Sermonette: June 19, 2023

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; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

– 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

Love is oh so lovely

Most of us recognize this passage as the most common Scripture read at weddings. And rightfully so because it is so fitting. Weddings are lovely, and so is love, as described here by Paul.

Think of all the joyful occasions in life that are swimming in love – weddings, birth of a baby, ceremonies like graduation, for seniors and for kindergartners. Think of falling in love. Think of the song, “How sweet it is to be loved by you!”

Love is indeed oh so lovely. The Apostle Paul certainly knew that when he wrote these words to the church at Corinth. But Paul also knew that love is more than lovely.

If we look at the context of this passage, we see that Paul is actually doing a bit of hard-handed teaching here. You see, Paul is speaking to them in the midst of much arguing between them about who had what gifts and whose gifts were better than whose. And into that culture Paul speaks boldly of the nature of love, which is lovely, but is also messy.

Love is oh so messy

I recently heard a poignant story about a young man named Michael. After a lifetime of hard work, Michael’s grandparents retired. His grandpa bought a new comfy recliner and his grandma started playing Bingo!

Sadly, Grandma’s Bingo playing came to an abrupt end when Grandpa had a stroke that left him partially paralyzed. He could no longer walk or talk, and the doctors inserted a feeding tube. They advised a nursing home, but Michael’s grandma would not hear of it. So, the comfortable recliner was moved out and replaced by a hospital bed. Grandma became Grandpa’s full-time caregiver. One Friday afternoon Michael stopped by. Here’s how the visit unfolded.

Michael knocked and then walked into the living room. He was astonished to find his Grandpa covered in green liquid food and his grandma standing over him in tears. Something had clearly gone wrong in the feeding process. His first instinct was to back out of the room, but he locked eyes with his grandma. She recognized the fear in his eyes and strongly stated, “Michael, sometimes love is messy!” Michael stated that it was one of the most profound lessons he ever learned from his grandparents. The Apostle Paul knew that in addition to love being oh so lovely, it is often oh so messy. He instructs — love bears all things.

Love is self-sacrificing

Paul also teaches us that love is self-sacrificing, never insisting on its own way. We see this in Michael’s story, and we know this from our own experiences. Love is service and sacrifice and commitment and going the distance especially when all hell breaks loose, which it often does in our broken world. As Christians, we believe and proclaim that Christ himself is the ultimate example of self-sacrificing love. In fact, Jesus’ name could be substituted for the word love through the passage above. Why? Because Jesus is the manifestation of God’s sacrificial love for us, messy and lovely all at once.