Sermon Index
February 3, 2013, Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
1 Cor. 12:31b–13:13 Love And now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. |
Today’s epistle lesson is the famous First Corinthians Chapter Thirteen. It is about love. It is often read at weddings, but love is not just for husbands and wives, it is for the whole family, it is for your friends, it is for your fellow workers and classmates and church members. And it is even for those people you do not like.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
When we read this at weddings, it is with a hope and a prayer that the couple will actually be able to love each other in this way. We read this passage to show what perfect love is like.
The Bible word for love, agape, is not just a feeling, it is action. We have action because we have a connection with that other person. There is responsibility; there is a duty, an obligation to love. God does not give us a choice as to whether we love someone or not. It is a commandment. “Love your neighbor.” I think that the opposite of love is not hate. I think that the opposite of love is sinful inaction. That is what the story of the Good Samaritan teaches us. Those who did not show concern for the man beaten by robbers were sinners who did not show love for their neighbor.
Love is action. It comes from my heart. Love is a revelation of who I am. The love I do is me. Perhaps it is the existential “me.” And so I am going to re-read verses 4-7 and instead of the word “love” I am going to read my name. As you listen, put your own name in the sentence.
Michael is patient, Michael is kind. I do not envy, I do not boast, I am not proud. Michael is not rude, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered, he keeps no record of wrongs. Michael does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Michael always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Do these words really describe me? Do these words describe you? Is your life like this or are you more like a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal?
St. Paul wrote “11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.” We are no longer children in the faith. In our Baptism we have been given the mission to love our neighbor. And our neighbor is anyone who needs our love, no matter how near or far away they are. If we do not love our neighbor, we are not doing the work of Christ, and so we are not living as a Christian.
To live as a Christian we need Christ. That is why Christ came to this world. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” That shows the patience and kindness of God. Christ was not self-seeking and so he died on the cross for us. That is forgiveness, which means he keeps no record of wrongs. And he takes no pleasure in evil and injustice, rather he rejoices in all that is right and true.
In Christ there is true love. He is the both the source and the power for us to love. And so in closing, I am going to re-read verses 4-7 and instead of the word “love” I am going to read name “Christ.” 。
Christ is patient, Christ is kind. He does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud. Jesus is not rude, Jesus is not self-seeking, Jesus is not easily angered, Jesus keeps no record of wrongs. Christ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Christ always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church