil we oppose.

These instructions are not unrelated. Together, they describe a community in which the gospel becomes visible: love takes action, community makes room, hope gets to work, hospitality opens the door, blessing interrupts hatred, empathy draws near, and goodness breaks the cycle of evil.

At this point, the reflection of José David Rodríguez and David Cortés-Fuentes resonates powerfully:

“The call to peace, solidarity, and the rejection of violence requires the church to return to its roots. The history of the church is filled with witnesses who have repeated and reaffirmed this call to peace and nonviolence. That same history bears witness to the many occasions when the church has not only been a victim of violence but has also promoted and initiated it. Christian hope motivates us, while everyday reality reminds us that we still have a long way to go and many barriers to tear down before achieving true peace and justice.”

This honesty grounds us in the truth: the church is called not only to proclaim peace but also to practice it; not only to denounce violence but also to examine its own complicity; not only to hope for justice but also to work actively for it.

A Genuine Love

Giraffe and Bird discover that living together is difficult. They also discover that separation is not the answer. They need a new way of relating—one in which difference does not become hostility and irritation does not become endless retaliation.

Social allergens do not have to rule everything. Neither does the tendency toward vengeance and hatred that we are watching unfold before our eyes.

By the mercy of God, another way is possible.

We can honor instead of humiliate.

We can listen instead of dismiss.

We can welcome instead of exclude.

We can bless instead of curse.

We can tell the truth without hatred and with love.

We can seek justice without vengeance.

We can weep together, rejoice together, pray together, and work together.

This is how the gospel takes flesh.

This is how the world sees what we believe.

This is love without hypocrisy.

Beloved, do not be overcome by evil.

By the mercy of God, in the power of the Spirit, overcome evil with good.

Amen.