1 Corinthians 13:1-13
People of Love
James Sledge February
3, 2019
Way
back in the spring of 1981, not long after Shawn and I had gotten engaged, we
were visiting at her parents for the weekend. They lived in Gaffney, SC, only
an hour from Charlotte, so we went down there often. And as we typically did on
such visits, we attended worship at First Baptist Church in Gaffney, the church
where Shawn had grown up.
We
had begun thinking about wedding particulars, where the reception would be, who
the bridesmaids and groomsmen were, and the elements of the service itself.
Like a lot of people, we had agreed we wanted the words from today’s scripture
reading used in the wedding, and as we sat in the pews, waiting for worship to
begin on that Sunday morning, I opened up a pew Bible and began to search for
the passage.
I
knew the Bible somewhat, and I was reasonably sure that the passage was in one
of Paul’s letters. I thought it was in 1 Corinthians, but after flipping
repeatedly through its pages, I couldn’t locate it. I may have expanded my search
to other books of the Bible – I don’t really remember – but obviously I didn’t find it there either.
Only
later did I discover why I couldn’t find the passage, even though I had been
looking in the right place. In 1981, First Baptist Church of Gaffney still had
King James Bibles in their pews, and in the King James translation, 1
Corinthians 13 reads differently. Though I speak with the tongues of men and
angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling
cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries,
and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove
mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing… And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these
three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Not
exactly the sort of thing to sound all romantic at a wedding ceremony. We still
used the Corinthians passage at our wedding, but not from the King James. In my
twenty some years as a pastor, I’ve probably used this 1 Corinthians passage
more than any other at weddings I’ve done. Always, of course, with a translation
that says “love,” although I typically point out that this isn’t about romantic
love.
When
Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, I assure you that none of the Corinthians
thought Paul was talking about romance. For starters, Paul uses a word for
which there is no real English counterpart. That word does not mean “charity,”
but neither does is have any connotations of romance. The word was not really
used much outside of Christian circles where it came to be closely associated
with God’s love for us in Christ. A few people even suggest translating the
term as “Christ-like love.”
On
top of that, Paul writes these words to chastise and correct the Corinthians.
He speaks of a Christ-like love that is patient, that is not arrogant or rude,
that does not insist on its own way, that is not resentful, because he has
received reports about the Corinthians not showing this sort of love. Instead
they are bickering over the who the correct theology or the best spiritual
gifts. They are dividing into camps. They are proud of what they see as their
sophisticated understanding of the faith, and are openly dismissive of those
they deem not as smart or sophisticated as themselves.
Paul
has already made abundantly clear to the Corinthians that their fascination
with speaking in tongues is misplaced. Paul puts it at the bottom of his list
of spiritual gifts, largely because it isn’t something that strengthens the
whole church, the body. But now Paul makes clear that without Christ-like love,
no spiritual gift, no amount of theological sophistication, no level of
knowledge and understanding, no angelic voice, no miraculous power means
anything at all. Without Christ-like love, the things the Corinthians are so
proud of, the things they want so badly to attain, are nothing.
I’ve
only met a couple of Presbyterians who claimed to have spoken in tongues. You
could spend your entire life in a Presbyterian church and the topic never arise
other than when it appears in a scripture reading. Presbyterians tend to value
other things. We like words. Specifically we like to get our words just so.
When ordaining pastors, elders, or deacons, some other denomination might ask,
“Do you trust in the Bible?” But we ask, “Do you accept the Scriptures of the
Old and New Testament to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique an authoritative
witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God’s Word to you?”[1]
Now there is something to be said for
such care, precision, and nuance in understanding faith, Scripture, and so on.
I’m all for a theology that is well thought out, representing the best possible
understanding of faith. But as Paul points out, none of that really matters
without Christ-like love. If our theology, our liturgies, our spiritual
practices, our music, our buildings, and so on are not about and for sharing
Christ-like love, they really don’t mean very much. But when we are filled with
Christ-like love, when such love abides in us and in our being the church, then
the risen, living Christ is present to the world in us.
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Not
so long ago, many of you participated in Renew groups that met in members’
homes. The Session took the input from those groups and produced a summary that
we shared with the congregation to make sure we had heard correctly. That
summary helped lead us to the missional mandate about gathering those who fear
they are not enough that is printed on the bulletin cover. That summary also
included this suggestion. “Perhaps, we are called to be a church for recovering
perfectionists. A place where we can rest, where we are enough, where we are
fully known, and wholly and completely loved, by God.”
I
wonder if that is not a bit of an echo of Paul’s words reminding us that in the
end, only faith hope and love remain, and the greatest is Christ-like love. We
are loved and embraced by God, not because we are good enough or accomplished
enough or impressive enough, but because God is so loving. In Christ, God seeks
us, whoever we are, longing for us to know what it mean to be a beloved child
of God.
Similarly, when we are filled with the
love of God in Christ and reflect that love to the world, loving and embracing others
because that is what God’s love does, then we truly become Christ’s body,
Christ’s living presence in the world.
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Here
before you, the table is ready. The risen Jesus invites all to the feast. Here
God’s love is poured out for all who wish to receive it. You do not have to be
good enough, or rich enough, or pretty enough, or any sort of enough. God’s
love for you simply is.
And
when we have received such love, when we abide in that love and it abides in us,
we will embrace others in God’s love. We will become more patient and kind, not
insisting on our own way. And more will be gathered in, and more will come to
know grace, wholeness, and renewal as God’s beloved.
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