“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
This prophecy from Isaiah 61, is fulfilled in an ongoing way in our hearing…
You’d think the hometown crew in Nazareth would be in awe…
but instead, they are one part prideful and one part incredulous…
Look, that’s our guy…
That’s Joseph’s kid!
Ultimately, they find themselves where humans so often do
—we’re creatures that can not help, but be curved in upon ourselves
—our little chunk of the world,
our little kingdom,
is of most and only import,
in need of defense,
even against the Son of God.
How do we avoid the pitfall of Nazareth?
Paul would suggest—Love.
As I said last week
—We are the Lord’s limbs, and love is our ligaments.
The Love of Christ is the animating force that fulfills all that God is doing in the world
—even in Nazareth,
even at Spruce Run.
That alone can hold us together,
and ensure that the us being held together
is all of us.
Love.
Prayer
There is a triad of virtues that St. Paul values
—Hope, Love, and Faith…
When he writes to the Thessalonians,
who are mourning their dead,
who are rudderless and hopeless
—Paul writes about “Faith, Love, and Hope.”
Hope being the paramount, virtue for them.
But, when he writes to the Corinthians,
where there are so many divisions that love seems dead, he writes of
“Faith, Hope, and Love.
Love becomes the culmination of his advice to this distraught congregation.
Love.
The Corinthians had, by my count, 11 problems,
11 ways to break apart and form factions
—11 issues,
but really, they only had one issue
—a lack of love.
Those factions could be held together in an uneasy alliance
those gifts of the Spirit they prided themselves on, could be used in one way or another…
they could at least look vaguely like a church, going on the way they did…
but ultimately, the body of Christ, without Love, is a Cadaver.
Christian Communication
—songs, sermons, telling sacred story to neighbors and friends
—without love, it’s all noise.
Christian Discernment
—reading the moment right, plumbing the depths of mystery, even miracles
—is all so much nothing, without love.
Christian Stewardship
—Generosity and self-giving, tithing or thanksgiving offerings
—is all fool’s gold, without love.
Love gives meaning to all Christian Living…
You’ve known people who are gifted,
but who do not love, right?
You’ve also known people who are not gifted,
but do love, right?
Which one is more clearly following Jesus Christ?
Love.
While any form of Christianity that lacks empathy, is just kidding itself,
it must be said that
Love is more than an emotion,
more than a desire of the mind,
or of the will.
Love is more than an activity,
more than a response,
more than community or a calling.
Love is all of those things,
intertwined with the Divine
—modeled by Jesus.
Given to us by the Holy Spirit.
Loving actions are not done to one-up another
or to shame someone.
Loving actions are not done out of arrogance
or to bring about discomfort.
Loving actions are not all about you
—no, they are compellingly selfless.
Loving actions aren’t motivated by rage or grudge
—no, loving actions are always magnanimous
and always kind.
Love never rejoices in injury!
Love rejoices in the Truth, for love is eternal,
it shall not buckle as if weighed down,
nor be worn away by the ravages of time.
Love is the subject of our hope and the object of our faith.
The promises of love are true, for love is trustworthy.
I want to be clear, in the world as it is
—it is hard to believe in love
—they’ll tell you it is a sucker’s game or a fool’s dance…
Hard to cling to it
—after all it feels like love’ll evaporate.
That’s why you need to hear this—love lasts!
Love lasts.
Love will keep going long after every other gift has given up its ghost.
All those things we thrust to the forefront of the faith
—will fall away in the end
—but love will not!
Love has a maturity to it,
that even well aged hate cannot overcome.
It is a vintage that even the vinegar of violence can not embitter.
If we could look at Heaven in its clear purity,
we would look and see only love!
If we sought the grammar of God,
the words of the angels,
it would be one word—Love.
In the completeness of time…
when everything grows quiet and dim…
when we have reached the end,
finished the race
—love will still be there.
How can we witness what God is up to in the world?
Hear and be an ongoing part of
Jesus’ inaugural address:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
How do we avoid the pitfall of Nazareth?
Love
We are the Lord’s limbs, and love is our ligaments.
It is what holds us together,
all of us.
Love makes us one body,
it is the very body of God in the world
—Jesus embodied love, and the Church,
if it is indeed the Church,
must as well!
Love gives us the courage to look out beyond our safe ramparts,
to untangle us from ourselves.
Love is important,
Love is true,
Love is eternal!
Amen.
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