Sermon for 06/04/06

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Sermon for 06/04/06
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Something, something, and love: the Christian Virtue of Love

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, AMEN

Main Theme: In 1^st Cor. 13, Paul tells us there are three “Christian Virtues” – Faith, Hope, and Love. Today we ask - “What is love?” The fact is, we were created by God for love! But regardless of what TV tells us, love is not sex. And love is not “luv” – a modern sentimentalization of love. God’s love, true love, is revealed in Jesus Christ! It’s a divine love that is unmotivated by any gain for itself, or any need in itself. Though called to love this way, we all resist it to some extent, and when we do – we love imperfectly. Yet with Christ living in us, we can begin to experience and share a love that 1) does not insist on it’s own way, 2) never ends, 3) rejoices in the truth, and 4) recognizes it is only in it’s infancy – seeing and knowing “in part”.

1) NEED OR KNOW? Originally, my intent in this short sermon series was to talk only about the first two Godly gifts mentioned in 1^st Corinthians 13: faith and hope. After all, Paul went on to cover the topic of love in great detail throughout the rest of the chapter, and after all, “Do we really need to say anything about the “greatest of these” – love? Don’t we all know instinctively that what makes the greatest difference in our live is love?” Do we have to be a brain surgeon, rocket scientist, or a seminary theologian to know why the poets and songwriters keep harping on love? Hardly, even the Beatles told us in a song - “All you need is love!” Don’t we all know this to be true? So why talk about love at all – is it even necessary?

2) ISN’T NECESSARY! Well, in a way, it isn’t necessary. Something almost automatically responds to the biblical statement that (1^st John 4:8) “God is love!” How can you not be touched by the fact that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son…” (John 3:16) Are any of us really surprised when Jesus sums up the entire law of God this way: (Mark 12:31) “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” Jesus said this, KNOWING that there was a certain built in “readiness” in His hearers to receive such a commandment. It merely told us what we already suspected – “God created us for love!” That’s why St. Augustine said that we are “restless” until we know ourselves to be loved, and love in return. So in one way it isn’t necessary to talk of love.

3) MISUNDERSTOOD! But on the other hand, perhaps it is! Why? Because in today’s broken world – there is no concept more “misunderstood” as love! Especially Christian love. Unfortunately, too many people today use “love” as another word for “sex”. I read recently that today’s younger generations are having a hard time struggling to understand “romantic love”. They watch old films, or read 19^th century novels and find all the talk and gestures and agonizing of young lovers as pretty comical, and sometimes ridiculous. “Why,” many young people asked, “don’t they just hop into bed with one another?” After all, isn’t that what today’s heroes do in today’s films and novels? Unfortunately, we live in a broken world that is equating love with sex. How sad that real love is so misunderstood.

4) EQUATING LOVE WITH SEX! Now Christianity does not deny a sacred connection between love and sex, but we do not let this connection define Christian love! Love is far more inclusive than just its sexual expressions. Some of the most loving people in history remained celibate. And yet our media driven society doesn’t understand people who for religious reasons (or for any reasons) have intentionally chosen celibacy as a lifestyle. They think them strange and unusual creatures! Sadly, our children watch as society seems to elevate only those people who the media calls “sexy”. Friends, the worth and meaning of our lives does not depend on our capacity for sexual expression. Our sexuality does not define our personhood! Let me make this a little clearer by saying, God does not treasure “sexy people” more than “non-sexy” people! (Sounds silly when I put it that way, doesn’t it). Yet we live in a broken world that is equating love with sex. And this is an absurd and frightening thing – because according to God, it is not our sexuality that makes us reflections of the divine! Jesus was celibate, (despite what the DeVinci code is suggesting), and we would never say Jesus knew nothing about love. For Christ was love in its purist form!

5) LUV! Another thing that love is not! It is not “luv”! I’m talking about the “sentimentalization of love” found in most of the greeting cards you buy at the drugstore today. You turn love into “luv” by omitting from the card any mention that love profoundly challenges our self-centeredness. You don’t remind the reader that the commitment that goes with real love is true commitment! You certainly don’t hint that genuine relationships of love contain a high degree of honesty and even a readiness to confront our differences. And you never suggest that sometimes real love hurts! Have you ever purchased a valentine card that painted such a picture?

6) TRUE LOVE! But the bible paints such a picture! And we see God willingly and eagerly entering into a broken world full of broken people to graciously deal with our sins and weaknesses. God’s love is neither erotic or sentimental love. God’s love is a love that suffers, because those whom God loves – you and me - are very hard to love! True love has dark side to it! True love is messy! True love means facing the truth about ourselves and others! That’s why many of us (in as much as we need love) – often resist God’s love, and the love of others! True love is not for sissies! That’s why many prefer the “luv” of sentimental cards. It doesn’t cost us much! It doesn’t suffer! But if you want to look at true love – look up at the cross!

7) DIVINE LOVE = JESUS CHRIST! See, God’s love is revealed in Jesus Christ! In Jesus, we discover what Paul meant when he declares that love is “patient… kind… not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude… not irritable or resentful… rejoices in the truth… bears all things… endures all things.” Divine love pours itself out for others. It is that divine love that is unmotivated by any gain or need for itself – that becomes the foundation for the love we are to express! God commands us to love – not because love can be forced upon others (it can’t)… no, love is commanded of us because we are CAPABLE of loving this way. It is a real possibility for us in spite of everything we put its way. Why? Because we are already loved by God. And when Christ’s Spirit comes to live within us – that which is impossible for us alone – is now possible! Or as John put it (1^st John 4:19) “We love because God first loved us!” Divine love is revealed in Jesus Christ!

8) SINNERS! See, the “divine love” we’re called into - is neither erotic love nor sentimental “luv”. It is a love extended to us despite our sexuality, and it is extended to “sinners”. And sinners are not only the people who are clearly and obviously wicked! No, sinners includes all who are by nature self-centered. That makes us a hard lot to love! Yet, amazingly, God’s love is for sinners!

9) LOVES US ANYWAY! What amazes me, is that God desires to empower us with this love without trampling on us, stamping out our resistance, or forcing us to love! (Which as we said before, is impossible!) No, God’s love comes to us, always looking for a beachhead in our hearts. But He allows us to be suspicious, express resistance, and even our hatred. Unlike sentimental love, God’s love does not conceal or minimize all our sin. The suspicions, the resistance, the hatred are permitted to surface so that we can for the first time really know ourselves for what we are, and know that despite that – He loves us anyway!

10) THE CROSS! The Cross is what demonstrates the lengths to which God will go to reach us, find the lost, and to restore broken relationships! The Cross also represents the grim extent to which we go to reject such a love when it is offered to us! Ironically, it is in the cross, that this honest confrontation with God and our brokenness occurs, and we begin to learn what true love is!

11) BEGINNING! And I say “begin” because let’s face it: no human love is perfect! Any of you remember the old wedding song “O Perfect Love”? It was intended to explain God’s love, but usually people in the audience thought it represented the “perfect love” of the young married couple. Unfortunately, our human love is never perfect. Next to Christ’s suffering love, our loves are but pale reflections! That’s why Christians perpetually confess our sins – admitting we’ve failed to perfectly love God and our neighbors! Never-the-less, it is a beginning!

12) MAKES A DIFFERENCE! And it DOES make a difference! Christ’s love, living in our hearts, reveals the difference between a “calculating” love that is always aware of “what’s in it for me”, …and a love that “does not insist on it’s way.” Christ’s love uncovers the difference between a love that is only warm and glowing the first three years of marriage, …and the love that “never ends”. He exposes the difference between a love that is always conscious of itself, …verses the love that “rejoices in God’s truth”. Jesus and the cross help us realize the difference between a love that thinks it has become perfect, …and one that knows it is in its infancy - seeing only “in part”. Do you see the difference God’s love makes?

13) A GIFT! Now, just as we concluded that faith, and hope were gifts from God – and not something we were capable of manufacturing – so it is with love! If you walk home today saying, “Wow, I’ve got to go home and will myself to love more!” – then you are doomed to failure! But if you turn to God and invite Him to come in and live within you – so too comes His love! And that divine love begins to transform you, direct you, and create within you “more love”, an overflowing love that is not human in origin, but flows into us, then through us into the lives of others. Divine love is a gift! A gift God gives us to experience and then pass on!

14) PENTECOST! Today, on Pentecost Sunday, we usually preach on the Holy Spirit or the Spiritual Gifts that were given and that worked through the disciples to give birth to the church! But first step back and ask yourself; why were these Gifts and the Holy Spirit given? As an expression of divine selfless love - delivered to broken, frail, and weak human beings, that other lost sheep might also be touched by the loving nature of God! Pentecost was another expression of the gift of love! And the receiving of the Holy Spirit along with Spiritual Gifts STILL IS!

15) THE GOD LIFE? Here’s what’s sad: many of us understand the “concept” of God’s love – but we never-the-less resist it, and will not let it grow within us. We fear the transformation it might bring in our lives! Why? Because despite what our heads tell us, our hearts fear living a life of love like Christ’s! Sure we come to church and receive God’s blessings, but the idea of dedicating our entire life to spreading God’s love petrifies some of us! We may deny it, but many of us prefer and chase after what the world calls the “Good life”. We may give a head nod to God’s love, but we are unwilling or unable to receive or give away this gift because our hands are already full – grasping the things that promise us the “Good life.”

16) SELF-SACRIFICING LOVE? Let’s face it, we want comfort, we want financial security, we want to avoid pain and suffering, we want to avoid the hard work of understanding and accepting broken people right where they are! We resist giving our complete life over to Christ, because His kind of love is messy! It means facing the truth about ourselves – and others! Instead of avoiding the darkness we walk boldly into it – holding Christ’s hand and following Him into the pain and suffering of others. Why would we want to do that? Because THAT’S REAL LOVE! It’s self-sacrificing love! …concerned about putting the needs of others before our own comfort! …sacrificing in order to bring Christ’s light and love into dark and empty hearts! …becoming addicted to the constant joy that comes from pouring yourself out for others! That’s REAL LOVE! Self-sacrificing love!

17) REAL LOVE! Real love is what happens when over 20 people spend their Memorial Day Monday making and serving sandwiches to the homeless – (which is what happened just this week!) Real love is what is expressed when time and resources are gladly given in grand quantities to help a brother and sister from Tanzania get married in Washington DC! Real love is a couple giving up the exchange of Christmas presents, so that a life-changing charity may benefit instead. It’s visiting the hospital when you’d rather be watching the game on TV. Real love is reaching out to a changing neighborhood and opening your doors to new cultures, in a way that requires risk-taking, dealing with anxiety concerning the unknown, and constant sacrifice – for no other reason than God asked you to!

18) REAL LOVE II. “Real love” is knowing that everything you have and are belongs to God, and faithful obedience to a giving and generous lifestyle is what makes God smile! Real love wears name tags and seeks out the visitors on Sunday morning, even though you’d rather be talking to your friends, because you know God drew those 1^st time worshipper here for a reason – and it is your calling to discover what it is and to see to their needs! Real love doesn’t wait for the pastor or a committee to find out what happened to some one you haven’t seen in a while – it compassionately calls out of genuine concern! Real love doesn’t give a hoot about the budget, but it gives generously because of the difference their church makes in the lives of needy people, bringing them hope and faith and love!

19) REAL LOVE III. And as much as this may seem strange to some of us,REAL LOVE is NOT about the “Good Life” as described to us on TV – becoming captive to the constant maintenance and protection of our increasing material possessions, burdened by rising financial debt, all your precious time spent at work in order to pay for those glitzy but temporary pleasures, and the endless need to “keep up with the Jones!” Real love is expressed by those who listen to Jesus and seek to go against the grain of the world, actually seeking out a simpler life-style, uncluttered by a lot of unnecessary “stuff”, free to face the truth about us and this broken world! Real love doesn’t moan about the world’s brokenness – it asks God for direction and guidance that injustice might be challenged and corrected! Real love is willing to suffer, so that others don’t have to! Let me ask you – what is in your heart, is it REAL LOVE? Christ’s love? Or is it a worldly contented love centered around your own needs and comfort?

20) IT IS CHRIST! Friends, you were created by God for love! And real love is messy and dirty – its concern is about the other! It’s never-ending and unconditional – even when the other person is obviously broken! Real love is what happened up there (point to cross)! But as we learned from the Easter story – it is truly life-giving …and the “rewards” of fearlessness, joy, and inner peace are greater than anything the world offers! My love, and your love, will never be as perfect as Christ’s was, but He is here this morning - to enter in and begin the transformation that frees us from self! Just like on the first Pentecost, it is Christ that pours His Holy Spirit into all open hearts, that you and I may serve and touch lives in amazing ways! When Christ truly lives in us, we can begin to experience and share a love that 1) does not insist on it’s own way, 2) never ends, 3) rejoices in the truth, and 4) recognizes it is only in it’s infancy – seeing and knowing “in part”. Someday, when we walk through heaven’s gate – our love will be perfected. But then, as is now, it is Christ who brings us the life-giving gift of real love!

Praise God!

AMEN

Sermon/Confessional Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we confess that there are times when we prefer the worldly definitions of love that allow us to chase after comfort, personal desires, and avoid the pain and suffering of others. We admit we prefer to avoid the hard work of understanding and accepting broken people right where they are! We resist giving our complete life over to you, because your kind of love is… well, it’s messy! Forgive us Lord! And empower us to trust you so that we may open our hearts to the love that is life-giving!

Lord, forgive us for avoiding the divine love that reveals the truth about ourselves and others. Forgive us for not following you and walking into the darkness, pain, and suffering of others. Fill us instead with a radical love that puts the concerns of others before our own comforts. Empower us with a self-sacrificing love that brings your light and love into dark and empty hearts! Enable us to experience the constant joy that comes from pouring ourselves out for others!

And now Lord, although you know us better than we know ourselves, listen as we share in a moment of silence, those other parts of our lives that need to be forgiven, washed clean, healed, and recommitted to you! (made anew.)

(Silence)

Lord, we have only to look at the cross to see what true love is all about. Our hearts are open, come and enter in and begin the spiritual transformation that frees us from self! Until our love is perfected, help us to experience and share the love that brings the life-giving Spirit of Pentecost to all those around us! In Jesus Name We Pray. AMEN

Assurance of Forgiveness:

Friends, listen to the good news: The Lord, whose Spirit provides the precious gift of love, …that Lord has mercifully heard your confession and eagerly forgives you all your sins. Go now, and remember – you were created to receive and give love! But not any kind of love – receive and share the love demonstrated on the cross! Christ’s love! Praise God! AMEN

Opening prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, for all the gifts we come here this morning to receive from you – whether it is forgiveness, healing, guidance, faith, or hope – the greatest gift we seek is love. Your love! A love far different from all other kinds. A life-giving love. A love some of us tend to take for granted – but it is a love that is forever, and unconditional! It is a love that brings us inner peace, eliminating our fears and anxieties. It is a gift that forgives, fills the emptiness in our hearts, and assures us that sin, Satan, and death will not have the final say in our lives! It is a love that mere words cannot describe – and yet we stand before you now …wanting it, needing it, and with hearts open to receiving it! Pour your love upon us this morning! Let it fill us, and overflow into the lives of those here, and into the lives of those we will meet this week! As we sing your praises and commune with you this morning – know that we love you – imperfectly to be sure – but we do love you. And we trust you will transform us with your love that we, as individuals and as a church family, might then in turn share the good news with those whose hearts have yet to experience and rejoice in your amazing love! In Jesus Name We Pray! AMEN!

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