(1 Corinthians 13: 1-13)
Wash, rinse and repeat. Sometimes that’s what coming up with sermon topics feels like. Every week it can be the same routine. Unless it’s Easter or Advent you are pretty much on your own. I do have the Lectionary for ideas I can consult each week but sometimes they just don’t resonate or seem timely. I try not to be a one-trick pony preaching only on one topic and, at times, it is hard. There are certain drums I like to beat loudly and often. Usually, I rely on current events and then look for a Biblical connection to show the relevancy. And, ironically, Facebook seems to be my lectionary more often than not. This past Monday I struggled to find something to preach about. I consulted the lectionary and it was uninspiring and Facebook wasn’t offering anything new. Fortunately, God felt sorry for me, or you, and sent me a topic He considers relevant, timely, and important to Him. A drum he wanted me to beat for Him and others.
As I was killing time and hoping something would come to me, I had a visit from one of the homeless-in-vehicle people our church has been helping out for the last two years. They are a real nice couple and I’ve come to like them quite a bit. We’ve helped them out with QFC cards for gas and groceries, warm clothes, blankets and now food from our food pantry. They’ve taught me a lot about what it’s like to live on the streets and in the shadows. For the purpose of this sermon I’ll refer to them at Bob and Mary. Mary is not in the best of health and has to use a walker to get around. Bob appears to be in pretty good shape but recently suffered two heart attacks. In any event, they came by hoping to get a QFC gift card for gasoline as, due to the turn in the weather, they’ve had to run the engine to heat their aging motorhome. So, when folks like Bob and Mary come in, I like to take some extra time to talk to them about what’s going on in their lives and if there might be anything more we can do. I’m hoping it gives them a sense that someone actually cares about them and is interested in their well-being. As we were talking about their struggles, Bob’s frustration spewed out and he began talking about all the problems they were having in staying warm, having enough to eat, finding a safe place to park, not being hassled by law enforcement in the middle of the night because of where they were parking, and the high cost of their medical care. He blurted out; “Where’s the love?” “It’s supposed to be about love.” And then he started quoting scripture and referenced 1 Corinthians 13. I sat and listened as he got more and more emotional and I eventually told him he was right, and that it wasn’t right that he and Mary had to live like this. To add insult to injury, one young deputy sheriff told him that he should have planned ahead for his future. Really? You think he doesn’t already know that? I told Bob that in all my readings of the four gospels, never once did Jesus ask someone how they got in such a predicament or admonish them for not planning for their future. He just helped them, no questions asked. Anyway, we helped them out with a QFC gift card for gas, gave them an extra quilt, and let him pick out some food items from our food pantry. Before he left, we paused for a short prayer and a handshake.
Where is the love? Wow, that stuck with me. A homeless person was not only telling me about love, but where to find it in the New Testament. And, the universal spiritual gift of self-sacrificial love is what the Apostle Paul is talking about in his letter to the church in Corinth.
One of the reasons why Paul wrote this letter was to address some of the problems the Corinthian church was experiencing in being the church Jesus Christ needed them to be. He went to great lengths to point out their sins and shortcomings in hopes of getting them back on track and focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul wanted to make it clear to them, and us, how important this self-giving love, agape, is in establishing the kingdom of heaven here on earth. For Paul, the act of self-giving love is the even better way of exercising all our spiritual gifts for the sake of building up the church. For Paul, love isn’t so much feeling warmly toward others, which he does, as it is the showing of love through self-sacrificial action for the good of others. And for us, the Corinthian church is representative of what is wrong with Christians and churches that do not practice what they preach, if they preach it at all.
He starts out by saying that if he has these spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues, or of prophecy, or giving away everything he has, it amounts to nothing if he doesn’t have love. He goes on to say; Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, it isn’t happy with injustice, but it is happy with the truth. Now, this passage may sound very familiar to you. You may have heard it read during a wedding ceremony and may have even had it read at your wedding. It is great advice to young couples just starting out together in life, but I don’t think getting married is what Paul was referring to in his letter. After my conversation with Bob love took on a whole different meaning in how we, as a church and a people, are supposed to interact with people, with everyone we meet. We must be patient and kind, especially when dealing with the homeless and the poor and all of their issues. I haven’t met any that I can recall that were truly happy with the way they were living. If nothing else, they were ashamed and had resigned themselves to the fact that this was their reality and there was nothing they could do about it. We have to be kind and patient as we work to help them in any way we can. We can’t brag about how good we have it because we made all the right moves or planned for the future and they didn’t. We can’t be arrogant or rude in how we come off as if we’ve accomplished something special. They get enough of that on the street and they certainly don’t need to hear it from Christians. We can’t get irritated when they keep showing up for more and more help without showing any signs of forward progress. We have to stay focused on the fact that our self-sacrificial love is not happy with injustice and that what makes us happy is confronting injustice and getting results. Paul tells us that; Love puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
Love, true self-sacrificial love like the love shown us by Jesus Christ, triumphs over hate and evil every time. Hate and evil may look like it is winning, but it is not, and in the end love wins. And that’s what Paul is talking about when he says that prophesies will eventually be brought to an end, tongues will stop speaking, and knowledge will be brought to an end. Paul is talking about the day when Jesus returns, and all things will be made perfect in Him. He then goes on to say; When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, reason like a child, think like a child. But now that I have become a man, I’ve put an end to childish things. He’s talking about how we’ve matured as Christians, how we’ve put all of the childish things behind us to focus on what is really important. He’s calling us to be careful not to blend in with the world and accept its values and lifestyles. He’s calling upon us to live Christ-centered, blameless, loving lives that make a difference for God in service to others. Stop clutching your toys like a three-year-old and yelling: “Mine!” Learn to love and share.
God gives believers like you and me spiritual gifts for our lives here on earth, and at different times in our lives, those gifts may vary, they may come and go to be replaced by new ones. But the fact remains that these gifts are to be utilized by us to build up, to serve, and to strengthen other fellow Christians in God’s service. These spiritual gifts are for the church so the church can be the church as intended by God. Not just a place where we gather on Sunday morning to talk about our grandchildren or our aches and pains. It’s where we collaborate and brainstorm ideas on how we can engage in self-sacrificial love for the betterment of others. Paul tells us that when everything else is gone, when everything has run its course, faith, hope and love remain and that the greatest of these is love. This is Paul’s three-legged stool. Leg one is the love that involves unselfish service to others. Faith is the foundation and content of God’s message, and leg three is the hope that is the attitude and focus we carry with us out into the world. When faith and hope are in line, you are free to love completely because you understand how God loves, how God has loved you. Love is action.
Love is the foundation for all acts that please God. Love believes all things in that love never gives up and never loses hope. Love endures any hardship or rejection, revealing its superior strength. In the face of confrontation, love simply continues undeterred. The more we become like Christ, the more love we will show to others.
So, as Bob and I stood outside on the sidewalk we prayed together. I prayed that God would keep them safe and warm. I prayed that God would keep them fed, and I prayed that God would restore their health. Then, I thanked God for sending them to us. As we parted, I took Bob’s hand, looked him in the eyes and said; “Love you.” That’s where the love is.
Please pray with me.
What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart. I have light in my soul for which long I had sought, since Jesus came into my soul. Blessed Savior, how grateful we are that you have filled our empty hearts with love, the kind of love that always wins, the kind of love that grows the more we give it away. Show us through your example how to exhibit the patient kind of love that enables us to confront injustice, all that is wrong with the world, and to make a difference in the lives of others that really matters. Move us to put away those childish wants and desires that keep us from being the mature followers that you would have us be. Give us the love that puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, and endures all things, because since Jesus came into our hearts, love never fails. In Jesus’s name, we pray, Amen.