Focus On Love; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

 

Rev. George Miller

May 5, 2024

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

 

Today’s Scripture is so beautiful, so poetic that it tricks the reader into thinking it’s a cozy blanket to wrap oneself inside of.

 

The truth is that this reading comes from a place of chaos, a time of change, and an era of heartbreak.

 

The Church in Corinth is in upheaval. 

 

This young congregation is going through changes, changes that are coming too fast, too quickly for anyone to fully realize what’s going on, much less how they feel.

 

The church Paul is writing to is a church on the edge, a church doing things no one else is doing,

 

a church made up of people who have often been seen as on the outskirts of society.

 

They are people from different backgrounds, raised with different beliefs, and organizational styles.

 

What has brought them together is the Good News of Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus Crucified, Christ Resurrected is what binds this group together with an understanding

 

that the best way to experience Jesus is to be Christ to the community, by

 

Feeding the hungry,

both at the Communion Table

and on the streets.

 

Offering healing and wellness,

both through hands-on care,

and empowering words of affirmation.

 

By providing care,

both through the needs of the body,

and the concerns of the soul.

 

As they do all this magnificent, glorious work,

they are making it up as they go along.

 

So squirmishes develop.

Disagreements arise.

In-fighting takes hold.

 

Those who have been there from the beginning can’t figure out how to be patient with those who are new.

 

Those who are new don’t understand the need to do things as they have always been done.

 

And everyone has a different idea of how scripture is to be understood,

a life of faith acted out,

 

and how to proclaim the idea

that a man could be killed and

still experienced via the Resurrection.

 

So they fight, they bicker,

they are angry.

 

And, as modern psychologists tell us, anger is often a sign of fear.

 

Fear of the unknown, fear of being seen as not good enough,

 

fear of consequences for saying Christ is King, and not the emperor.

 

Fear is masking and molding the people of Corinth.

 

So Paul does what he does best- he uses his words.  Paul speaks, and he is unafraid.

 

He speaks via this letter to the Church, a letter to be read at their next gathering.

 

And in this brave, bold letter, Paul lays out a way of thought that not only recenters the church,

 

but he writes it in such a way that its poetry calms their worried spirit.

 

Paul says “Hey, don’t get so caught up in all you are doing and think you need to do. 

 

It’s great if you can be prophetic, it’s great if you can be generous, it’s great if you re showing up and speaking out,

 

but if you do these things for the wrong reason, you might as well be a noisy gong.”

 

Paul says to them “Do all you do out of love.”

 

 But not just any kind of love- AGAPE love.

 

Agape love is a love that comes from God,

 

a love that inspires one to look beyond themselves and to give and serve in delight.

 

Agape love is the kind of love that comes from outside of you, and puts a smile on your face.

 

So here is Paul talking to a church that is going through change, a church that is living in fear, a church that is turning upon itself,

 

And he poetically, pastorally says-

 

“Agape.-

 

Do what you do with the presence of God and a delight in your spirit.”

 

To a church that has become impatient, unkind, fully of envy, self-centeredness, and irritability,

 

Paul pastorally says

 

“Agape.”

 

“Agape is patient.

Patient with the moment,

Patient with one another.”

 

“Agape is kind and content.

Kind to one another;

Content with the gifts

God has given.”

 

“Agape is community-based

and calm.

It looks out upon others,

it finds rest in the Lord.”

 

Paul could have composed a letter saying “Hey!  Stop it right now,

before I pull this car over and make you walk the rest of the way.”

 

He could have shamed them,

Silenced them,

Disempowered them.

 

Instead, filled with love for Christ,

And Holy Spirit wisdom,

Paul says

To this scared, unsure group-

 

“Take a breath.

Focus on Christ.

Focus on love.”

 

“Love does not have an expiration date.  Love is not limited.

Love is not dim, dark, or smudged.”

 

Paul says to the people.

“Because of Christ,

We have all grown,

And we are still growing.”

 

“In Christ, we have learned so much, and there is still so much to know.”

 

Let us set aside our worry, our fear,

Our disagreement for this moment.

 

Let’s focus on what really matters.

 

Faith.  Hope.  Agape.

 

Faith that God is with us.

Hope in the Holy Spirit.

 

Agape that comes from taking

all we learned from Jesus and

applying to our communal existence.

 

Though we may face

barren desserts,

Raging seas,

And burning fires,

 

 We do not go alone.

 

For God goes before us.

And the Lord knows the way.

 

For that, let us say

“Amen.”

Candidating Sermon for St. Lucas; Acts 18:1-11

 

Rev. George Miller

April 28, 2024

Acts 18:1-11

 

Two weeks ago, under the musical talents of Linda Taylor and Linda Radick, the choir sung a song that embodies the faith experience.

 

“Be Not Afraid, I Go Before You.”

 

We heard the choir sing the words of a loving Creator who sees God’s people, hears their cries, and cares for them as a compassionate parent would.

 

We heard about wandering through barren desserts, raging waters, burning fires as God says-

 

“Even if you don’t know the way, I go before you.  Come, follow me, and I will give you rest.”

 

Rest.

 

What a wonderful word.  For it is safe to say that in many ways, we have all been restless. 

 

The Search and Call process is certainly an experience filled with barren desserts, raging waves, and burning fires.

 

And yet, if the process is done right, and done faithfully, one can certainly see that God is with us.

 

Two weeks ago you heard Pastor Vicki encouraging us that there are times in which maybe we should just listen.

 

Pastor Vicki reminded us that God’s love and care in unlimited, especially if we embrace the ability to humbly, compassionately hear.

 

Meanwhile, 1,065 miles away in a different state and different time zone, the people of Emmanuel UCC in Sebring, FL were

 

listening to the story of Peter and John who bring wholeness and welcome to a man by seeing him and demanding that they are seen in return.

 

Follow, listen, see, do not be afraid.

 

The Christian experience through scripture, song, and sermon.

 

So it is fitting that today we add another component to that list of how people of faith can live- to speak, evangelize, and share the Good News.

 

But first, a story.

 

In 1959 Brooklyn, New York my mother Carol was participating in Confirmation class.

 

My Mom was the child of Margaret Ola and George Wenderhold, people of Hungarian, Romanian, and German descent.

 

So there is my mother at church, all excited, because she has memorized the Books of the New Testament and she is ready say them before the congregation.

 

My Mom has put in the time.  She’s practiced.  She’s memorized. 

 

She stands up to speak…and she makes a mistake.

 

And the pastor…the pastor of my 13-year-old mother, says to the entire congregation “Well, what do you expect- she’s German.”………

 

Years later it’s 2004 and my Mom is with me as we drive to my graduation from Eden Seminary.

 

Before we go in, Mom has me park the car, turn off the engine, so she can tell me this story.

 

She shares that from that moment on she decided to never memorize anything again.

 

She gives me a very clear directive- that as a Pastor, I am to never do that to anyone else nor intentionally hurt someone the way she was.

 

In 1959, my13-year-old mother, filled with joy and spirit,

 

was shamed and silenced by a religious leader who thought it was appropriate to say such a thing in front of all the people.

 

Who knows how this experience forever shaped and affected my mom;

 

who knows how this experience shaped and molded me and my three siblings.

 

So it is an unbelievable honor to stand here before you today,

 

a historic church,

founded and called into creation by people of German heritage,

 

to give a Candidating Sermon that is all about

 

“Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, for I am with you…”

 

There is tremendous healing in this moment, and I hope the ancestors are proud.

 

This morning’s reading is a rich one, filled with so much detail. 

 

We learn that Paul is in Corinth.  We learn he’s a tentmaker. 

 

We learn that he is working alongside and staying with a husband-and-wife team who are immigrants.

 

We hear how Paul doesn’t really spend his time just listening;

 

he loves loves loves

to debate,

discuss,

share his understanding of Scripture,

what it means to say that

Jesus is the Messiah,

and the beauty of believing

and being baptized.

 

Some folk enjoy listening to and hearing about the Gospel.  But there are others who are not so happy.

 

They feel threatened, unconvinced. 

 

So Paul is opposed, reviled.

 

These are barren desserts, raging waters, and burning fires that are making Paul want to shake the dust off his feet, to doubt and second guess himself.

 

But God, who is the Great I Am, says to Paul-

 

“Do not let these people get in the way.  Do not give your power to the doubters and the second-guessers.”

 

God says “Instead, stop being afraid, speak, lift up your voice, say the words that bring new life, and do not be silent, for I am with you.”

 

Speak; do not be silent; do not be afraid.

 

For I Am with you.

 

And who is this great I AM?

 

The One who spoke Creation into being by saying “Let there be light.”

 

The One who said to Moses “Say to Pharaoh, set my people free.”

 

The One who said to Jesus “You are my beloved in whom I am well pleased.”

 

Who is the Great I AM?

 

The One who raised Jesus from the empty tomb and made sure that Mary, Mary and Salone were told “Do not be afraid…He is not here.  Go and tell the disciples.”

 

The One who sent forth the Holy Spirit on Pentecost so people of all backgrounds could hear what others were speaking.

 

Be not afraid, but speak and do not be silent, for I am with you.

 

What a beautiful, affirming, empowering sentence to hear.

 

If only my mother’s pastor had said those words instead of shaming her.

 

In the past few weeks, we have heard that God

goes before us,

that we are blessed,

there is a beauty to when we see

and are seen,

and that sometimes,

sometimes it is best

that we just listen.

 

Today we add another component- the art and importance of speaking, of not being afraid to say, to share, the Good News.

 

The Good News of Jesus Christ. 

The Good News that Jesus Crucified

is the one that God Resurrected.

 

The Good News that we are all endowed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

 

The Good News that through Christ,

with Christ,

for Christ,

we all have the ability

to speak

and share words that

 

express love,

express compassion,

express hope,

express welcome.

 

Because of Christ Resurrected

we all have the ability to speak

and to share with others that

 

No matter what dessert we wander,

No matter what waters we face,

No matter what fires get in the path,

 

No matter if we don’t know the way,

 

God goes before us, always.

 

Blessed are we who follow the Lord.  Blessed are we when we have the chance to listen, see, and speak.

 

For we are assured

the gifts of Heaven,

and in Christ Jesus,

we get to humbly follow,

and we also get to experience rest.

 

In Christ’s name we pray, and we say “Amen.”

 

Love That Never Ends, Acts 17:1-9

 

Rev. George Miller

April 21, 2024

Acts 17: 1-9

 

Love is patient; love in kind

Love is not envious or boastful

or arrogant or rude.

 

Love does not insist on its own way;

Love is not irritable or resentful.

It does not rejoice in wrongdoing,

But rejoices in truth.

 

Love bears all things;

believes all things,

Hopes all things,

endures all things.

Love never ends.

 

These are the words of the Apostle Paul.

Words that were written to the Corinthian Church.

 

Many people make the assumption that Paul is talking about romantic love, so we’ll often hear this read at weddings or see on Hallmark cards.

 

But that is an understandable mistake.

 

The love that Paul is actually talking about is the kind of love that exists within a church; the kind of love that exists between believers of Christ.

 

When Paul states that love is patient, he means that members of the same congregation should be patient with one another.

 

When Paul says that love is not envious or boastful, he means that as siblings in Christ we are not to flaunt our faith or our blessings in a way that makes anyone feel less than.

 

When he says that love is to rejoice in the truth, he means that as Citizens of God’s Heavenly Kingdom we should be filled with joy based upon the Good News.

 

As Believers bound together by the Resurrection, it makes sense that faith-based love never ends, because the Resurrection of Christ means that Jesus’ place in the world has no end.

 

In Mark, Jesus told us very plainly that the greatest commandments are to love God and to love our neighbor.

 

So as long as we love, as long as we love God, as long as we love neighbor, there is no end.

 

Only new beginnings, new chapters, new opportunities. 

 

Moments may end, eras may end, but love, love never ends.

 

So it is heartbreaking when we encounter a reading like today and witness when there is the absence of love.

 

No longer waiting patiently in Jerusalem, the apostles have branched out all over the world, sharing all they know about Jesus Christ.

 

Paul and Silas have headed into the Wild West, into a land in which many faiths exists,

 

where Greek gods and goddesses are adored,

 

and Roman rulers are seen as having supreme power.

 

Paul and Silas are out amongst people who have the kind of faith in which what they believe is tied to their politicians,

 

and their politicians are tied to their faith.

 

So for Paul and Silas to speak about and share their knowledge of Jesus is quite controversial.

 

The more they talk about the Kingdom of God, the more they refer to Jesus as the Messiah, the more they are seen as a national threat.

 

They are in a place and time in which those in power have let it be known- if you preach or teach about anything that does not elevate us and fit into what we believe-

 

You will pay the cost.

 

But this does not scare away Paul and Silas.  See- they are filled with love. 

 

Love for God, love for neighbor, love for the Good News of Jesus.

 

They talk so persuasively, passionately, that some of the Greek nationalists start to follow them, as do a whole bunch of women who are the trendsetters of their day.

 

Think of that- the Good News of Jesus being so powerful that some of the most popular women become believers.

 

And no doubt, these Madonnas, these Beyonces, these Maryl Streeps get to take on a more prominent role in this community based on the teachings of Jesus.

 

So what happens? 

 

The people in power, those who feel that they must have control, those that feel threatened by the message of love,

 

act in the most unloving of ways.

 

They do not rejoice; they become envious.

 

They do not act kind, but become irritable, resentful as they hunt down Paul and Silas.

 

They engage in blatant wrongdoing as they storm Jason’s house and drag him out, simply for giving Paul and Silas a place to stay.

 

They are so threatened by the Good News of Jesus Christ that they need to hurt someone, anyone to alleviate the envy and arrogance they feel.

 

The commandment of Jesus to love God and to love neighbor is so strong, that even after Christ has ascended to Heaven, the world still feels the need to Crucify him again and again and again.

 

It is a wonder that Christianity ever survived.

 

It is a wonder that the Good News ever made it through.

 

It is a wonder that 2,000 years later we are gathered here today because the leaders, the kings, the politicians of the world tried over and over to silence us, shame us, shut the Gospel down.

 

But…

 

But as Paul says-

Love.  Never.  Dies.

 

The love that Jesus talked about, the love that Jesus demonstrated, the love that Jesus embodied

every time he

 

reached out to a mother,

lifted up a sister,

ate with someone who was differently different, spoke to someone in a field, by the shore,

in a graveyard,

 

is the kind of love that cannot be silenced,

cannot be shamed,

cannot be shut down.

 

That is the kind of love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things.

 

Endures all things.

 

The love that Jesus showed, the love that Christ calls us to have for God and to have for our neighbor.

 

That is the love that never ends.

 

That is Kingdom Love.

Heaven Love.

 

Timeless Love.

 

Amen.