Garrett Vickrey Epiphany 4 Woodland Baptist Church 1.31.16 San Antonio, TX “Love, Part I” 1 Corinthians 13:1-8

This passage is not about with an individual cup of marriage. It’s about life in a applesauce or yogurt and no community of faith. It has spoon? Instead of slurping and implications for marriage. But, probably getting half of your snack sometimes this passage has been on your shirt, turn the foil lid into a used the wrong way. Or maybe makeshift spoon. Also, Chinese we’ve so subjugated it to marriage takeout containers are actually that we’ve ignored it’s daunting made to fold out into plates. Soda implications. Either way, we’ve can tabs are meant to double as probably been using it wrong. straw holders… that’s why that hole is there. Pipe cleaners can The website Buzzfeed had an actually clean pipes. Hanging article a few years ago entitled “18 holes on pot handles double as Products You’ve Been Using spoon rests. And finally, you’ve Wrong”. The article says, “Your life probably been placing toilet seat has been a lie.” It details everyday covers (in public bathrooms) the products which are so brilliantly wrong direction. The flap is meant engineered that we miss out on the to go toward the front. incredible simplicity that actually makes them function.1 For Using products the way they’re instance, aluminum foil boxes have meant to be used makes a big press-in tabs that secure the roll in difference. The designer had a place, so you don’t have to worry certain thing in mind when she or about it flying out every time you he designed these products and rip off a sheet of foil. You know using them in the right way makes how when you violently shake a all the difference in how effective container of Tic Tacs into your they are at doing what it is they palm it seems as though you were created to do. You and I are always end up with zero or seven? much more than products; still, we Avoid that altogether by letting a were created with purpose. We mint gently glide into the tiny lid were created with gifts and skills crevice where a mint will sit if you endowed by our designer. Paul open it correctly. Ever find yourself tells the Corinthians that when 1 these gifts and skills aren’t used mysteries. Wisdom, knowledge, properly they are worthless. faith, healing, and discernment were all gifts of the same Spirit Paul sees a lot of division within who gives all these good things. It the church in Corinth. They are seems that the Corinthians were arguing over matters of doctrine. enjoying the status that these gifts They are arguing over who should gave them in the community. Paul lead. They are holding on to pagan is trying to remind them of the practices. Paul writes this poem purpose of the gifts of the Spirit. It about love as a call to action. Their is to build up the community, not faith had become all about them. build up one’s ego. Indeed, About what their faith gave them. A tongues and prophecy and warm feeling. Leadership. Esteem. knowledge are meant to bless the They lived lives of faith that community, and not to enhance the centered around themselves as status of the one who possesses the object of God’s love. Paul is the gift. calling them and us to be agents of God’s love. For that love to not These gifts are meant to build only be the basis for how we feel faith, hope and love. Teaching and about ourselves, but for it to be the preaching, prophecy and care are lens through which we see the meant to build up the community in world and the foundation of how faith. They aren’t given so that we function together. someone can gain influence over a group. They aren’t given so that 1 Corinthians 12 lays out a list of someone within the community gifts of the spirit. It isn’t a complete can get their way. And none of list, of course. The gifts are these gifts are worth anything outward expressions of the Spirit without their end goal — love. of God. And in his time (and in These gifts used in lesser ways or ours) these gifts may have different ways from how they were garnered great respect in the designed are not helpful to the community. If you spoke in body of Christ. Because they lack tongues you must have a direct the key ingredient of the spiritual line to God. If you were a prophet gifts: love. But, not just any love— you had keen insight into the inner agape love. workings of this world. Perhaps, you could even grasp great 2 Agape is the the Greek word for passage is the corrective lens love here. There are at least six through which we should judge our Greek words for love. They each community and ourselves. Are we articulate a different kind of love. patient? Are we kind? Are we Agape is the one often used to envious? What would we bear, describe God’s love in the New believe, hope and endure for the Testament. Agape was self-less sake of the love of God in this love extended to all people, place? Without love it doesn’t whether family members or distant matter how great our worship is, or strangers. Agape was later how nice our buildings are, or how translated into Latin as caritas, all-encompassing our missions which is the origin of our word strategy is. Without the love Paul charity. C.S. Lewis referred to it as describes here, those things are “gift love,” the highest form of meaningless. That kind of love is Christian love. Doesn’t this sound the link. like what is being described when Jesus gives his disciples the new There are some who scoff at the commandment to love one another idea of Christianity being all about as I have loved you? Agape is a love. The love of God sounds love that recognizes the weak to those who misunderstand sacredness of human life. Agape love. To some who have recognizes God’s love for all domesticated this passage this people and the value that love then sounds like a hallmark card. It’s places upon every face we been said Christianity that focuses encounter. too much on love leaves out the judgement and anger of God we This passage wasn't written as a see in scripture. What about poem to be read at Christian responsibility? Accountability? This weddings. Though, it works nicely critique of the love hermeneutic in that setting. This was written as sees love as broad acceptance of a corrective to a specific Christian anything that comes along. Hippy community. It was written to help dippy, they might say. You just people envision how to live accept anything. But, that’s not together as a church. It’s not some love. That’s actually apathy. Love bland, sappy love. It’s a radical is active. Sometimes form of love that pushes us beyond confrontational. Love is patient. It common social bonds. This is kind. But, love gets in your face 3 too. Love tells you when you’re worth anything. The truth of our wrong. But, doesn’t rub your face witness is measured by the love at in it. Love is powerful. God’s love the center of our lives. is big enough to encompass judgement and forgiveness. That’s We don’t tell the truth if we don’t what transformational love is. If tell it in love. We are clanging love isn’t the foundation of how we symbols. There’s an old story use our spiritual gifts then we are about Karl Barth teaching a doing it wrong. If love isn’t the theology class during World War II. foundation of our discipleship we The students asked if it was ever are doing it wrong. Loves works. O.K. to lie. They asked, “What if Love lasts. Love never fails. Love you are hiding Jews and the SS never dies. comes to search your house, and they ask you, ‘Are there any Jews You may not agree with me, and in this house?’ Is it then O.K. to lie since we are a baptist and say, ‘No. No Jews here.’ Isn’t congregation that’s fine. But at that a sin? To remain sinless least consider this— in our practice shouldn’t we say yes to stay on the not all passages of scripture are side of truth? And Barth answered equal. We all (whether we admit it their question by saying, “Tell them or not) cling to some and ignore the truth. Tell them there are no others. We have our life verses. Jews in the house.” We dog-ear those pages, highlight them, and cross-stitch them on Similarly, there’s an old parable pillows. They form the nucleus of that goes like this: The commander our understanding of faith around of the occupation troops said to the which everything else revolves. mayor of the mountain village, “We We all have a canon within the know you’re hiding a traitor. Unless canon. There are just some you give him up to us, we shall passages in scripture that are harass you and your people by more important than others. This every means in our power.” passage is crucial. 1 Corinthians The village was, indeed, hiding a 13 is crucial for our understanding man who seemed good and of God; but, mostly for our innocent and was loved by all. But understanding of our life together. what could the mayor do now that If our work or our theology doesn’t the welfare of the village was at match up to this chapter it isn’t stake? Days of discussion in the 4 village council led to no cling to? What caveats, conclusion. So the mayor finally restrictions, and demands do we took the matter up with the priest. place on others before we can say The priest and mayor finally came Love never ends? If God’s love up with a line of scripture that said, isn’t the lens through which we do “It is better that one man die to all of this — worship, spiritual save the nation.” formation, theology, mission, pastoral care— we’re doing it So the mayor handed over the wrong. It is the Spirit of God that innocent man, whose screams finds us in the pages of scripture to echoed throughout the village as draw out the Word in the words. he was tortured, and put to death. The Spirit builds toward love by giving gifts that lead communities Twenty years later a prophet came deeper into God’s love in Christ. to that village, went right up to the mayor and said, “How could you If that’s the case, what we read have done this? That man was here today is the heart of the good sent by God to be the savior of this news for all people. It is the country. And you handed him over motivation behind Jesus’ work. to be tortured and killed.” And it is a call to action to us. Stop “But where did I go wrong?” hiding behind self-interest cloaked pleaded the mayer. “The priest and in gospel language. God’s love I looked at the scriptures and did isn’t a wedge dividing people; it’s a what they commanded.” tendon connecting bones and “That’s where you went wrong,” muscle. It’s the connecting point said the prophet. “You should have for communities like this one, and also looked into his eyes.” it is what ties us together in God eternally. Love never ends. More What guides us: our understanding on that next week. Until then, of scripture or the revelation of Faith, hope and love abide… and God’s love in Jesus that helps us the greatest of these is love. understand the gift that is scripture?

Love never ends, Paul says. Literally, that verse reads, “Love never falls.” Is that the truth we 5 1 Gabby Noone, “18 Products You’ve Been Using the Wrong Way”, August 23, 2013, buzzfeed.com, http:// www.buzzfeed.com/gabbynoone/18-everyday-products-youve-been-using-wrong#.swRKZg1Bd

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