Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, January 31, 2010

Text : 1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13

Title : You are to be a lover

During the month of January, the sermons, if you have noticed, if you have been with us, if you haven’t been daydreaming about your friends in Florida, have been on the topic of love.

Last week, as we examined how each part of the body is important—while we would argue that an eye is more important than a finger, just try to pick up your favorite food with your eye—in the same way, every Christian forms the one body of Christ and, thus, every Christian is important.

As the Holy Spirit directed Paul to conclude the illustration, you Christians are to desire the higher gifts. I told you that the higher gifts are faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love because, in the coming resurrection to Paradise, you will no longer need faith or hope, but you will always love.

Now, look at the opening words from today’s epistle, as we continue to work our way through First Corinthians. Paul begins, "I will show you a still more excellent way." What is the more excellent way? The whole conversation is about love.

How does this apply to you? If you are a father—oh, why do I tend to pick on fathers, first? Because, you fathers are the heads of your families, and your example leads your families—so, if you are a father, and you can point to yourself as a good provider, but your behavior to your wife or children does not match up with what a hard worker you are, then you are nothing.

Oh, if I only had a Little Caesar’s gift card for every time a woman defended her husband by telling me that he’s a good provider.

The reason your wife is talking to me is because about all you are good for is providing, and she is not happy. The amount of love that you show to her, and to your children, is not measured in miles, or gallons, or years, but in inches, and teaspoons, and minutes.

All of this is also true for plenty of wives, and scads of children, and co-workers, and neighbors, and classmates. A student is quick to point out how many shots he made for the team in winning the basketball game, and a worker relishes reminding his co-workers how his idea is saving the company money, and the wife and mother will rant to her husband and kids how she is the one who works both day and night to feed and clean and wash and everything under the roof . . .

And, all the while, the children, the co-workers, the classmates, are thinking, "But, we can’t stand to be around you because you are not a nice person. You are full of yourself. You are selfish. You are mean. You wouldn’t know a kind word if it came to you imprinted on a Valentine’s Day heart."

See, friends, love is not being smart, a hard worker, a good shooter. Love is being patient. Love is being kind. Fathers, are you patient with your wives and children? Mothers and children, are you patient with each other? Everyone, are you known as a kind person?

If not, why not? Why would you not be patient and kind? Do you like it when people are quick to judge you and jump down your throat? Please, raise your hand if that’s fine with you. I want to finally meet a person who doesn’t mind the short fuse of a husband, a wife, a friend, a co-worker.

If you don’t like it when others have a short fuse with you, when they won’t shut up so that you can explain, when they reply, "Oh, I know exactly how it is," then why would you ever be that way with your wife, your husband, your children, your friends, your co-workers?

The same goes for kindness. In my book, next to being a Christian, the best thing that you can be known for is being a kind person. Who doesn’t want to be known as being kind, nice, considerate . . . patient.

Not one who envies. Or boasts. Neither arrogant nor rude. Never insisting on his own way. Not irritable. Not rude. Not one to rejoice at wrongdoing, but one who rejoices with the truth. One who bears all things, believes all things, hope all things, endures all things.

All things, for, you see, love never ends. Love knows no ends, no limits, no boundary markings. Love never says, "I’ll go this far with you, but then I’m done." No, love says, "I’m in it for the duration, because I love you."

You fathers, husbands, men: what happens when you are no longer able to be good providers? Who will take care of you? Who will love to take care of you? If you don’t demonstrate all of the attributes of love, when you are these good providers, your children won’t give a hoot about you when you are old. Get used to enjoying life in the Long Term care unit, because it will be spent trying to get your roommate to hear you complaining about how loud he has the volume on his television. The evening of your lives won’t be spent at home, with a wife who could never send you off to a nursing home, or children who would love to have you in their home, or, if you do require the care of a nursing home, your time there won’t be spent with the constant visits of your wives and children—not if you don’t cultivate relationships of love, while it is still daytime.

Here is where it really has to go, you men, you women, you children: it has to speak to your Christianity. If you do not possess these attributes of love—if you couldn’t care less about being patient and kind, or desire to root out all of your arrogance and irritability and resentfulness, or work at cultivating a spirit of endurance —then you need to ask yourself if you really are a Christian.

See, the word Christian means one who belongs to Christ. How can you belong to Christ, if you are not like Christ?

Is Jesus a hothead? Is Jesus mean? Does Jesus envy? Does Jesus boast? Is He either arrogant or rude? Does Jesus throw a fit if He doesn’t get His own way? Is He easily irritated by your sinful behavior? Does He resent you?

Will you ever find Jesus rejoicing with the wrongdoing of the devil, the world, or your sinful nature? Does not Jesus only and always rejoice with that which is true?

Doesn’t Jesus bear all things for you, just as He bore all things for you, upon the cross?

Doesn’t Jesus believe, and hope, and endure all things on your behalf, so that you can believe in His death for your forgiveness, hope in His resurrection for your own resurrection, and endure this life so that you make it to the safety and beauty of everlasting life?

Does Jesus’ love for you ever end?

Ah, but you argue, Jesus is perfect. He’s God. He can do it. But you? You’re only human.

Bunk to that! Where does God ever give you permission to be less than perfect? When does God teach, "Love yourself the way you want your neighbor to love you, but don’t worry about your neighbor’s feelings"?

Of course, you are right. You can’t perfect the attributes of love. Your sinful nature won’t allow it. However, that fact never, ever, in your whole life, gives you permission to strive for anything less than all of these attributes of love. Get that defense out of your mouth: I’m only human. God never wants to hear it.

What God wants to hear from you Christians is repentance. He wants to hear true and sorrow-filled confession when you are quick-tempered, when you are mean, when you are too tired to be anything but irritable, when your love knows very strict and narrow boundaries. Then, He wants to see change. Change in your behavior shows that you mean it.

You never have permission to be anyone but a lover—a patient, kind person. But, when you have the Savior, who is the perfect lover—Jesus, who is always patient with you, and kind to you—you have a place to go to be relieved of your sin and set back upon the pathway of love.

You go back to His gift of Holy Baptism. The day you were baptized is the day that He united you in His love, giving you His Holy Spirit, so that, through the forgiveness of sins and faith in Christ, you really can be patient and kind.

You go back to His gift of Holy Communion. Every time you eat and drink Christ’s body and blood, you eat and drink God’s perfect love of patience and kindness, which does three things in you: forgives your sins, strengthens your faith, and enables you to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

And, you go back to the spoken Gospel, which fills this worship service—which is what I am speaking to you, in this portion of the sermon. Every time you hear the Good News of Jesus Christ—that His life was given into death so that your life can be redeemed for eternity—He renews you in His perfect love.

You are Christians. You belong to Jesus Christ. You possess His eternal gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. You are owners of His perfect love.

His patience toward you moves you to show patience toward your wives, your husbands, your children, your parents, your friends, your co-workers, even to strangers. His kindness toward you moves you to be kind to all.

His patience. His kindness. His love. These are yours, for you belong to Him, Jesus Christ, who is love. He is the love of your eternal life. Amen.