What is Love?

February 3^rd, 2019    “What is Love?”     Rev. Heather Jepsen

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 and Luke 4:21-30

         This morning’s readings are a continuation of where we left off last week.  Last week we read chapter 12 in Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth, where he compares the church to the body of Christ, reminding us that every member is of value.  We also looked at Jesus’ teaching at the Nazareth synagogue in Luke’s gospel, where he read about the Messiah from the scroll of Isaiah and claimed that those words were fulfilled in his presence.  Last week we realized that the Messiah in Luke asks a lot of us; to bring good news to the poor, freedom to the oppressed, and release to the captives.  This week we will look deeper into this call of the church by looking at love.

         So, what is love?  Our reading from Paul, 1 Corinthians 13 is most famous for its use at weddings.  Some will argue that this text has no place at weddings because it was not written for that but I would disagree.  Verses 4-7 detailing the things that love is or is not is a perfect text for weddings.  Kindness, patience, humbleness, flexibility, forgiveness, and truthfulness are wonderful things to work on in any relationship.  This is a beautiful scripture for a wedding, and a good reminder for all of us whose marriages are going on a few years now.

         But, of course, this wasn’t written for a wedding, it was written for a church and when we read it that way it begins to take on some new meanings.  Paul begins the chapter with arguments about greatness based on the practices of faith that would be honored within the church community.  To speak in tongues, to have prophetic powers, to understand the mysteries of God and have knowledge and faith, to practice abundant generosity, and to even suffer martyrdom were all practices that would be highly valued in the church community.  Just like today, people value good preachers, good teachers, those of deep faith, and those of great charisma.  Paul is arguing that all of these things, all of these traits that we lift up and honor in the church, are worthless without love.  We can know everything, do anything, be anyone for God, but if we don’t have love in our hearts it is all a wash.

         And then we have those verses that could apply to a wedding or to life in the church.  This is basically just good behavior.  “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.”  This would be a great life philosophy or mantra for anyone, it’s a good way to try to live.

         Then we have this section on how love never ends, and that is where things get harder to understand.  Paul tells us that the things the church lifts up and honors, the things the church relies and trusts in; these things will end.  Prophecy, will come to an end.  Tongues will cease.  Even knowledge, (knowledge?!?) will come to an end.    We’ve taken a sharp turn from the warm fuzzies of “love is” here!  This line of thought is threatening to the church.  Paul is telling us that the things the church values, the way we do things, the things we believe . . . all of this will change, all of this will come to an end.

         Paul compares this change to growing up.  When we were children it wasn’t that we didn’t have values or knowledge, it is just that those things changed as we got older.  What we valued changed and what we knew about the world changed as we grew up.  Paul talks about seeing in a mirror dimly, trying to get us to understand that we don’t really know what we are seeing or what the world is.  Paul’s point is that there will come a time when we fully know God, all the truth about God, but that time is not now.  Now we only know in part.  And so, as we continue to grow and learn and know more, then the things we valued before will come to an end, the knowledge we thought we had will come to an end.  Paul offers comfort to us, telling us that faith, hope, and love will withstand this period of growth, these are the things that will survive.  And of course, the thing that matters most, is love.

         So, when we read Paul, we might start to feel like we have an idea of what this love looks like, what it might ask of us, and where it might lead us.  But then we jump to Jesus in Luke’s gospel and things get hard again.  Last week we read the first half of this story, where Jesus reads from the scroll in his hometown of Nazareth, and claims to be the Messiah.  This week we get the hometown reaction and its not good.  In fact, the people are so upset that they try to kill Jesus.  What is going on here??

         This is one of those cool places in scripture that you can read in more than one way.  Jesus reads the scroll and sits down and makes his claim of Messiahship and the people say “Is not this Joseph’s son?”  We can understand that two ways.  First, they could be saying it sarcastically, like “this is only Joseph’s son, what a fool!” and then the rowdiness that ensues can easily be placed on the crowd’s shoulders for taking things in a negative direction.

         But you can read it another way as well, like “That’s Joseph’s son!  I know that guy!” like they are proud, and then when the rowdiness starts its Jesus who starts the fight.  We don’t want Jesus to start the fight so we like to read it the first way, but actually I think this second way is more accurate.  See the verse before “All spoke well of him and were amazed”?  That implies that they were into it and proud, not angry at the start for Jesus acting beyond his station.

         This of course makes the reading hard, because it puts the fight on Jesus.  He is the one who comes out swinging with the “Doctor cure yourself” statements and claiming they request miracles.  The people haven’t said any of this at all.  He then goes on to argue that he has nothing for them.  Just like Elijah and Elisha he has been sent to help the outsiders.  The people become upset, which is understandable.  Here Jesus is, back in his hometown, and not only does he claim to be the Messiah, he claims the Messiah has nothing for them.  The people become an enraged mob and seek the kill Jesus by throwing him off a cliff, but he escapes.

         So, where is the love?  How is Jesus showing the love of God, this patient and kind love, in this reading from Luke? Well, it is certainly hard to find!  I am thinking, that just like our reading from the gospel of John a few weeks ago, Jesus has come to change the structure of the religious order.  That is really what he is challenging when he claims to be the Messiah, and claims that the Messiah will be bigger than just the Jews or just Nazareth.  While Jesus is being provocative, he is also engaging in truth telling, which can be an act of love.

         Again, Paul reminds us that what we know, or maybe even what we think we know about God and the church will be challenged with love.  What we think we know is changed by Jesus Christ, and that change is threatening.  That’s why the people reacted so negatively.  Jesus is challenging their knowledge of the Messiah.  And as we continue to study Jesus, he will challenge our knowledge of what the Messiah is as well.

         So, what is love?  Of course, love is all the traits Paul describes; kindness, patience, forgiveness, humbleness; all the ways we seek to live lives of faith.  But love is also challenge and truth.  It is the way God always draws us further in, always opens our eyes a little more.  Love is the way our faith grows and changes over time, like a child growing into an adult.  Love is provocative, like when we find long held church beliefs like “women shouldn’t be preachers” are wrong.  And love is how we respond to these threatening changes, holding on to faith and hope as we are molded by our God into new creations.  Love can be a threat, as it moves us out of our comfort zones and into something new.  And love can ask a lot of us, as it calls on us to speak the truth about our world.

         May God be with us this day as we are led and as we follow in love.  May we have the strength to respond to new knowledge with flexibility, and may we have the courage to follow Jesus, even when he leads us into challenging places.  Amen.