“Love is  NOT”  (1 Corinthians 13:1-13)

Intro:  Chapter 13, in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, is probably the most famous statement about love in the world.  As we try envision what the city of Corinith is like.  Think Las Vegas.  Let us listen.//

The thirteen verses of first Corinthians chapter 13, are probably the best known words Paul ever wrote.  This chapter is to the New Testament what the Twenty-third Psalm is to the Old Testament.  It is known, loved, enjoyed, and memorized by many people.  Everyone is familiar with at least some of the rhythms and some of the imagery of this passage.  One often hears it read at weddings and we feel the sentiment of it and we enjoy the beauty of it.  It is perhaps one of, if not the most, popular portions of the New Testament.

Too often, this passage is read in isolation from its broader scriptural setting.  All or part of the reading is lifted up and taken out of its original context.  We don’t have to go far to see some of these words written in fancy calligraphy put up on a wall somewhere.  In offices or in homes we see in big print, LOVE IS, patient, kind and does not boast.

Because the words are soaring and beautiful, they seem to point beyond the ordinary and possible. The problem is that just holding the beauty of the words in a picture frame obscures the practical, exhorting force that Paul intends.  If Paul heard how people say “Love is patient, love is kind and does not boast”, with a soft dreamy look in their eyes, I think he would get really cranky.  (As Paul was want to do). When the words are taken from the whole, and the understanding of the Corinthian situation is left behind, the transforming power is weakened if not lost.

The letter he wrote was in response to questions the Corinthians raised about what they should do in response to some of the issues they were facing.  Paul is not writing a philosophy paper about some abstract ideal of “what is love”.  The discussion of love comes in practical terms as he speaks to their concerns.  He is writing to a conflicted congregation, caught up in a distorted spirituality, and engaged in intense power struggles.  These people were trying to live out their Christian faith in the midst of a city where many more people thought the “God of love” was Venus.  

Paul was trying to bring a new way of thinking to the anxious and fractured members of a specific group of early Christians.  In the chapter immediately preceding this, the passage, Paul addressed the Corinthian concern over proper beliefs and the distribution of spiritual gifts.  In chapter 12 he used the analogy of a human body to try and get the Corinthians to views gifts of the spirit with a new perspective, as parts of a unified body of Christ.  Now Paul adds the single most important component necessary for that “spiritually gifted body”, the lifeblood of love.  Just as the individual organs of the body can not function without blood flowing through them, humans are nothing without love flowing through us. 

Paul uses the first person throughout his letter as he writes about love.  He is talking about himself as an example for them. Without love, speaking in tongues turns him into a noisy and incoherent nuisance; he or anyone with profound theological insight and total faith amount to nothing, if love is not present.  Even extravagant gifts to the poor or those who suffer to boast of gain, have nothing, and have done nothing if there is not the backdrop of love as the motivation for everything. 

He is not saying that spiritual gifts are useless, or that dramatic sacrifice is to be disregarded.  The exercise of gifts, and the practice of sacrifice in themselves simply do nothing for the doer.  It is love manifest in the person that makes these actions meaningful.  

While Paul is giving ideas and advice, he avoids offering a complete and comprehensive definitions of love.  Reading about love or defining it, Paul says is like looking into a dim mirror.  You don’t get the full picture.  The real thing happens only face to face, with one another, with God.  It is in the searching for, the seeking for God’s love that we find it, on the journey with one another.  That’s what Paul is saying.  Look at me, and what I do.  Love is as love does.  Here is an example of love.  Christ is the perfect example of love in action.  It is in the doing that love is manifest and real. 

As human beings we are created in the image and likeness of God.  In the Hebrew Scriptures, faith finds God showing “steadfast love.”  Always present.   In the New Testament, while love is not God, God is love.  So love is part of our basic make up, or stuff.  It is the lifeblood of a relationship and connection to God.
 
Paul write “So faith, hope, love abide, these three: but the greatest of these is love.” It is the meaning of life. Or at least the first hint of a whisper of a clue of finding it. As we look at these familiar words that Paul wrote, an interesting idea I’ve seen is for us to put ourselves into those verses and see how our love and lives reflect what Paul speaks of.  For instance, starting at verse 4, if we substitute the word “I” for “love”, the passage reads like this: “I am patient; I am kind; I am not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. I do not insist on my own way; I am not irritable or resentful; I do not rejoice in wrongdoing, but I rejoice in the truth. I bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things. My love never ends.” How true are those sentences for each of us? How well do they match up with the way that we really are?  (Don’t answer for anyone else sitting next to you.  But think it through sometime.)    Since God is love try it with God as well, God is patient God is kind.  See if that shifts your perspective on God at all. 

What those words show us is that love is something we do. It’s not just some feeling.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus praised a group of people by saying: “I was hungry and you gave me food.” Notice that Jesus didn’t commend the people by saying: “I was hungry and you felt sorry for me.” No, I was hungry and you gave me food.  Love means doing what’s necessary, what’s needed. But really love means even more than that.  It is a disposition, a way of living life.  Paul brings this in at the end, Faith hope and love abide, these three and the greatest of these is love.  Hope expects what faith believes.  Hope holds on because it has faith in the strength and persistence of God’s love for us. 

Faith and hope never stand alone.  They are all fulfilled in love.   As Paul writes the Corinthians with their very real very human problems and temptations.  He says their task is to take that truth of God’s lasting love that is present now.  To take it and make it ever more real in their lives.   That is our call as well.  The table is here to enfold us God’s in  perfect love that came to us in Jesus Christ, to feed us and to give us a glimpse of love that endures forever.  God’s love.  Amen. 

“What the Wine Stewards Saw”  (John 2:1-11)

Intro:  Today we read of Jesus first miracle as recorded by John.  It is something of a surprise, even to Jesus.  He and the disciples are attending a wedding, Jesus is simply one of the crowd, he is a guest, and everything is going fine but then the wine runs out.  Let us listen for God’s word to us.  (Read)

One of the many things I enjoy about being a pastor is helping couples prepare for weddings.  It can be fun to work with couples to create a service that reflects their faith and love.  It is really “their day”.  In some of the “less serious” moments, I like asking whether future “in laws” are being too helpful with all the planning and details.  It is amazing to see what it takes to get ready for even a simple wedding.  As much as we’d like to think we Americans in the third millennium know how to throw the “perfect wedding”, we can’t hold a candle to the way they did it in Galilee in the first century.  Weddings in Cana were much different from weddings today.

Today, weddings take place in less than an hour, with a few hours for a reception and then maybe a weekend honeymoon.  This was not the case in Galilee.  In those days, weddings were grand celebrations, with many rituals of lighting torches and getting the bride at midnight, the groom paid for everything.  And there was a party – not for an evening, or even a few days, but rather one that lasted an entire week!

The reason the Galileans were so good at throwing great parties around weddings is because of what a wedding represented to the community as a whole.  Weddings were one of the few things that represented a hope for the future in ancient rural villages.  Trying to imagine what it would be like to live in the household of a poor tradesman, or goat herder, in a subsistence economy back then is very difficult.  Everything about life was about getting through the day.  There was no electricity, no running water.  All the needs of the household had to be done for today and then done again tomorrow. There was no stocking up on a week’s groceries.  Nothing kept.  Water for the day needed to be collected every morning.  Everything was daily in this culture.  Except weddings, they were about the future. 

As we think about our lives today.  Our lives are full of daily stuff -yes, but there is a tremendous amount of “future stuff” as well. 

For the Galileans in the first century, there was only today.  Nobody had day timers or Google calendars.  Life was about today.  Except for weddings.  Weddings were the times when the whole village celebrated and said “there is a future for our village, there is a future for our family, there is light up ahead, a tomorrow with promise.”   These were the times of lifting ones eyes and seeing something more than the daily grind and obligations. 

I tell you all of this is to help set the stage, to explain how important this wedding and reception was.  Because weddings, were such a highpoint in the life of a village that there were very strict cultural norms, and even laws, about parties.  Hospitality, was everything.  Making sure that you had enough supplies and that one’s guests were having a good time was of utmost importance.  This was a duty, and if you failed in your duty, you could be legally responsible.  Or more bluntly you could be sued.  Imagine that today.  “Hey Friend, you know that All Blacks  party you had last week?  Even with the life-sized cut out of  Scott Barrett, you ran out of cheese rolls in the first 30 minutes, it didn’t really make the grade.  You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.” 

Our scripture this morning is really a strange and wonderful story.  I love how John uses a wedding, a celebration, as the time and site of Jesus first miracle.   This is a moment of epiphany as Jesus reveals his divine power, and it is in such a human situation.  The couple is on the brink of disaster, and at first Jesus is reluctant to get involved.   I’d like to consider some of the people at the wedding, look at their role in what happened and their experience of the miracle. 

Now the steward is the caterer, or the general contractor for this reception.  He is the one who sweats the details and keeps an eye on the gauges.  He is the one watching the inventory asking, “do we have enough money and resources to keep things going to the very end?  He might have the bumper sticker that says “live life to the fullest and bounce the check for your funeral.”  He is a planner and suddenly things aren’t going according to plan.   When the miracle comes, as he tastes the wine, he just expresses delight at the windfall and keeps on pouring.  Suddenly no problem, and he goes back to party.  I imagine it is not hard to call to mind people like this. 

In this moment, the groom wouldn’t know what to say.  He may have been embarrassed knowing that it was not his.  He couldn’t have paid for it.  He was probably very glad he did not have to explain where it came from.  None of the guests would know.  But he would wonder for a lifetime.  What happened back there?  We don’t know if he ever finds out.  But he has received grace.  Jesus came to his party and power of God changed everything, and he may never know.  Some people go through life like that too. 

Jesus’ role in all this is very interesting.  He is simply an invited guest.  One who attends and is just part of the crowd.  He is there in the good times, and goes unnoticed.  When the potential for disaster arises he does not jump to the rescue.  It is his mother who calls it to his attention.  I love that; it is so very human.  Mothers do have a way of making us rethink our first response to a lot of things.  With just a look my mother can still get me to try new foods that are supposed to be good for me, and clean my plate.  

Mary saw what was happening and knew Jesus could do something to extend the joy that was suddenly disappearing.  Even though his actions would be a rescue from disaster it was about extending the joy.  She wanted him to do something now during this hope-filled celebration of the future.  “Do something,  today!” she says to help us as celebrate the days to come. 

Mary was the one who said something is about to go wrong and expected Jesus to be part of the answer.  She basically said to him, don’t just stand there, do something!  From the time the angels told her about the child she would carry, she knew Jesus could make a difference.  She understands and expects him to enter into this moment.  So she calls to him.  Jesus response may sound disrespectful; “woman” can be a polite term something like Madam.  But he certainly is showing a differing opinion with her on whether he should or could act.  I can’t help but think Mary is saying to herself, “come on Jesus, you are thirty years old, still living at home time to get on with your life!  Time to leave the next already.”  Who knows?  But she knows this is his time. 

Jesus says, “It is not yet my time”, but goes on to act anyway.  He moved beyond the first response of “what concern is it to you and to me?”  He goes beyond its not my problem and it’s not my time, to a point of acting and making a difference right then.  Even though it was someone else’s problem, he acts.  Even thought it was someone else who would be embarrassed he moves toward them in love. When Jesus was moved to act, that’s when a real miracle happens. What if Jesus had walked away from this wedding saying it is not my time, what if he then walked past the man left by the side of the road the next day, who knows what may have been the start of Jesus’ ministry.  But we shouldn’t underestimate the influence of Mary saying you can do something here.  Step up to the plate.

Anytime we move beyond thinking, it’s not my problem.  I have nothing to lose if I just walk away.  It’s not my time to help, That is when the miracle happens again.  Jesus shows us, that even when we think we have spent all that we have, our energy, our time, and our resources.  When we feel that there is nothing or nothing left to give.  In the most strange and ordinary of places, well find– something.  There will be something, when we look, something wonderful and unexpected and in abundance.

 A new year that has just arrived.  A question for us all, is how can we make our church be a living striving community where people are learning to know God more deeply and experiencing Jesus Christ and spreading that love to others.  Will we be like the steward, seeing the surprise of abundant grace before our face and just moving along, or will we, like Mary, see that God is present in our midst, and ask with expect hope that something more wonderful is yet to come?  Do we believe God has something more in store?  Amen.

“Well Pleased”  (Luke 3:15-17,21-22)

There is a story that a Presbyterian pastor tells about one of those embarrassing moments in ministry.  He was in the middle of performing a wedding ceremony, just about to lead the couple through their vows, when, all of a sudden, he forgot the name of the groom.  (I, for one, can’t imagine ever forgetting something while in worship)  Trying to cover the awkward moment, the pastor asked the groom with great solemnity “With what name were you baptized?” The groom, a bit taken aback, paused.  But then with great confidence, he responded, “I was baptized with the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!”   This didn’t help the pastor much, but at least the fellow understood the meaning of baptism!

I often enjoy asking “do you remember your Baptism?” I hear so many great stories in response.   Some people were baptized as infants and remember only what their parents told them.   Some were baptized later in life when they chose the moment they would receive the sign of grace that comes in the sacrament of baptism.  (I was holding wrong story.  My Dad’s aged yellow baptism certificate from 90 years ago.  Baptism complete)  It is wonderful to hear the variety of baptism stories, for many times in our collective worship we are called to remember our baptism, we are to recall that we are called by name and claimed by God’s love.    More than remembering the specifics of our individual baptisms remembering our baptism is to remind ourselves and refresh within us the beginning, the new life that is already underway. 

In all of the gospel accounts describing the baptism of Jesus, one question remains unanswered.  Why was Jesus baptized? Why did he needto be baptized? After all, according to John, baptism is for the purpose of repentance and the forgiveness of sins.  What did Jesus need to repent of? And what did he need to be forgiven for? Actually, when you think abut it, Jesus is to do baptizing in a fashion greater than John, and as far as we know he never baptizes anyone.   For some reason Jesus submits to baptism himself, kneeling in the mud and the muck.   It is for the same reason he is born in a manger, that he eats with prostitutes and tax collectors, that he cries and prays and sleeps in a garden, and that he dies a painful, very human death.   It is quite simply because Jesus comes to be like us, so we can grow to be like him.  Jesus is baptized into our humanity, so that we can be baptized into his divinity. 

In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, those who are baptized in the same font become siblings— they are considered the same flesh and blood—they are kin with one another.  In this sense, Jesus became siblings with the crowd, all those with whom he was baptized in the River Jordan.  When we are baptized into Christ in the waters of the font, we too become siblings, with Christ and with one another.  The personal name we receive is important.  But much more important is the spiritual name we receive—Christian—bearer of Christ—brother and sister of Christ. 

The Greek word for baptism means: “To dip, to immerse, to submerge—and my favorite—to soak.” Baptism is, for all of us the bath of the Beloved, when God takes pleasure in soaking us—soaking us with water, soaking us with grace, soaking us with blessing.  When I read about Jesus’ baptism, what I understand is happening is very different than what traditional doctrines have explained.  Rather than saving us from original sin, Jesus’ baptism mirrors for us our original blessing—encouraging us to become servants of love—offering blessing and not judgment to others.  And despite the fact that we remain partial, sinful, fragile, imperfect people, our original blessing can empower us if we remember that we are baptized. 

What is most important about our text for today is how it ends.   Up until this time God would have been viewed in an ancient way, as being distant and vengeful.   But now things are different God has drawn near and everything has changed with Jesus being the Christ.   After this remarkable transformation—from thunder theology into tender theology, after the change of this abstract, awesome God into a fragile, flesh and blood God—after the Heavenly One decides to become earthly—it is then that the Creator God responds in a very particular way.   The Voice of God speaks once again. 

This Voice is warm and welcoming.  “You are my Son, the Beloved One; with you I am well pleased.” To the man in the mud, this Son who has become a servant, God speaks.  Even before Jesus has done anything noteworthy or worthwhile God praises him.  God affirms that Jesus is precious, that he is unique, and that he is loved— not for what he does but for who he is.  In this baptism scene, God echoes the divine delight and pleasure that was expressed in the very beginning days of creation.  After the creation of the sea and the dry land, God said, “It is good.” After the creation of the light and the dark, the star and sun and moon, God said, “It is good.” After the creation of the birds and the animals, the plants and the trees and the fish of the sea, God said, “it is very good.” After the creation of man and woman in God’s image, God said, “it is good.  It is very, very good.” After the baptism of Jesus, after this total immersion into the human condition, God says, “This is good.  This is delightful.  This is the Beloved, who brings me great pleasure.  This is very, very good.” So it is with each one of us when we are baptized.  We too are blessed as the Beloved.  We too bring pleasure to God. 

Each time we celebrate baptism, or anytime we reflect on and remember our baptism may we remember that we are always drenched with grace, each one of us has our original blessing—the waters of baptism that have washed over our lives.   Each one of us can be reminded of God’s Voice in our lives.  The voice that says “You are my child, the Beloved with whom I am well pleased.”

Let us remember our baptism, remember that we are blessed.  Remember that we belong.  Remember that we are the beloved.  And remember that it is a gracious God that has taken delight and pleasure in who we are and who we are becoming.  This profound gift changes us.  This profound Gift defines us.  This profound gift is what we have to share with the world.  How can we do anything else but be a blessing to others? How can we do anything else but find and name the beloved—to give to others a sense of belonging in God’s family? This is the Gift of this day.  This is the Good News of this day.  This is the call of this day.  And it is very, very good.   Amen.