Readings for Epiphany 4C:
1 Corinthians 13
January 31, 2010
The Rev. Karen Faye Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino, CA
“Love is patient; love is kind; love rejoices in the truth.” [St. Paul; 1 Cor. 1]
“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God. Whoever does not love does not know God. God is love.” [St. John; 1 John]
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” [Jesus; John 15]
Today I would like to talk about love as the mark of a faithful and vibrant congregation. I will use Paul’s letter to the Corinthians as my text.
We are all used to hearing this passage about love (from Corinthians 13) at weddings. I for one, love this passage and never tire reading it. In fact, I welcome it as a balance between erotic love and Christian love, both of which are important in a marriage. Erotic love is based on pleasure, biology, hormones, and reciprocity. Erotic love comes and goes depending on the season. Christian love (or agape) however, is based on grace and never ends. This kind of love is not dependent on feelings or what we can get in return. Christian love is a sure sign that that God’s grace is empowering a person to be in service to another. It was this kind of love, agape, that Paul wrote about to his congregation in Corinth.
What a lot of folks forget when reading this passage is that Paul’s discourse on love was not written for newly weds. It was written for the congregation in Corinth, Greece some 2000 years ago. The church in Corinth was a newly formed congregation, made up of slaves, rich people, and other folks trying to live into their baptismal vows. However, these people were basically clueless on how to function as Christians and did not act much differently from those in the surrounding culture. It seems that some of these parishioners thought themselves better than the others. They had elevated opinions of themselves and some were even bragging about their outstanding spiritual gifts.
We all know people who have elevated notions of themselves. I remember working at a research laboratory where only certain universities were valued. Those researchers, who did not graduate from this “approved list” of universities, were looked down upon. Our society sometimes has strange values about what makes a person special. These values do not necessarily coincide with God’s values. For instance, society often values those with good looks, a slim or buff body, or those in the movie industry. Unfortunately, many of us buy into this distortion and forget about the value of being faithful, kind, and wise. Sometimes, even a congregation can have a skewed view about what makes a person special. This was the case in Corinth, where those who spoke in tongues or who were of a higher social class were valued more than the others. These were the people who often called the shots or took special privileges. So Paul wrote his letter to remind them who they were and what they needed to do to become a faithful congregation.
In chapters 12-14, Paul talks about spiritual gifts and reminds the Corinthians that all gifts are important in building up the body of Christ, not just a few such as speaking in tongues. And while speaking in tongues is probably not on the top of the list in most Episcopal churches, we too often have an unspoken hierarchy of spiritual gifts that some people deem more important than others. Do you have such an unspoken hierarchy of spiritual gifts for leaders in the church? Is it pastoral care or hospitality? Preaching or teaching? Prophetic leadership or administration? Acts of service or organization development? Paul would say that all of these gifts are important in building up the body of Christ but that no one person possesses them all. That is why each and every person needs to share his or her gift in building up the kingdom of God both in Corinth and in Cupertino, CA. Paul then goes onto say something else that is often overlooked in congregational life. He says that unless the expression of these gifts is motivated by love, they are worth nothing. Love needs to undergird everything we do if we are to blossom into a faithful congregation.
Paul goes on to speak of the nature of this love that needs to mark our common life together. “Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not envious or boastful, arrogant or rude, irritable or resentful. Love does not insist on its own way.” The people of the church in Corinth were egocentric and somewhat selfish. Instead of looking at the congregation as a whole and discerning what was best for the congregation, many of the more influential members were trying to push their own agenda. As a result, that congregation became dysfunctional, conflicted, and problematic. So in today’s reading, Paul urges the Corinthians to pursue agape first and foremost. He is convinced that their main task is to learn how to manifest God’s love into a congregational lifestyle that lifts up the congregation as a whole rather than supports self-interest groups. In other words, he is speaking about leading a congregation into blessedness- one that is alive with God’s purpose, power, and presence.
So how do we incorporate the wisdom of this passage into our daily lives here at St. Jude’s? How do we Live in Faith Everyday (LIFE)? I think the answer is easy but the implementation is more difficult. Living in Faith Everyday means to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, body, and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Here is how I see this congregation actualizing this great commandment.
We need to spend more time drinking from the fountain of love, the fountain of living water. If God is love, then we need to return to the very source of love in order to become more loving. We cannot do this on our ego strength alone. When we live out our love for God, everything in life takes on new value and meaning. I think one of the reasons so many people have difficulty in finding the time or the desire to drink from this Source of love is that they understand themselves primarily as a physical being seeking a spiritual experience. Perhaps that is why we are afraid to die. The truth is, we are spiritual beings having a physical experience. This is made clear in the book of Genesis that proclaims we are made in the image of God. God is spirit and if we are made in this image, we have a spiritual nature that reflects our true identity. We when forget our spiritual nature, we act in ways that are harmful and cause great suffering. I am convinced that the reason depression, anxiety, unhappiness, and a sense of meaninglessness is on the rise in our society is that we have forgotten who we are and to whom we belong. So I encourage each and everyone of you to grow in love and to remember who you are by spending time in prayer, worship, and the study of Scripture.
Not only are we called to love God, the source of all love, but we are also called to love our neighbor as ourselves. A community of faith with members who really care about one another is a community that is vibrant. And one of the easiest ways to love one another is through acts of kindness. Kindness itself might seem lightweight and yet it is a central factor in our lives. Kindness can either make or break a relationship and it is what all human beings crave. Kindness has the power to transform us, perhaps more than any other attitude or technique. Aldrous Huxley, a pioneer in the study of human potential once said: “People often ask me what is the most effective technique for transforming their life. It is a little embarrassing that after years and years of research and experimentation, I have to say that the best answer is –just be a little kinder.”
I am often touched by the acts of kindness I see around me, especially in times of turmoil and stress. After the Haiti disaster, millions of peoples responded either personally or financially to help those in dire need. I am seeing the people of St. Jude’s shower acts of kindness upon Gordon and his family as Claudia struggles for her life in Intensive Care. I see acts of kindness showered upon the homeless shelter as parishioners deliver a hot meal and words of affirmation to a challenged population. These actions affirm our spiritual nature, made in the image of God, created to serve one another with kindness.
The challenge for us however, is to be able and willing to extend those act of kindness in the ordinary moments of our lives under ordinary circumstances. Because we are in such a hurry and our schedules are so full, we are often unaware of the human need around us. Being so preoccupied and busy, we often do not notice who or what or when could use some small act of kindness. Sometimes, simply opening a door for a parent struggling with an armful of kids can make or break their day. But in order for us to be aware and willing to help out, we need to slow down, look up, reach out, and shower one another with random acts of kindness on a day-to-day basis.
Forty-seven years ago, a small group of Episcopalians gathered together in the farmhouse to create a congregation on the corner of Stelling and McClellan. St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church is now a vibrant congregation whose vision is to become a spiritual oasis where lives are transformed. How can we make this happen? Drinking from the Source of love and undergirding all that we with love will make this vision a reality. “Love believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” And now faith, hope and love abide, these three. And the greatest of these is love.” [St. Paul; 1 Cor. 13]
| Updated Feburary 13, 2010 |
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