"Rhapsody of Love"
Sermon Presented January 28, 2007
I Corinthians 13:1-13
We tell people that we love them, and we close much of our correspondence with the word "love", but what does it mean to love others? Do we really love them? How can we love more genuinely and completely? Do we even want to love more completely?
The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church at Corinth - a church that was having relationship problems, and toward the end of that letter, he wrote something that is often read at weddings - a formal beginning to a committed relationship. Many of you can quote the 13th chapter of I Corinthians from memory. I would like to examine this reading today, and hopefully you will discover something new to ponder this week. Hear Paul's message found in I Corinthians 13. I will begin by reading the last verse of chapter 12, a chapter concerned with the use of spiritual gifts in the church. (Read text.)
Corinth is a conflicted congregation caught up in a distorted spirituality and engaging in intense power struggles. One dispute is over spiritual gifts that have precipitated a loveless spirituality. The solution to their conflict, according to Paul, is to practice a more excellent way - the way of love. The words have an earthy practicality about them because the church needs to understand that their fervent religiosity is worthless apart from practicing love.
Paul doesn't speak in abstract terms here, but gives concrete ways to show love. These ways make us uncomfortable because they are qualities that we know we can improve upon. Paul tells them to become more loving - by changing their attitudes and their actions.
Paul begins by saying that when he speaks - either in conversation or in a prayer language, he's just making noise if he's not motivated by love. It's love that enables all of the previously mentioned spiritual gifts to flourish. It's love that brings a Christian community together.
A gong or a cymbal can add just the right touch to a symphony concert when in the hands of Linda Siegel, but in the hands of a child, the same instrument creates dissonance. The difference is in the one playing the instrument. Without love, our words are like symphony instruments in the hands of children. Without love, our witness and our lives are of little value to Christ's Church.
Paul doesn't say that love is one of the spiritual gifts; he says it's the way in which all of the gifts come together and work. Love is the connector between what is in chapter 12 and chapter 14. Paul sees the Corinthian congregation divided because the people lack love. He says that love in the only cure for what ails them.
Unlike Paul's generation, mainline churches are more preoccupied with various crafts of church leadership than with spiritual gifts. I have several untouched "how-to" books that are on the bottom shelf of a table in my living room. I'm sure they are good books; I just haven't read them. I can read books and take classes to learn the craft of being a good preacher, teacher and worship leader, but if I don't love the congregation, my gifts are like a noisy cymbal or gong. It's important to learn techniques, but I also need to be a loving pastor.
As you have heard me say over and over again, love as spoken by Paul isn't a feeling, it's the orientation of one's life toward others in thought and deed. It is doing acts of love toward others even when there are no feelings of love. In this letter, Paul invites his readers to make love concrete - to address the relational problems through acts of love.
How do we make love concrete? As I scanned the Journal Sentinel, Newsweek and Time this past week, I found these examples of people "doing love."
- "Medical clinic to serve needy" - in Racine a new free health and dental clinic is being opened.
- "Female U.N. peacekeeping team will deploy to Liberia" - to help the country recover from years of civil war.
- GE is one of 10 companies collaborating with environmental groups to demand U.S. action on global warming.
- "Victim offers forgiveness at sentencing" - after visiting with the man convicted of a hate crime against him, Mark Weber spoke on the defendant's behalf to reduce his sentence.
- "House approves page program reforms" - a move to ensure the safety of D.C. pages.
- "Saint Kathy" - a woman adopts an infant with what the doctor says is the worst case of spinal bifada he has ever seen.
- "Cosbys give $8000 to help support MPS pupils' trip to Georgia and Alabama" - help for local students to see historic sites of the civil rights movement and look at events that have shaped American life.
- "Deer hunters donate meat in record amounts" - Wisconsin hunters donate 11,480 deer to feed the hungry - 4600 more than last year.
Here are examples from the same sources showing a lack of love:
- "Stepmother misled many, police say" - an Oshkosh woman is accused of locking her 13-year-old stepdaughter in an attic bedroom for two years, and manipulating schools, the girl's friends, relatives and the police.
- "18-year-old convicted in gang rape"
- "Man dies after fight"
- "Ex-employee of housing authority sentenced"
- "The War on the Rescuers" violence against aid workers in Darfur.
- "The Paradox of Supermax" - how the nation's toughest prisons may be driving inmates mad - and in the process, making all of us less safe.
These examples illustrate resentment, anger, violence, greed and envy - qualities that are devoid of love - qualities that destroy self and others.
So how do we learn to love more completely - to do acts of love more willingly? Paul suggests that we only have a fuzzy understanding of ourselves and the situations of our lives. His metaphor of seeing in a mirror dimly is a good analogy. The mirrors in Corinth were highly polished pieces of brass. If you've ever looked at your reflection in a brass trimmed elevator, you have a good idea of what he's talking about. The image is poor, to say the least.
The reason we can't see ourselves clearly is because we resemble an old pie safe that belonged to my grandmother. This piece of furniture had been painted by many owners with numerous coats of paint to match the current décor - paint that covered the wood and filled the holes in the tin sections of the safe. When my dad tried to bring it back to its original beauty, he had to dig through many layers of paint - a time consuming task, to say the least. We also have layers that cover up our true image.
For example, my mother-in-law's mother died in childbirth when she was born and she was convinced that her dad and seven siblings blamed her for the death. A good friend was born six months after her brother - the only son in the family - died, and her parents were so distraught over the death of their only son, that they could not love this new daughter. Another friend carried guilt for decades, believing she caused her parents to divorce.
We all carry emotional damage from our early lives, although maybe not as severe as these I have mentioned. This damage distorts our true self. But when we travel on an inner journey, we discover hurts we weren't even aware of - the sixth grade child who called us Fatty, the parent who was too busy to listen, or the teacher who embarrassed us in front of the class. As each layer of paint is removed, we begin to see ourselves - the person we were created to be - more clearly.
God wants to help remove the layers that cover our true selves so that we can love ourselves and others more fully. The process is time-consuming and often painful. But as each layer disappears, we get closer to our true center - to the image of God created in us. And when this happens, we can live life more fully.
Jesus said to love others as we love ourselves. Until we find and accept our true selves, we can't love others. There are no shortcuts! To become more loving, requires the discipline of listening to God daily in prayer and Bible reading. To become more loving requires that we accept ourselves and have compassion for ourselves. To become more loving demands that we practice unconditional acts of love and acceptance toward others. And sometimes, we need to seek professional counseling.
I'm going to read verses 4-7 from Eugene Peterson's The Message. When the text says the word "love" I will pause and not say it. In that pause where love is written, I want you to substitute your name.
___________ never gives up.
___________ cares more for others than for self.
___________ doesn't want what he/she (it) doesn't have.
___________ doesn't strut.
___________ doesn't have a swelled head.
___________ doesn't force herself/himself (itself) on others.
___________ isn't always "me first."
___________ doesn't fly off the handle.
___________ doesn't revel when others grovel.
___________ takes pleasure in the flowering of truth.
___________ puts up with anything (my addition - but abuse.)
___________ trusts God always.
___________ always looks for the best.
___________ never looks back but keeps going to the end.
When we put our names into the text where "love" is written, it gives us a different perspective, doesn't it? These are all attitudes and actions we can exhibit toward all people - friend and foe alike. When we find our true selves - when we find the image of God within, we can more easily act in loving ways toward others. We don't love because people deserve our love; we love because it's what God wants from us and for us.
What I have presented doesn't seem to be very melodic - as the title of the sermon "The Rhapsody of Love" might suggest. But as we discover ourselves and then act lovingly toward others, our lives will become more beautiful and the music of our lives will become symphonic. Thanks be to God!
