Last weekend we celebrated Valentine’s Day.
Like most holidays, it was an opportunity for us to pause for a moment from everything that typically makes up daily life. We work, we volunteer, we have a schedule; we go to school, we have to do homework, we have to figure out our taxes. There is family life, there is sports practice, we want to get a round of golf in; we want to walk the Greenway. There is the news, the headlines, and our opinions of what is going on in our nation, our world. We’re still masking wherever we go, we miss seeing our friends, the family didn’t come for Christmas, and even though we Zoom, it’s not the same. There are health concerns, we are waiting for our first COVID-19 shot, we’re scheduled for our second. We’re starting chemotherapy treatments. We’ve been having pain in whatever part of our body for weeks now, and those we love are telling us to have it looked at. The direction of Valentine’s Day is deeply prescribed in our society. Roses, chocolates, jewelry, cards with lots of hearts, and until this year, maybe even a romantic getaway for the weekend; an effort to show the one you love that they matter to you. And yet, even if we only look at the candy hearts given during this holiday with their little coy messages, we know that love is “at the heart” of Valentine’s Day. The apostle Paul wrote a letter to a small church in Corinth that is now a part of the Word of God we find in the Bible. In the 13th chapter, Paul includes one of the most powerful descriptions of love ever written. If you attend a wedding, there’s a 90% chance or greater you will hear the words of this chapter recited as the couple prepares to exchange their vows to one another. I believe I Corinthians chapter 13 is the ideal writing for this week we are in, but not for the reasons one might suspect. If you read the whole letter, you’ll find that people — in the Church mind you — are not getting along. They’re not getting along at all. We’re not talking about married couples; we’re talking about people who work with each other, live in the same neighborhoods, go to school together, go to church together, who listen to the news about the world around them and see things differently. We’re talking about a church where some people came to the church potluck with a picnic basket that looks like it belonged in a Downton Abbey episode, while others can barely afford to bring a paper plate of PBJ sandwiches on clearance-table white bread; and the picnic basket folks are not inclined to share. There are people looking down at others because of where they get their meat and produce. There are people who are vegetarian; others who definitely aren’t. There are some who think worship should be reverent, quiet, and respectful, while others believe you can’t really worship unless the music is loud and the people are clapping and singing and praying in tongues. And they all lived in a city that was known throughout the world as being as diverse as any place in the world. Everybody had come from somewhere else; Greek, Roman, Asian, Arabian, African, European: there wasn’t anyone missing in that city, or in Corinth Church. And in that church there were views about sexuality about as different as you might imagine they are today. I mention this because it’s in the letter Paul writes. By the time he gets to the 13th chapter he has talked about a big chunk of everyday life: just about everything that is a part of OUR everyday lives. So how does Paul counsel the church in Corinth to deal with all of this? He begins by telling the church that God’s spirit has given gifts to everyone that will allow them to be the body of Christ that God wants the church to be in the world. And then he talks about a more excellent way. Not as a special event, or something you put on display, like Valentine’s Day, but a way that is the ground of everyday living. Love. Love is patient, kind, love protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres, rejoices in truth. It is not envious, boastful, arrogant, rude or self-seeking. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs. It doesn’t delight in evil Love never fails. Now these are all beautiful descriptions of love. But keep in mind that these lists of what love is and isn’t are not delivered to a group of people who are in full agreement about things, and on the same page. Love is described to a group of people who have a lot to disagree about. Important things. Holidays offer moments for us to pause from the grind of daily life. And hey, if flowers and candy are the thing that makes your honey happy, by all means, I hope you visited your local florist or candy shop before last Sunday! It is important to show those you love that they matter. And yet life continues far beyond Valentine’s Day. And love, far from being the at the center of one day, is at the heart of every day. Because God is love (I John 4:7-8). To move forward daily in this world, faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
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AuthorPastor Paul came to Grace to serve as our Pastor in October 2012. After a first career in product and graphic design, he was ordained in 1993, and has served as a parish pastor in Virginia and South Carolina. He is married to Jill and they have two daughters, one at Roanoke College and one at James Madison University. Archives
December 2021
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