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Story (Sermon February 14, 2016)

Romans 10:8–13 (NRSV)

⁸ But what does it say?

“The word is near you,

on your lips and in your heart”

(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); ⁹ because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. ¹¹ The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. ¹³ For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart. There might not be a much better phrase to use on Valentine’s Day. The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart. I am not much for the secular holiday of Valentine’s Day, but it is a day that fascinates me. Mainly because it is a feast day that has been honored for most of Christian history, but there is very little remembered about it. This feast day, is connected to three martyrs from the first millennium of the church, who were believed to have died on this day, and another eight martyrs that are known by the name Valentine but we are unsure of the date of their deaths. The legends of Valentine, are actually quite intriguing, of course we do not know exactly which Valentine we speak of. But we do know that they all lived lives of faith through persecution, and joined Christ in suffering.

Valentine, if the legends are true, was one of three people. Two of which were priests in Italy who died in Rome, and the third was a priest that died in North Africa. Of the three the ones in Italy are the ones that most of the legends are connected to. It is said that Valentine lived in 3^rd century and was under house arrest because he was ministering during one of the persecution periods of history. We do not know the exact time but we do know that all the earliest stories place them before time of Emperor Constantine so Christianity was still illegal in the Roman Empire. Well this priest was under house arrest for teaching people about Christ, and while he was under investigation a judge came to him to put him to the test. This judge happened to have a daughter who was blind so for fun he decided to bring his daughter to the priest to see if she could be healed, and if she was he would do anything the priest said. Much to the judge’s surprise the girl was healed.  So the judge then had to keep his side of the bargain. Valentine asked that the judge release all Christians under his authority from captivity, so that was granted. Because of this Valentine continued to teach and this judge and all of his family eventually were baptized into the church, his family according to legend had forty-four members.

Obviously this judge had a certain degree of influence and Valentine became a fairly well respected member of the community both inside and outside the church. But eventually his fame caught the attention of the Emperor. During this period of history it was forbidden for men to marry while they were serving in the military. The reasoning was so the soldiers would be focused on their duties instead of worrying about their families back home. I cannot tell you if that was a historical fact across all of the Roman empire of just in certain areas, but according to the legend of Valentine that was the case. Valentine taught and preached to all people, it did not matter who they were or what position they held, and some of those people who came to faith were soldiers. Through the course of time several of these soldiers came to the conclusion that the life they were leading in the military was not in sync with their faith and Valentine began to perform marriages for the soldiers. Because this was forbidden the emperor was upset and eventually learned where one of these secret weddings was taking place and captured this popular priest in action. Valentine was executed for this and this is how he became the patron saint of young love and marriage.

Why do I speak about this, why should we even care about the lives of people from over a thousand years ago that are connected to a branch of faith that is not our own? Because stories of faith have power. The word is near you, it is on your lips and in your heart. A story allows us to relate to people and to connect with them even if they are not sitting across from us. When we hear the stories of the ancient saints we can imagine what they experienced and at times we might consider what we might do if we faced similar circumstances. A story speaks to our hearts in ways that cold fact cannot because the story has flesh and emotion. We hear about St. Valentine and we can imagine a wedding ceremony at night between a soldier and a young woman. The story both ancient and contemporary draws us into a deeper relationship, it causes us to think and interact with another, while allowing us to look at our own lives from a different perspective. A story, our story is the most powerful tool we poses for the kingdom of God.

This phrase that Paul uses in this letter to the people of Rome comes from the very heart of Jewish scripture. It speaks of the relationship between God and his people. The word is near you. Near is one of those word that is loaded with meaning because it can reflect time or space. In either case it describes a closeness. When Jesus said that the Kingdom of heaven is near, he was describing the same thing that Paul is speaking about. The Kingdom, the word is close. It is right here, we can experience it soon or now, and we can reach out and touch it. The word is near you. The word in this case is not the same term that John used in describing knowledge or wisdom from God, but this is a testimony a saying, so in a sense Paul is telling us the story is near.

If we were read the verses just prior to this section we would learn that the story that Paul was speaking about was the story of faith which was spoken of by Moses and fulfilled in Christ. He speaks of the righteousness of those that live by the Law and how that righteousness is nothing compared to the power of Christ who came down from heaven, suffered, died, was buried in a grave, and rose again. The word is near you, Paul tells us, this story the power of the words is available all around us.

It is on your lips and in your heart. The concept of heart points deep within a person, it is not the organ the pumps blood throughout our bodies but it is the essence that pumps meaning and purpose throughout or existence. When the ancients speak of heart they speak of our passions our hopes and our dreams. Paul is saying that the word is near, the story of Christ and the power of that story is all around us, filling us and giving us meaning and purpose. It is coursing through our being and pours out of our lips. It is near, it is at the core of our being and on the tip of our tongues. Christ is in those that believe.

The letter to the Romans is seen by many as one of the most important letters of the New Testament, there is a reason it is the fourth book. It speaks of the power of God in our lives here today and for eternity that is available to us by faith. Faith and belief are often seen as synonyms but there are differences. Belief is not exclusively a religious word, because there are various levels of belief that do not necessarily require devotion to any religious system. These levels of belief are knowledge, trust, and entrust. We have various levels of belief in many things, but faith is the belief we have in God.

When Paul speaks of the word of faith, the word that is near on our lips and in our hearts, he is speaking about these levels of belief that are attached to God. Each of these levels speak of how we relate to God. Paul is challenging people to examine their belief. All that confess or proclaim with their lips and believe with the hearts that Jesus rose from the grave will be saved. What is being said here is that there are levels of belief, if we confess with our mouths we are moving deeper in our belief, we are moving from just base knowledge to trust. By speaking are saying that I trust that God is capable of doing what is said. But to believe in our hearts, that is a bit different. To believe in our hearts is take the word or story down to the very core of your being, entrusting our every passion and aspect of our lives to the belief that God is capable of doing what is spoke about Him. There is a difference in belief. It is that third level entrusting our passions to God where true faith lies.

When we entrust our hearts to God, we are proclaiming that everything that I am and all that I do is dedicated to God. Everything that makes us who we are has been saturated with the Spirit of God and the story of who we are cannot be separated from the story of God. This is why our story is so powerful to those that are beginning their journeys along the pathways of faith. This is why I first began to speak about St. Valentine. Valentine, allowed the story of Christ to be wedded to his very being. His life was no longer his and he was willing to forfeit all that he had for the cause of Christ. But he is not the only one. There are at least fourteen other saints celebrated on this day. Each one has a story of faith that is similar to that of Valentine. Each is a powerful testimony of what God can do in the world if we are willing to allow Him to work through us.

One of the most striking is the stories of St. Cyril and Methodius. These were two brothers from Thessalonica of Slavic heritage. These brothers were missionaries that took the Gospel of Christ from Thessalonica to Ukraine and to Moldova. These two men believed that it was important not only to speak the gospel but to teach it in the language of the people. At the time that they ministering the Slavic people did not have a written language, so these men created what would eventually evolve into the Slavic alphabet or Cyrillic. These two men translated scriptures and most of the early works of the church into the Slavic language and the people they taught heard the gospel. The fruits of their labor would not be seen fully for many years but one of those Slavic influenced church’s is the second largest church in the world. Unfortunately for them they did not see this with their own eyes, and they died only knowing that their life’s work was seen as blasphemous.

Valentine suffered a martyr’s death, Saints Cyril and Methodius both sought God fully yet did not see the fullness of their labors, yet their stories still inspire. We do not always know the power of our story when it is infused with Christ, but Paul assures us that we will not be put to shame.

Shame is another powerful word. It is a word of darkness one that speaks of separation from God, void of all Godly influence. Shamed people are seen as worthless. Shame is a painful word and those that wield the words of shame are dangerous. Shame is not of God, shame is not God’s desire for us. Shame is separation where God focuses of reconciliation. God will not allow those that are saturated in his story to be put to shame. God will not allow those who have fully entrusted every aspect of their lives to Him to be separated from Him. We are here today because of God’s faithfulness, each of us heard the testimonies of countless saints, saints we know as friends, grandparents, and heroes of faith. Some lived through terrible struggles and suffered greatly yet God carried them through it all. Those stories have been used by God’s Spirit to teach us a better life, and the same Spirit us using our stories to inspire those near us. I mention shame because shame is what sought to silence Valentine, Cyril, and Methodius, yet their stories live on even after a thousand years. God will not be silenced, God will not be shamed. In God there is no condemnation and no separation, all that call on his name will be saved.

Consider your lives. Consider the story that God has been telling the world through you. What is that story? The word is near you, it is on your lips and in your hearts. The word is that God so loved the world that He gave. He gave his son to live with us. He gave his son to teach us how to be human and to live a full life with God. He gave his son to take on the shame that separates us from God and provide reconciliation. He gave His son not to condemn but to save. He ensures that salvation through the risen Lord and that word is near. It is all around and in us if we are willing to grasp it. And if we are there is no more division or separation and that story becomes infused to our own. What is your story?

Mirror Mirror on the Wall (Sermon February 7, 2016)

2 Corinthians 3:12–4:2 (NRSV)

¹² Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, ¹³ not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. ¹⁴ But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. ¹⁵ Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; ¹⁶ but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

Treasure in Clay Jars

4 Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. ² We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.

A few years ago I watched a fascinating program on TV . The program was on the science channel and they were talking about something called a magic mirror. This mirror looked like any other mirror in ancient times, which was polished metal, but there was a slight difference. When this mirror was held at a slight angle and the light was projected onto a surface an image was cast. This magic mirror was something that was developed in the Far East and in the 16^th century Christians in Japan would use these mirrors to assist them in teaching during persecution. This program gave a quick overview of how these mirrors were made. They first melted the metals together, then they would pour the molten metal into a mold that would contain the hidden image on the back side, then came the amazing part. Over the course of several months the mirror polisher would polish the surface of the mirror, carefully taking microscopic layers off of the surface until they could just begin to feel the image emerging on the surface without it being seen. It is a fascinating art form that takes years to perfect but the end result is breathtaking. When you look at it, your face would be reflected just as it would with any mirror but when you allowed the mirror to reflect on a screen, the mirror of these 16^th century Japanese Christians would project an image of Christ on the cross. As I reflected on these verses this week, and while I still reflected on the companionship of the Spirit that we have discussed the past few weeks the idea of the magic mirror resurfaced in my mind.

The gifts of the Spirit are graces that God allots to us as we draw closer to him. The concept that we translate as gifts of the Spirit could also be translated as companions of the Spirit which are the graces that come along with the Spirit. I love the concept of the companions of the Spirit because of the relational aspects of it. It excites me because the whole point of the Gifts is that we use those graces that God has given us to encourage the people around us to draw closer to the one who has given us the grace in the first place. We have the gifts so that we can use them for God’s kingdom.

Companionship of the Spirit is a powerful concept. There is an intimacy embedded within, we can be fully known and can know. This is huge because Paul is telling the people of Corinth that God is not just out there in the celestial kingdom beyond the veils of life, but that God is right here all around us, not only around us but interacting with us with a great desire that we would know Him.

This concept was frightening to many in ancient days. From a pagan mindset it was frightening because when deities roamed along the pathways of man trickery was usually at hand. Their forms of worship were directed to keeping the gods pacified so that curses would not occur or maybe they would add a bit more to the offerings to gain favor and turn the curses toward others. From a Jewish mindset the concept of God being around us was frightening because no one who sees God could live. They had heard the stories of ancient days where the angel of the Lord passed over their fathers and mothers while they was in captivity in Egypt and killed the first born of all living creatures that were not covered by the blood of the lamb.

In the ancient stories only one human had been able to live in the direct presence of God, only one human had seen the essence of God and lived to tell about it. That one person was Moses. The children were taught these stories as they gathered around their rabbis, they were told of how Moses lead the Tribes of Israel out of Egypt, how God parted the waters of the Red Sea to allow the people of God to cross on dry ground, how a cloud would lead them by day and if they were require to walk at night that same cloud took on a fiery likeness that illuminated their paths. They knew God was there but he was shrouded in the mists. They would follow but only at a distance. Then one day the cloud stopped and rested on a mountain, they knew that when the cloud stopped they were to set up camp so that is what they did, they gathered around the base of the mountain and they rested. For days they sat there while Moses climbed up into the mist. By day the mountain was covered in the clouds, at night the clouds and the mountain seemed to be ablaze. No one dared an approach, and at times they would all fall to their knees as they heard the thunderous booming of God’s voice. For forty days they waited for their leader to come down from the mountain, and yet he remained in the clouds.

Imagine the sense of awe that you would have as these stories were told to you by this teacher. He would continue and said that eventually all the people believed that Moses must have died because he was too close to the greatness of God, so they began to ask Aaron to build an idol, a representation of God that would be less fearsome that they could see and understand, one that reflected them. So they built this idol and they began to worship it, only to have Moses emerge from the clouds right during the celebration. He spoke with such power and authority that everyone trembled in fear, he proclaimed that God had spoken the law to him while he was on the mountain, that the voice of God thundered and told him how they should live and worship him and him only. He held tablets of stone and said that they were carved by the God Himself and that the people should either live by the law or die by it, then he hurled the tablets at the idol the people constructed shattering the idol, the tablets, and the earth opened up swallowing many people. Then Moses went back onto the mountain, and this time the people waited in holy fear as God again spoke and Moses carved the stones.

When Moses returned things were different the people built the tabernacle, the ark, the altars, and began to live as God commanded. The cloud came down from the mountain and settled around the tent of meeting and Moses would meet with God there. But the biggest change was with Moses himself. Moses’ face glowed. It reflected God’s glory, and it continued to glow for days and slowly faded. Every time Moses met with God his face shone like it was lit by the sun, and it faded. Eventually the people began to focus on the face of Moses, instead of the tent where God would meet and be worshiped. So Moses began to wear a veil. He wore this veil to keep people from focusing on him and remain focused on God. The people would look at Moses and if his face dimmed they questioned if God was with them, if his face shone the feared that God was and that they might have incited wrath. They focused on the face of Moses so a veil was made to limit intimacy between God and mankind.

God did not want the veil to be placed on Moses’ face, God wanted the people to see His glory shine through Moses yet they were afraid. They were afraid because they did not know God, they did not know themselves they only knew that they were not who God wanted them to be, so they along with Moses hid their faces. Paul says that the veil is removed through Christ. Paul says that through Christ we can know and be known by God. That we can become companions of God greater than that of Moses. We know this because God has called us into ministry with Him and has allotted gifts to accompany us on His mission.

There is a power there that should cause us all to become excited. God has called us to participate in what He is doing all around us. He not only has called us but is empowering us to do it. He is giving us the words to speak when words need spoken, He gives wisdom if wisdom is needed, He gives knowledge to develop greater intimacy. He has empowered some to bring healing, some to challenge us all to live by faith, some to organize and steward the resources, and all to participate in the ministry so that we can participate in the building of His kingdom for the good of His creation.

God is calling us to live boldly, to let the light that enlightens our very souls to shine out into the world around us so that we can participate in His glory. He wants us to reflect his light, to drive out the darkness so that all people can live with God today and for all ages. Which brings me back to the magic mirrors of 16^th century Japan. A mirror is not a mirror if it does not reflect, the metal must be polished and smoothed so that all the blemishes are removed. If it is not properly polished the reflection will be skewed and will reflect a false image. Like walking through a mad house at a carnival the images reflect falsehoods instead of reality. Making us look larger, taller, shorter, wider, or thinner than we truly are. Jesus takes way the veils, He removes the blemishes that skew the image of God that is stamped on us. Just as the master polisher removes one microscopic layer at a time Christ through the Spirit slowly perfects us layer by layer. He does this through the Holy Rhythm of life that He showed us: making it our custom to gather in Worship, withdrawing to the isolated places to pray, and ministering to the needs of our community as we are led. Layer by layer we begin to see the reality of who we actually are. With each pass we begin to reflect just a bit more and the gifts of the spirit shine out from us and illuminate those around us.

Layer by layer, we are polished. Layer by layer be reflect a clearer image. But we must submit to be polished, just as we do not choose our gifts we do not choose how we are polished, how we are tested or how we are used for His glory. It is all based on our companionship with God and our intimacy with the Spirit. When we start trying to dictate to God what He will do for us we begin to put veils between us, we begin to reflect skewed realities instead of the purity of God. When we begin to focus on little things instead of focusing on intimacy with God personally and corporately as a community of believers we begin to submit to the polishing skills of someone less qualified and instead of Christ being seen people see judgment. When people see judgement they start believing that they must do more or be more before God can grant them mercy. They begin to think that they must stop drinking before they can be accepted by God, instead of allowing God to heal them through the ministry of his followers. They begin to think I must be sexually pure before God will forgive, I must control my anger, or be debt free before God will see me as valuable. Each is a good thing to be, each are things that God desires, but who does the polishing? All too often we as humans focus on sin instead of the larger picture. The reality is that God’s grace can remove the sin and create within a seemingly imperfect life something beautiful.

For months the mirror master will sit polishing the surface of the metal so that it reflects just right. Layer by layer, removing the blemishes until under the careful trained fingers they find what they are looking for. At that moment they stop and hold the mirror to the light and see what is reflected as the light hits the surface. What is seen when the reflecting through us? Do we see the veiled faces of mankind or do we see the life of Christ? Do we see the skewed images of cleverly devised schemes of man or do we see the selfless love of God who so loved the world that He gave his son not to condemn but to save? When we gaze in the mirrors do we see the image of God stamped on the reflection? Friends we are called to join Christ in his work let us submit to that today!

The Excellent Way of Love (Sermon January 31, 2016)

1 Corinthians 13:1–13 (NRSV)

The Gift of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. ⁷ It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. ⁹ For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; ¹⁰ but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. ¹² For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. ¹³ And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

The past couple of weeks we have discussed some of the inner workings of Church. The companions or gifts of the Spirit. I personally prefer the term companion because of the relational aspect of that word. I am saying this because to be empowered by the Spirit one must be with the Spirit. And the gifts that the Spirit gives are not some magical ability that we can wield to smite our enemies but are to be used for the mutual benefit of the community, or for the common good.

It is important to sit here and contemplate these gifts or companions of the spirit and to reflect on the purpose of their blessings to us because it can be very easy to be distracted by little things surrounding them. Little things often creep in too our expressions of faith that may be initially good but can become something that can actually pull us away from an honest relationship with God. Little things can grow and become central to our systems until all that people see are these little quirks instead of the Gospel. This is why Jesus warned his first disciples to be aware of the yeast of the Pharisees. Yeast is a little thing that grows and spreads, it is not always bad, but it must be kept in check, too much yeast can make bread bitter and turn wine to vinegar.

The little thing in the Corinthian church focused on the gift of tongues. This one gift quickly became the standard among the faithful to determine spiritual value or proof of authenticity. The problems is that it is a gift allotted to individuals by God, not something that we can command God to grant. We may not see this gift as the method to determine authentic faith but there other singular ideas that have emerged as proof of orthodoxy in our eyes. Our positions on issues such as temperance, equality of races and genders, immigration, abortion, and social justice have all become singular ideas among the Christian community use to determine if a person is with Christ or against Him. Little things that can grow and cause bitterness. At the end of the twelfth chapter and all of the thirteenth chapter, Paul urges us to consider a more perfect way to approach identifying the true spiritual nature of those within the community. Love.

“If I speak in the tongues of mortals and angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” Paul dives right in to point out the problem with the Corinthian system. If we happen to have the gift of tongues and if we are using them for our own personal gain they cease being a blessing to other and become an irritation. I am sure by now you are all aware that Kristy and I are the proud parents of a toddler. Albert is an amazing boy, full of curiosity and spunk, and he is developing a keen ear for manipulation of sounds which we could say is music. Unfortunately as he explores the sounds that various things make to most people he is just making a great deal of noise. Most of the time it is a wonderful thing to observe and to assist in the exploration but at times, like when I have a headache or am trying to have a conversation, his manipulation of sounds is just irritating. There is a time where it is mutually beneficial and a time where it is not. This is how Paul is describing the gift of tongues. There are times where it is a wonderful expression of the companionship of the Spirit, but it can also become as irritating as a toddler banging on the pans in a kitchen. Paul urging the followers of Christ to become aware of the community and Spirit’s leading to understand when to speak and when to be silent, and to understand which voice to use. He is encouraging us to become disciplined in the use of our gifts.

“And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” This is the verse that hits most people because these are the gifts that most of the Western churches focus on. We are an enlightened people, focusing on knowledge and truth. If you disagree with me that is fine, but what do we generally call the hour prior to our Meeting for Worship and what are our Mid-week meetings generally known as? Sunday school and Bible Study, both terms that focus on knowledge and the quest for understanding. Paul is telling us that we may be able to speak the word of God and we may understand and be able to teach the most accurate systematic theologies, but they are pointless if we cannot use them to encourage those around us into a deeper relationship with God and humanity.

He then says I might give away all of my possessions and help those in need but if I do not do this in such a way that encourages a deepening relationship with God and mankind it is pointless. The expressions of spirituality, the correct theology, and serve to humanity are all pillars of churches across our lands. It does not matter if it is a charismatic, liberal, or fundamental church Paul has told us within those three verses that our expression of faith is worthless if we do not have love. Let that sink in for a moment. Even reflect on your own personal expressions of faith over the past years and consider what we have been focusing on. Have we focused on signs of spirituality? Have we focused on knowledge and proper theology? Have we focused on social justice? None of these things are bad, but each of these can become one of those little things, or yeast that if not kept in check can make us bitter.

What is the spiritual flavor, the lasting impression that people have when they encounter us? This is the thing that Paul is urging us to consider. Those are the things that are mutually beneficial to the community the things that will continue to attract and encourage them to walk further down the paths toward God. This is passage is one of the most powerful passages in the New Testament because it so fully reflects the purpose and calling of our lives. We are made to love. This passage is one of the most widely known passages in all of scripture and is the most used passages for the most universally recognized mysteries or sacraments of life, marriage. Have we ever really considered why that is?

Human beings are social creatures. We need relationships to reproduce and to function. We have observed this from the very dawn of time and continue to observe how important relationships are. There are studies in psychology that are showing that our brains function best when there are other brains around us. We need communities starting with the family and branching out into society. It is written in the very first book of scripture, “It was not good for man to be alone.” We need relationships to function, but we need love to excel.

“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” This is what love is, yet often our relationships reflect the opposite of love. So often we see love as being an emotion, but that is a chemical response to stimuli. We fall in and out of that type of love all the time, when our relationships are based solely on these chemical reactions what good is it? Love is focused on others not ourselves, it is focused on community not individuals. Love is focused on the character of God and how God responds to humanity.

Again consider the past few years what has been the focus of our cultures, both secular and sacred? Has it been focused on patience, kindness, or humility? We get worked up over being right, ensuring our rights, and getting our due and through it all we have forgotten the most important aspect of human life. The most important things are developing authentic relationships with God and mankind.

Every relationship, from our families to those at work, from our interactions with people at the store or on the street should be saturated in love. When we eat at a restaurant do we show God’s love? If so does it reflect in our generosity or do our tips reflect our response to service? When we provide service to others are we reflecting God’s love for them in how we respond? If so does it show? When we speak others are our words saturated with the love that God has for them? When we interact with our children and our spouses are we honoring that of God in them? Are we patient and kind? Do we have hope and are we willing to endure?

We live in a culture that hungers for love, but does not know where to find it. We often say it is in the church and certainly we have found it here but are we showing it to others or have we allowed little things to make our lives bitter and sour? Marriages across the nation are failing because they are built on self instead of love. Families are broken because they are built on self instead of love. Communities are declining because they are built on self instead of love. Churches are sitting empty because they have neglected love.

What would happen if we chose to love? What would happen if we as individuals chose to become a blessing to others and to live lives of encouragement? What would happen in our families and our communities? What would happen? It has been tried countless times throughout history, when people focus on others instead of themselves there is always the same result, growth. It may not be in ways that we would like but there is always growth. Because when we live lives of love we are constantly adding to the lives of others, and when both parties are looking for the common good of each other not only is there addition but multiplication.

The ways of love are the ways of God. It is the very nature of God. It is the life that Jesus exemplified while he lived among us. He showed us how to love God, embrace the Holy Spirit, and to live lives of love with others. Paul encourages us to focus on Christ, to take on that type of life and to live it out in our families, communities, places of work, and in our churches. To not let the little things become overly important and to instead use all things for the mutual benefit of those around us.

As we consider this passage in this time of open worship, let us contemplate what love really is. Let us consider how love is really expressed, and where we can best live it out. Faith, hope and love abide, but the greatest of these is love.