Most of us have heard from various sources that God loves each of one of us unconditionally. Have you ever wondered why God would love you and all other human beings unconditionally? Have you ever wondered "if" God loves all human beings unconditionally, just as we are, with all our faults, with all of our weaknesses, with all that we have done wrong, and with all the good things that we have failed to do in our lives? Is it hard for you to believe that God views each of us as his sons and daughters? I know that I have had difficulty in believing these things at times in my life. Perhaps it has been the same for you.

I pondered these questions as I was preparing this sermon for today. I was encouraged about the truth of Gods love for us as I read the Collect for today as follows:

"Almighty God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son: mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; ...."

I was also encouraged by these words of love and forgiveness from God in the reading from Ezekiel as follows:

"I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. I will feed them with good pasture. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed."

I was discouraged, however, about the truth of the unconditional love of God for all people by these words from today's reading from Ezekiel as follows: " But the fat and the strong I will destroy. I shall judge between the sheep and the goats."

I was also discouraged by these words of Jesus in today's Gospel about those who do not act to take care of those in need around them. Jesus said, " Just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment."

So where do these biblical thoughts leave us? For me it is on the horns of a dilemma. So I decided to draw on my own experience in life to see if I can better understand how God might love each one of us unconditionally.

As a first example I cite a recent experience in my life. As some of you know, my wife, Pat, against my better judgment, acquired a puppy- a 3-month-old pug named, Charlie. And as most of you know who have owned puppies, a puppy is an instrument of mass destruction. Since Charlie is teething, he chews on everything in sight. His favorite chew toys are ones fingers and toes along with stuffed furniture. We have used up many Band-Aids and quantities of disinfectant to repair the wounds to our digits. He also eliminates himself as needed and is not particular about where he does so. He is often out of control and has a long way to go before he knows the meaning of acceptable and good behavior. Does any of this sound like we often might be seen in the eyes of God? I perceive that it probably does.

And yet I love this little puppy in a way that is beyond my words to express. I love this little puppy unconditionally. In spite of all the damage done to my household as well as my body, I love this little dog dearly. I have forgiven this little dog for all his misdeeds, but look forward joyfully to the day when his behavior improves and he becomes a responsible member of our household. In the meantime I expect to continue loving him just as he is. Do you think perhaps that this is the way God looks upon each of us?

As a second example of trying to understand God's unconditional love for us, I cite the example of our young grandchildren. Pat and I are fortunate to have three young grandchildren living nearby, and we are often called upon to baby sit them. Like our pug these grandchildren try our patience by their misbehavior, by their failure to listen to our requests of them- present and past, by their destruction or abuse of property, and by their testing of us to see what we will allow them to do that their parents will not allow. And in spite of all of these actions on their part, we continue to love them dearly. We love them just as they are and in ways beyond the ways we loved our own children. You grandparents here understand exactly what I am saying. This may be another good example of how God loves us unconditionally as his sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters.

As a last and best example to help us understand the unconditional love of God for each of us, we can look to the life of Jesus. Jesus, as an earthly mirror of God, showed his unconditional love of all others in a number of ways. Jesus made a special effort to show his love for those who were sinners, or outcasts, or those who were not liked because they were different from others. Jesus did not love the misdeeds of those he encountered but he strongly showed his unconditional love for all in spite of their misdeeds.

So where does this leave us? At this Thanksgiving time it brings me great joy and relief to better understand how God loves me and all others unconditionally. It brings me great joy to understand that it is Gods will that all be saved. It brings me great joy to have been loved unconditionally by others in my lifetime and especially by my Mother and by my wife, Pat.

And finally it brings me great joy to better understand these words of Bishop Spong about our God who asks only that we live fully, love wastefully, become all that we can be and help others become all that they can be.

All of this is summed up for us wonderfully in these words from the apostle Paul. Paul said, "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God….".

SO BE IT! AMEN!