Where Would You Be Now?

1Corinthians 13:8-13 (NRSV)

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

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Without love, where would you be now?

Long Train Runnin' from "The Captian and Me" by The Doobie Brothers

This section of First Corinthians is often reserved for weddings, that's a shame. This passage isn't really about wedded bliss. Sure, faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love; these are great things to base a relationship upon. But this is not the love Paul is talking about.

This chapter is set between two chapters on the spiritual gifts. Chapter 12 deals with the gifts of God and their role and use in the church. Chapter 14 calls members of the church to strive for greater gifts. One deals with the existence of the gifts and the other with their use in the world.

But without love, all we can do is make noise, like a noisy gong or clanging cymbal. The Doobies ask the question well, without love, where woud you be now? We would be in a mess.

If people were able to chose the gifts of God for themselves, more often than not--the gifts of prophecy and healing and toungues would be chosen. People would pick something flashy. After all, who wants service and teaching when there is something flashier in the bag to pick from.

If you wonder if this is true, consider the number of people who want to be the football star and the cheerleader--or root for them--and the number of people who want to be a lunch lady--or root for them. An old comic once said that another way to think of this is if we all became what we "wanted to be when we grew up" from the second grade, there would be a lot of firemen and ballerinas.

So we need love because in the love of God all of the spiritual gifts are flashy. In love, regardless of the gifts we receive and exhibit, we do it for the benefit of the Lord and the Body of Christ. In love there is a blessing of selflessness that increases the gift far beyond what we could ever know or understand.

Using the spiritual gifts as God intends blesses not only the one with the gift, but the one who receives the work of the gifted, and all of creation--and all for the glory of God. That's much bigger than the simple flash of a miracle that looks more like a magic trick.

Being the star is fun, but without love, where would you be now?

The Tongue of a Teacher

Isaiah 50:4

The Lord GOD has given me
the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens--
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.

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Teacher, teacher, teach me love
I can't learn it fast enough
Teacher, teacher, teach me more
I've got to learn to love for sure

"Teacher, Teacher" written by Kenny Pickett and Eddie Phillips, recorded by Rockpile

The teacher comes and presents information. The teacher demonstrates. The teacher involves the student in learning. Some of the things a teacher teaches is factual, things like multiplication tables. But a good teacher also teaches how to learn. Good teachers foster critical thinking skills so that given a concept, a student may go beyond the rote of multiplication tables and see the glory of algebra. Yes, gotta walk before you can run, without the foundation the building will fall. But if you don't try to run, if you don't try to build the grand cathedral, you stay stuck where you have always been.

Isaiah prays for something great. He prays that he may be able to sustain the weary with a word. Oh what glorious word can that be? It might be "here" when offering a piece of fruit to someone who is hungry. It might be "there" to someone who is seeking what is lost. It might be "always" when someone asks when the Lord God is present.

Waken to the word of the Lord. Waken seeing the creativity of God in all creation. Waken to the word anew and seek the word that will sustain you this day. Waken to the word that will sustain others this day. Remember who the great teacher is. Remember who the prophetic teacher is. Be the teacher, be the student.

Seek the word. Share the word. Love, now there's a word that sustains a weary world.

Forgiveness

Genesis 33:1-4

Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. He put the maids with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on ahead of them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near his brother.

But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

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There are people in your life
Who've come and gone
They let you down
You know they hurt your pride
You better put it all behind you, baby
'Cause' life goes on
If you keep carrying that anger
It'll eat you up inside, baby

I've been trying to get down
To the heart of the matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness, forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me

"The Heart of the Matter" recorded by Don Henley written by J.D. Souther, Don Henley, and Mike Campbell

There's an old saying that holding a grudge, not forgiving, is like drinking poison and hoping the other person gets sick and dies.

The truth of the old saying that you forgive not to benefit the other person but to benefit yourself is great; and easier said than done.

Jacob made a living taking from Esau. He took Esau's birthright for a bowl of stew and with his mother's help, conned his father's blessing from him too. Jacob means "ankle grabber" which is how he left the womb hot on his brother's heels. It has also been translated usurper. If anybody had a cause to hold a grudge it's Esau. And he probably did. He probably did for a good long time.

Of course scripture is quiet about what's happening in Esau's life while Jacob is with Laban. Laban who also thinks Jacob is usurping everything within arm's reach. Esau has been blessed. It was said he too will father a nation and it appears this word is coming true. But here's something important about Esau, when his little brother comes into town they meet with a kiss.

Jacob is so afraid of this meeting he doesn't even bring his whole family. Half go a different direction so if Esau kills Jacob and this group another will survive.

Jacob bows and scrapes. Despite this greeting, Esau comes and greets his brother with a kiss. It seems that Esau has forgiven his little brother's transgressions, his tresspasses, his debts. They meet not at the point of sword and spear, but with a kiss.

Jacob hurt Esau. He hurt his pride, he took his place in the family, he took the place his earthly father etched out for him. He was a victim of an elaborate rouse which cost him his father's blessing. He could have let this eat him from the inside out but based on this description from Genesis Esau is living another modern expression. "Living well is the best revenge."

People hurt us all the time. It's the nature of life. It's the nature of sin. But in the end if we can manage forgiveness, forgiveness modeled for us in Christ, and in this case in Esau, we will be better people and we will be better off.

C'mon People Now

Hebrews 10:23-25

Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

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C'mon people now,
Smile on your brother
Ev'rybody get together
Try and love one another right now

"Come Together" by The Youngbloods

It's that time of year. Summer is around the corner and there will lots of people who will not come to church. It's not like the church doesn't expect it. There's camp. There's grandmother's house. There's all sorts of distractions that will make it less likely that people will be sitting in a pew.

We know that.

What's more and more unfortunate is that in an increasingly mobile society, in a time where travel is easy, and in a place where every sport league and school activity now meets on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings-formerly the purview of the church-we just don't meet together the way we did in the "good ol' days."

There are lots of books written about the how's and why's of not meeting together, especially as "the Day" of the Book of Hebrews approaches. Some of them are quite enlightening. What none of them say is we can stop meeting together, no, they affirm that we do need to continue meeting together.

So I bid you now, smile on your brother! Let us not neglect meeting together as some have done. Come together in the name of the Lord and share God's peace and love with one another. Encourage one another. Share the bounty of life together in Christ and the life of Christ together. We are called to share community. We are called to share life with one another. There is more to a Sunday morning than the canoe and kayak.

So too I bid to Churches-this is on us too. We must consider the ways we meet together. Jesus did not invent the pew! Jesus never used a pipe organ or electric guitar. There is more than one way to come together and we need to discover and rediscover them.

Oh and one more thing, go to church with your grandmother. She'll love it.

Like on Animal Planet

Romans 8:5

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

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I gotta feel it in my blood (whoa oh)
I need your touch don't need your love (whoa oh)

And I want and I need
And I lust animal

"Animal" written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Phil Collen, Richard Savage, and Joe Elliott recorded by Def Leppard

Let's start this with a couple of definitions. The definition of lust in scripture is more than "he's cute" or "she's cute." It's more on the line of "She's cute and I'm King David. How I can get this Bathsheba into bed? I don't care if Uriah ends up in a heap." In the language of scripture there's a difference. In scripture there's a difference.

Something Paul is clear about though is that there is a time and place for physical attraction, and to Paul that place wasn't outside of grace. There's life under the law which convicts us of sin and there's life in Christ Jesus which sets us free from the law of sin and of death. Lust is covered under the law. Love is in Christ.

If Paul had gone to his local record store and picked up a copy of Def Leppard's "Hysteria" and checked out this tune, he would have been appalled. He would have said that this is just the sort of thing he was talking about.

Our sinful nature takes us to the point where we treat our bodies like trampolines, we just jump up and down on it and enjoy the pleasure it gives us. After we're done, we don't pay any attention to it. Paul would say this is not the nature we have been given by God. We are to seek the higher calling of spiritual life, not just animal lust.

"I need your touch don't need your love" is an empty way to live our lives. It's not how we should ever treat a partner. Hooking up is the junk food of physical touch.

Now, that being said, God gave us our bodies and our partners to enjoy one another. There is a physical touch of love and there is a touch that is rowdier and randier which with your partner is also an expression of love. God intended for us to love and enjoy one another and even our randy physical touch is connected to our spirituality.

Live in the Spirit, love in the Spirit, and by this our touch in the Spirit.

No One Like the Lord God

Psalm 86:8-13

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours.
All the nations you have made shall come
and bow down before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.
Teach me your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart to revere your name.
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

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There's no one like you
I can't wait for the nights with you
I imagine the things we'll do
I just want to be loved by you

"No One Like You" by Bruce Bouton, Roger Springer, and Mark Chesnutt recorded by The Scorpions

There is no one like the Lord our God.

How easy is that? There is no one like the Lord our God. But there is something in this psalm, this song that we should take closer note of, the first line which sings, "There is none like you among the gods, O Lord." This implies that there is more than one god, and our God is the Lord God. Controversial, but hang on for a moment.

In the ancient of days, there were lots of Gods. In Palestine some worshiped the Baals and others worshiped Asherah. The Egyptians, Babylonians, Romans, and Greeks all worshiped groups of Gods. There seemed to be a god for everyday of the week, and actually there was. Monday is named after Mars. Thursday is named after Thor. Saturday is named after Saturn.

People have worshiped other Gods, it's as easy as that. But to say that we don't worship other Gods is a lie we tell ourselves. Personal wealth has temples everywhere from the banks to the gated mansions. Youth is worshiped especially by those who use surgery to wipe away the signs of age. I knew a pastor who despised people who worship the NFL and its holy temples the massive stadium and the satellite dish.

We have other gods, and we still worship them. It's just the nature of sin that we put things before the love of God. But we are called to remember that there is nothing like the Lord God. There is nothing like the love of the Lord God and this alone is what we are called to seek.

Imagine the full love of God, a love that moves us beyond fear and rage and wealth and even hope. The love of God moves us beyond hope and into a relationship that gives us more than we can hope or imagine.

There is no one like the Lord our God. I give thanks that God loves me. I give thanks that God loves us all. Above all, I give thanks that God was concerned with me long before I was concerned with God.

Fire Proof

1Kings 18:30-39

Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come closer to me”; and all the people came closer to him. First he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down; Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, “Israel shall be your name”; with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed. Next he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it a second time”; and they did it a second time. Again he said, “Do it a third time”; and they did it a third time, so that the water ran all around the altar, and filled the trench also with water.

At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD indeed is God; the LORD indeed is God.”

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Smoke on the water,
A fire in the sky.

"Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple

The burnt offering, just one of many offerings made by priests in the days of the Old Testament. This is a particularly interesting burnt offering though. Starting at Verse 20, Elijah is having a conflict with the prophets of the god Baal. Whose god is the Lord? This is the question. More properly this could be asked "Which God, for there are many, is the God of gods, the Lord over all that is? Well, Elijah is confident.

Elijah offers a proposition, two bulls to be offered by the priests. One for the priests of Baal and the other for Elijah, the priest of the Lord God. Both priests set everything but fire to the offering. The god who puts flame to the offering, accepting the burnt offering is the Lord.

Elijah lets Baal's priests go first and he lets them go. They prepare their sacrifice and nothing happens. Elijah suggests all sorts of things to help the process along but to no avail. It doesn't matter how much singing and dancing the priests of Baal do, the offering remains on the wood.

This is where we enter the scene. Elijah prepares the altar and the wood for the fire. He puts the bull on the wood and asks the priests of Baal to do what they can to hinder the offering. He asks the priests of Baal to pour water all over everything. These jars held 20 gallons of water each. By the time they were finished, the priests of Baal poured 240 gallons of water over the offering. enough to fill the trench surrounding the offering with water.

Elijah prayed to the Lord God and his prayer was answered. The burnt offering, the wood, the stones, the dust, and even the water that was in the trench were consumed by the fire sent by the Lord. Baal couldn't get a spark. The Lord consumes.

Then as it says in verse 39, When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD indeed is God; the LORD indeed is God.”

There's smoke on the water and fire in the sky. By this we know that the Lord is God over all creation. There is no God more powerful than the Lord. Yes, there are still other gods people worship. Money, youth, fame, prestige, and power are just a few of them. We may call them sins, but the way we hold them up, we hold them like they are to be worshiped, we treat them like gods.

Yet let us remember, there's smoke on the water and fire in the sky. By this we know that the Lord is God over all creation. No matter how much water we pour over the offering, the Lord will consume worship.

Fire and water are still important in our worship. We use fire to represent the light of Christ. We use water to wash us in the waters of our baptism. We remember these things in worship. May our worship be a fragrant offering to the Lord.