Message: We Belong

I am taking a class on Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah.  To begin class tonight, we read David's last prayer, as recorded in Chronicles.  A few years ago, I shared a message with the youth group at Southeast based on a portion of that prayer.  Here's my message.

1 Chronicles 29:1-17

So, to give you a little history into what has been going on in 1 Chronicles, basically, one day King David was thinking about how he lived in a palace made of cedar.  He said to himself, “Wow, I live in a palace made of cedar, but the ark of the covenant, which is a symbol of God’s presence, dwells in a little tent.  So I want to build a temple for the Lord to house the ark of the covenant.”  The prophet Nathaniel told David, “Go for it!”  But that night, God told Nathaniel to tell David this:  “There have been many kings before you, David, and none of them have desired to build me a house.  No; instead, I am going to build you a house—your throne will endure forever!”  And David said, “Who am I, that I should receive this blessing after a blessing?”

Later, God told David that he would not build the temple because he was a warrior, and had shed blood.  Instead, David’s son Solomon would build the temple because he would be a king of peace, and God would give Solomon’s reign peace.

So, in 1 Chronicles 29, we see David telling the people, “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced.  The task is great, because this palatial structure (or palace) is not for man but for the LORD God.” 

And David then presents all of his gifts of devotion to the Lord for the building of the temple:  gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, turquoise, and much more.  As beautiful as this temple was going to be, though, it was not for man, but for the Lord.  Have you seen the new bridge that has been constructed downtown?  It’s a beautiful bridge.  And downtown has many beautiful buildings.  But they were built for man.  They were built so that, when people look at them, people will say, “San Diego is such a sweet city.”  

This temple, though, was not built for man—it was built for God.  And all of these precious stones David is giving is not for men’s approval, but for God’s.

After David says all that he gives, he asks the people, “Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the LORD?”

The word consecrate contains another word buried in it:  “sacred,” or in another word, “holy.”  To consecrate oneself is to become holy, or set apart—in other words, to give ourselves to God, who is the Holy One.  Just as King David gave of his resources to the Lord, David is now asking, who among us will give of our resources—not only that, but our actual selves—to the Lord?

What do you have that you can give to the Lord?  Do you have gold, or silver?  Your time?  Your talents, your passion, your thoughts, your emotions?

And just as the Lord chose King Solomon to construct a temple for the Lord, what do you sense the Lord has chosen you to build or do for him?

When I read this passage, sometimes I think about a book that I am writing.  I wonder if perhaps God is asking me, choosing me to write this book, or build this little temple, for the Lord.  It’s hard to know sometimes when the Lord asks us to do things.  I think a key verse to think about when considering what we do for the Lord is verse 1:  “The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the LORD God.”  

Writing a book can often be for man and not for God.  For the longest time, my motivation for writing and for being a good writer has been so that I can become famous one day.  So that one day, your grandchildren will read my stories in their textbooks in school.  But I think I’m missing the point of what the gift of writing is for.  God gives us gifts so that we can give them back to him, and the purpose of writing is not so that we can be admired by fellow people, but so that we can minister to others, proclaiming the good news and building up the body of Christ. 

So, if you are wondering if the Lord is choosing you for a certain task, whether it is building a temple or writing a book or joining a band or getting a job or being a good friend, I’d recommend sharing that with a friend or mentor, as well as praying about it and reading God’s word to see if it is something that the Lord is choosing you to do.  And if you don’t have a sense yet of what God is choosing you to do, that’s alright, too.  God works in us in different ways and at different times, and maybe God is preparing you right now for a work he will one day choose you to do.

Next we move on to verses 6-9.  After David gives his resources for the temple, we read that the leaders of the families, the commanders, officers, and officials give willingly, too.  “Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the LORD in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.  The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD.” 

When the leaders give, then the people rejoice.  I think of the leaders of this church—Pastor Steve and Vonda, the youth leaders, the children’s workers, the worship bands, Brother Mack and Sister Maggie, Mario, and others—who give of themselves to the Lord.  Mario, the caretaker, giving his hands for the church.  Brother Mack and Sister Maggie giving their hands to drive their van for camp and men’s retreat.  They are giving of themselves, consecrating themselves, willingly to the Lord.  And as they do this, as we do this, the whole church rejoices.  The temple they are building is the church, the Lord’s temple in which Christ dwells.

Eventually, the temple that King Solomon built got destroyed.  And another temple was built, and that was destroyed by the Romans.  But the Bible tells us that now, we, the church, are the temple of the Lord and that Jesus Christ dwells in us.  We are the stones of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, sapphire, turquoise, and more—but we’re living stones, breathing, aching, growing, living.  

So I ask you, now, who is willing to consecrate him or herself today to the Lord?  To become part of this living temple in which Christ dwells?  To give of yourself for the growing of the temple? 

And notice that word “willing.”  When the leaders give, they give “willingly” and “wholeheartedly” to the Lord.  It’s not something that we do because we’re supposed to.  Giving ourselves to the Lord is not something we do because we feel pressured by our youth leaders or parents to do it.  We give because we desire to.  We are willing to, wholeheartedly.  It’s a desire that God gives us to do.  God has given us the grace to want to.

Now I’d like us to read verses 14-17.  King David prays to the Lord, “O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.”  

King David realizes humbly that all of these resources they are giving God belongs to the Lord.  At the end of the word “belong” is the word “long.”  To long for something is to deeply desire it, to desire it the way one wishes for water after a hot day of working, or the way one wishes to be home. 

We can belong to many things, and many things can belong to us.  For instance, if someone wrote a song, that song would belong to them, because the words and the music came from their heart.  If someone stole the song, the song would still belong to the original writer.  If someone kidnapped us, too, we would still belong to our parents, right?  And if the devil tricked us, and we followed his lies, we would still belong to the Lord, because the Lord created us and will never leave us or let go of us.

We also belong to each other.  And we belong to each other because we belong to God.  God created us—he created the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, and so everything in this universe belongs to God.  Not only does God own us, God is our home.  He is our source, the way a songwriter is the source to the lyrics of a song. 

In the same way, all that we can give to the Lord, like our time, talents, gold, thoughts, emotions, belong to God.  They come from him, so they belong to him.  Sometimes, I can think about things so much that the thoughts cycle in my head like a tornado.  Sometimes they get overwhelming.  But I need to remember that even these thoughts belong to the Lord.  I’m not saying God gave me these thoughts; some of them are dark thoughts.  But still, God gave me my mind, and the ability to think, and God gave me words, through which I think thoughts, and emotions and memories, which empower my thoughts, and when I give my thoughts to God in prayer, I understand the truth about them, that they do not have power over me because God has power over them and me, and that they and I belong to God.  

King David realizes the truth that without the Lord, “Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.”  

So, I ask you, now, who is willing to consecrate yourself today to the Lord?  Who is willing to set ourselves apart, to give ourselves and all that we have to the Lord?  Are you?  We give to the Lord because the Lord has given us all that we have and all that we are, even the ability and desire to give to the Lord, because all of us and all that is inside of us belong to the Lord.

"Here I am. . . I have come to do your will, O God."

Last Sunday at Southeast Church of the Nazarene, Pastor Steve preached from Hebrews 10:5-10, which was a scripture reading chosen by the universal church for the Sunday before this year's Christmas.  Hebrews 10 has been on my mind lately; I recently wrote a post after hearing another compelling sermon based on that chapter.  Here I want to offer my own meditation on the passage, with thanks to the three preachers who preceded me, the third being the unknown author of Hebrews.

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.
Then I said, 'Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll--
I have come to do your will, O God.'"
verses 5-7, NIV

I am compelled by Christ's words upon entering the world:  "Here I am. . . I have come to do your will, O God."  When I see the words "Here I am," I think of when God called the prophets Samuel and Isaiah to proclaim God's word, and they each responded "Here I am."  I also think of when God tested Abraham.  God called, "Abraham!" and Abraham said, "Here I am" (Gen. 22:1).  Then God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.  To make a long story short, Abraham was about to kill Isaac when an angel of the Lord called, "Abraham!  Abraham!" and Abraham said again, "Here I am."  God then provided Abraham a ram to sacrifice as a burnt offering instead of Isaac (Gen. 22:11-13).

Each of these people were called to do God's will.  For Samuel and Isaiah, God's will was to proclaim God's word to specific people.  For Abraham, God's will was, as I see it, to trust God to the point of offering Abraham's son, whom Abraham loved and in whom he had a future.  In response to their calls, Samuel, Isaiah, and Abraham said, "Here I am."

So it was with Jesus.  What was God's will for Jesus?  Here is all the author of Hebrews says:  "And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all" (v. 10).  Was it God's will to make us holy?  Or that Jesus sacrifice his body on the cross?  Or something else?  It is not clear.  But what is clear is that as a result of God's will, we have been made whole, rejoined to God, through Jesus' sacrifice forever.  Our offenses against God have been canceled; our relationships with God and one another have been restored to harmony. 

Just as the prophets, Abraham, and Jesus were called, I believe we too are called to do God's will.  What is God's will for us?  Paul says God's will for us in Christ is that we be joyful always, always pray, and give thanks in all situations (1 Thess. 5:16-18).  When Jesus' disciples asked what God required of them, Jesus said that God's work was to believe in the one God had sent (John 6:29).  (What does it mean to believe in Jesus?  That would be fun to explore in a future post.)  The prophet Micah says that what is good and what the Lord requires of us is "to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with [our] God" (Micah 6:8, NRSV).  Those are just some passages that come to mind.  

Does God have a specific will for my life beyond what I said in the previous paragraph and beyond the greatest commandment of loving God and loving my neighbor as I love myself?  Does God call me to something as God called the prophets, Abraham, and Jesus?  Personally, discerning God's will has been an adventure, and I am still learning how to listen and respond.  I have made mistakes, and I have discovered truth thanks to God's whispers in my heart and the help of friends and guides.  I hope that, like the prophets, Abraham, and Jesus, I too respond to God's call with a life which says "Here I am.  I have come to do your will, O God."

God, thank you for Jesus, who has taken away the sin of the world.  Help us to discern your will, and may we follow through on what you have already revealed your will to be.  May your presence, love, joy, and peace come in all their fullness, and may your will be done in the world as it is in your realm.

Waiting for the Coming of Christ (sermon)

Last Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, I preached the following message, "Waiting for the Coming of Christ," at West Richmond Friends Meeting. 

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9, NIV). 


This passage was written by Peter to Christians and meetings scattered throughout the world.  He writes, “Though you have not seen Jesus, you love him.”  This is a bold statement to make.  How does Peter know these believers love Jesus?

Peter, of course, had seen Jesus, and knew of his own love for Jesus.  Peter had been called by Jesus to leave his job as a fisherman to gather people into God’s reign.  Peter had seen Jesus heal his mother-in-law from a sickness.  Peter had seen Jesus walk on water—and walked on water himself, for a little bit.  Peter knew about Jesus’ death, and was there when Jesus revealed his resurrected self to his disciples.

The believers Peter was writing to, on the other hand, hadn’t seen Jesus.  They had only heard stories about him.  They had come to know God through faith in Jesus, and in Jesus’ name had received power to live as God’s children in the world.  But did they love Jesus, whom they had not seen?  It’s much easier to love someone you have seen than someone you haven’t.  Most of the people I love are people I have actually met.

The same issue arises with the next part of the passage:  “And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him.”  How does Peter know these Christians believe in Jesus?  Did Peter visit each meeting, asking each person what their theological positions or doubts were? 

I think the reason Peter knows that these Christians love and believe in Jesus is because of their very identity as meetings, gathering together to worship God.  They met regularly, maybe once a week, living and sharing life together, serving their communities, loving one another as they had been loved.  It was probably during one of their worship services that they read Peter’s letter.  Also, Jesus had said, “Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”  So Peter knows and can say confidently that these meetings love and believe in Jesus.

Further, I think loving someone and believing in someone go hand in hand.  You love someone you believe in, and when you believe in someone, you love them.


“You believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Peter says that they are filled with joy because they are receiving the goal of their faith, the salvation of their souls.  I would here like to explore the word “salvation.”  The root of the word is “save.”  When people are saved, two things happen.  First, they are rescued from some kind of destruction.  Second, as a result of being rescued, they are then able to live their lives as they were meant to be lived.  For instance, if a child is lost in the woods, someone saves that child by finding and guiding the child home, delivering the child from danger.  The child’s being saved implies that the child can now live apart from fear, returning to a whole life. 

I understand “the salvation of your souls” to mean that these believers’ deepest, truest selves are being healed of their wounds, restored to completion, and brought to maturity in their identity as children of God.  Peter says this is the goal of their faith, the very reason they gather to worship God and why they love and believe in Jesus.  This is being given to them as a gift from God, and fills them with “an inexpressible and glorious joy.”

Again, how does Peter know they are filled with joy?  Personally, joy seems to me to come and go based on circumstance.  At the same time, I detect that there is joy dwelling in me even when I do not recognize it.  I believe that that of God is in each of us, and if so, then so does joy, because joy is of God, and perhaps the more we pay attention to God, the more we come in contact with that joy.  I think Peter can confidently say these believers are filled with joy because he has faith in God’s work among them to bring about wholeness among them on their deepest level.  For Peter, their joy comes from knowing that God is cultivating their souls to maturity.

Peter also says that this joy is “inexpressible,” so here is probably a good place for me to stop trying to explain it.


What does this have to do with Advent? 

Advent means “coming,” and is the time when Christians remember and celebrate the coming of Christ in two ways.  First, we remember how the Israelites waited for the Messiah and how Mary and Joseph waited for Jesus to be born.  We look back to how Mary herself was filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy when she was filled with the Son of God.  Second, we wait for the promised coming again of Christ to our world. 

First Peter 1:8-9 comes at the end of a larger passage in which Peter actually writes about this coming again of Christ, although instead of using the word “coming,” he uses the verb “reveal.” 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than precious gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9, NIV

This passage is oriented towards the revealing of Jesus Christ, the coming again of Christ, when the believers will be honored for the genuineness of their faith, which is currently being tested and refined through “all kinds of trials.”  Peter is saying that the suffering they are going through is actually contributing to the goal of their faith because it is making their faith mature. 

As a student, I see a parallel between this time of waiting for the coming of Christ and finals week, which is this week for ESR students.  During finals week, we students go through suffering of one kind as we study, write papers, and take tests in the effort to achieve the goals of our being students:  finishing and passing our classes, and learning and becoming mature, or at least more mature than when we started.  This time of stress contributes to our learning process, because through taking these tests we learn what we are supposed to learn.  In the back of our minds, we know that Christmas break is coming, when we not only find rest, but know that we have finished the work we are here to do, completing our classes and learning all we were supposed to have learned for this period of time.  Knowing that break is coming gives us hope.

Peter is writing to these meetings who are going through their own kind of finals week, during which they are waiting for the coming of Christ, finishing what they are here to do, enduring their trials, and becoming people complete in God’s image.

I believe that Peter’s words to these believers are for us, today.  Though you have not seen Jesus, you love him.  And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

You may wonder if you really love God, and you may have doubts about your faith.  But Peter says that you do love and believe in God and in Jesus.  You are being filled with joy because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the wholeness of your innermost being.  God is faithful, cultivating you into maturity so that you may finish your faith journeys completely.  I do not know why exactly God is doing this, but I do know that God loves you.  The trials you are going through may actually be making your faith genuine so that when Christ comes, not only will Christ be honored, but you too will be honored for the kind of person you have become through your trials and through God’s working in you. 
   

Waiting worship is one of the main ways we love and believe in God.  In our time of waiting, may we wait for the promised coming of Christ into our world, and for the coming of Christ’s presence in our midst in even this hour.  And may we also be filled with the joy of knowing that God is working among us so that just as Christ is coming, we too are coming to be revealed alongside Christ in our full identity as children of God. 

As we enter waiting worship, may we wait for the One who has already been waiting for us, and may we grow in deeper love for the One who first loved us.

Making Things Holy and Whole

In today's programmed worship service at ESR, Michael Sherman preached from Hebrews 10 about sacrifice.  Michael argued that Jesus' death on the cross was the final sacrifice and that God no longer desires Christians to sacrifice, but rather to give of ourselves willingly.

This resurfaced some questions I have been asking since being in seminary:  What was and is the meaning of Jesus' death on the cross?  How did or does Jesus' death save us?  What does it mean for Christians to sacrifice?  Perhaps exploring the very word "sacrifice" will help.

Sacrifice comes from "sacra," which means holy, and "facere," which can mean to make, to do, or to perform.1  "Holy," it is important to note, comes from "hale," which means health, heartiness, wholeness.2  Literally, to sacrifice means to make or do something something holy, something whole. 

If Jesus' death on the cross was a sacrifice, then Jesus' death was something holy and whole, or it made some thing or things holy and whole--or both.  As I understand it, this is consistent with the gospel.  Christians proclaim that Jesus' death on the cross has reconciled humanity and God.  Some say that his death has reconciled the whole world with God.  That through Jesus' death, we receive forgiveness of sins, and through Jesus' wounds we are healed.  That the cross has dismantled the wall between Jew and Gentile.  Jesus' death is holy and whole because it makes us holy and whole.  If his death did none of these things, then it would not be holy; it would not be a sacrifice.

How does Jesus' death make us holy?  In my theology class last semester we learned about the classical theories of atonement.  First is the New Testament teaching about sacrifice, rooted in the Jewish tradition of sacrificing lambs for the forgiveness of sins, in which Jesus is the sacrificial lamb whose blood covers humanity's sins once and for all.  In the Ransom/Classic/Christus Victor Theory, Satan has dominion over human souls, so God offers Jesus' life to Satan in exchange for human souls.  But God tricks Satan by raising Jesus from the dead, thus winning complete victory over death and evil.  The Satisfaction/Objective Theory states that our disobedience has dishonored God to such an extent that humans can do nothing to satisfy our debt.  Only God can pay this debt, and does through Jesus, who is both human (thus he can die) and divine (thus his death fully pays back our debt).  Finally, the Moral Influence/Subjective Theory teaches that Jesus' death is an example of God's love for us, and that it should inspire us to turn from our sinfulness, seek God's forgiveness, and receive God's love.  Without Jesus' death, we would not be moved to so change.  These are not the only theories, no doubt, and I do not think they completely answer the question of how Jesus' death makes us holy because I think holiness is about more than only the forgiveness of sins.  Still, each of the theories, although in different ways, proclaim that somehow Jesus' death makes us one, or whole, with God. 

For Christians, Jesus' sacrifice is the act of holiness which changes everything.  But is it the final sacrifice, the final act of holiness?  Michael objected to someone doing something self-giving for another person with the expectation or requirement that the other person do something in return.  I think Michael's objection was because such an action is not healthy for relationships; it is not done in love, but in fear and selfishness.  Such an action, however, is not a whole or holy work, and thus it is not a sacrifice.  Rather, it is expression of a need, or manipulation, disguised as sacrifice.  I agree that God does not desire us to do such actions, but rather works done in obedience to God, in genuineness, in willingness, and in love.  I would call these works sacrifices.  I believe that Jesus went to the cross willingly in obedience to God, and not out of fear that God would damn him if he didn't, and not to guilt humanity into being good.  As horrible as he knew it would be, Jesus offered himself in the joy of knowing that his death would bring us peace.  I also believe that Jesus loved God and knew God's love for him and so obeyed God in love.

What does it look like for Christians to sacrifice?  What do we do that is holy and whole, or makes some thing or things holy and whole?  What contributes to the wholeness and completion of ourselves and the world?  An author pouring herself into a novel can be sacrifice.  A caregiver tending someone in pain can be sacrifice.  Also, playing ping pong with a friend can be sacrifice.  Worshiping in silence can be sacrifice.  Perhaps what makes these things sacrifices is love.  As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13, all the actions in the world, even the most self-giving ones, are meaningless without love.  Love makes a work holy and whole.

Our sacrifice shares in the same meaning as Jesus' death because both are done in love and contribute to reconciling that which is estranged from God with God.  Our sacrifice is our ministry, in wonderfully various forms, our cross that we take up and through which we live and share life with others.  Our sacrifice is our willingness to offer ourselves in obedience to God, wherever God may lead us--and our following through. 

The worship service ended with the hymn "When I Survey the Wond'rous Cross," which concludes with the following words:

"Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all!"

In receiving the love of God, we are invited to wholly offer ourselves to the Life, and so become holy and whole. While Jesus' death was, according to the author of Hebrews, the end of one kind of sacrifice, the burnt offering sacrifice, Christians are called to be living sacrifices:  vessels of love whose lives are holy and whole, people who, in obedience to and participation with God, make things holy and whole.



1 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sacrifice?s=t
2 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/holy?s=t

Abiding in Love Abiding in Us

This morning in Sunday School, we read 1 Corinthians 13, the famous “love chapter.”  I would like to share a few thoughts inspired by our discussion.

Before diving in, I think it important to mention that, though I think this chapter can and does apply to committed relationships and marriages, Paul is not writing about romantic love but godly love, which should flow between and be expressed among all relationships for Christians.

Consider how Paul defines love:  “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.  It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:4-7).1   Paul gives love a character sketch.  Paul says, "This is what Love looks like; now you should be better able to recognize Love walking down the street."  We learn best by example, so Paul gives us the example of Love by which to model our lives.  This character, Love, does not celebrate hurtfulness but the truth.  Love perseveres and trusts in the goodness that God has planted in all things.  Love is defined not by individual characteristics, but by how Love responds and gives in relationship to others. 

Paul’s character sketch of love is surrounded by two passages about various forms of ministry among the community of believers.  In verses 1-3, Paul says that if he speaks earthly and heavenly languages, if he prophecies the truth and understands deep secrets of the universe and God, if he works miracles greater than Jesus or Moses ever did, but has not love, his words and actions are hollow.  If he gives all that he owns to the poor and is martyred for his faith but has not love, his sacrifices are meaningless.

This reminds me of the word of God through the prophet Amos:

"I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."
Amos 5:21-24

Celebrations, gifts offered to God, and the chords of a hymn are good things, but they are not good on their own.  They are good when their source is a community whose relationships align with justice and righteousness, a community dwelling in love.

Paul's message is important for people participating in ministry.  Is there love in my service?  I may write a blog post that is so doctrinally sound that it makes Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics seem nearly heretical; I may visit a sick person in a hospital and in so doing, visit Christ; I may even heal the divides between congregations and nations, but if I have not love, my words are clanging pots and pans, and my actions are plastic food.

The way we do things, the manner or spirit in which we act, is just as important if not more important than the actions themselves.  

In verse 8, Paul writes that while prophecies, tongues, and knowledge will cease, “love never ends.”  Our ministries and communities, on their own, are like all mortal things in that they will end.  My blog post will conclude with footnotes.  The worship service will reach its final note, and after singing it, we will move onto other tasks that await us that day.  A fellowship may stop gathering; a group of friends that I have come to love may one day scatter.  But when we do our work for God in love, when we relate to one another in love, our love is carried, and maybe along with it our work and our relationships too, on into the fathomless depths of the future.

How, then, do we minister in love?  How do we become loving people and communities?  Paul does not directly answer those questions in this chapter.  However, at the end of the chapter, Paul does say “And now faith, hope, and love abide” (v. 13).  It is interesting that he is translated as using the verb “abide,” which comes from the Old English “abidan,” which means to wait, remain, dwell (as in “biding my time”).2  Love lingers, sits waiting in the living room, stands at the street corner looking for the bus.  This suggests that the love of God is waiting for us.  It lives and moves inside and around us, and as we respond in acceptance to it, we become more like love; we become more patient, more kind, and so on; we become more loving.

In other words, love is the host and we are the guests.  Love is first; we are second.  Love is entrusted to us, and the more we are faithful with it, the more love we are given.  Like all relationships, love is a gift, one that must be accepted, treasured, and cultivated.  As 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because [God] first loved us.”  The Bible expresses in many ways God’s love for us; two core examples are God’s delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, and God’s reconciling the world to God and to itself through the suffering and resurrection of Jesus the Anointed One.  In addition, we can and should read our own experiences for expressions of God's love for us.  Because Christians have been so loved, we are called to love one another, people outside of our communities, and even those who hate us.  Because the world has been so loved, might this not also be God's call to the world?

God, whose love waits for us, help us to abide in love, so that we may abide in you, and that you may abide in us.



1 NRSV.
2 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/abide?s=t.