A Still More Excellent Way

1 Corinthians 12: 27 – 13: 13

Roger Lynn

February 9, 2020

(CLICK HERE for the audio for this sermon)

The thirteenth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Church at Corinth might well qualify as one of the most familiar, and most beloved, passages in the whole Bible. It is frequently read at both weddings and funerals. Sometime this week you may even see it on a Valentine’s Day card. It really does represent Paul at his poetic finest.

And yet, precisely because of its beauty and its familiarity, I suspect that we often miss much of the real power contained in these words. We tend to think of it in terms of “warm and fuzzy” or “sweet.” When viewed within the larger context of the rest of the letter, however, what we discover is Paul taking the Corinthians to task. “Stop living the way you’ve been living,” he is telling them. “Stop acting as if you are the only person in the world that matters.” This is Paul spelling out what it really means to take seriously the way of Christ. It is a life that matters. It is a life that reaches out to touch the world and make a difference.

Love, as Paul is describing it here, is the unconditional concern for the well-being of those with whom we share life on this planet. It is outward looking rather than inward looking. In short, it is loving as Christ loves. It is loving as God loves. And it is the foundation upon which a meaningful life of faith is built. Without it nothing else really matters. Without it nothing else is really worth even talking about.

The good folks in the Church in Corinth had fallen into the trap of thinking it was the outward signs of faith that were really important. They thought it was the flashy externals that gave them bragging rights during coffee hour after worship. “I spoke in tongues today!” “Oh yeah, well I had a vision about what God is going to do next.” “Well, I’ve been asked to give the sermon during the special worship service next week.” You get the picture. And when Paul gets wind of such conversations he sits down and pens what has come to be known as “the love chapter.” “None of that stuff is worth the breath it takes to talk about it,” he seems to be saying, “unless it occurs within the service of love.” It’s not about bragging rights. In fact, if you do it well folks might not even know it was you. And that’s OK, because the important thing is the reality we get in touch with when we allow love to become the driving force in our lives – the reality that we are, in fact, connected to the whole of creation. 

Almost 2,000 years later this understanding of the world remains as powerful, and as challenging, as it was when Paul first shared it with the Corinthian church. What might the world look like if we spent even a fraction of our time practicing this kind of approach? It is true that many of the qualities which he describes seem hopelessly naive to our modern, jaded sensibilities. Patience and kindness. Resistance to such life-depleting attitudes as envy, boasting, arrogance, and rudeness. Celebrating truth rather than delighting in the misfortunes of others. Desiring what is best for all rather than simply holding out for our own way. And yet, when such qualities are embraced and practiced they go a long way towards bringing healing and wholeness to our world, because they set the stage for us to reconnect with the foundational truth of who we really are. We are not solitary individuals whose lives can be lived in isolation. To become fully who we are created to be requires that we discover the connections which exist with ourselves, with each other, and with the presence of the Sacred which is all around us all the time. In other words, to use the language which Paul uses, love! To do anything less is to be less than fully human.

There are those who believe that this represents a position of weakness. They think that to survive in this world demands a strength which is defined by force and power over others. Survival of the fittest. But the kind of love Paul is talking about is not weakness at all. It is simply a different orientation regarding what strength looks like. It is an understanding that we are strongest when we are most fully connected with the rest of creation, including our fellow human beings. A rope is stronger than a single strand. A tapestry is more beautiful than a single thread. To practice this kind of love is to seek our natural equilibrium – the balance and harmony which is our birthright because we are a part of God’s creation. It is who we really are.

Is it hard to do? Absolutely. We live in a world with very few supports for such an approach to living. It requires vision. It requires courage. It requires creativity. Is it possible? Absolutely. Because it represents the truth about who we really are, the truth about how the world was created to work. It is our natural language. We have, for the most part, forgotten and been conditioned away from remembering. But it is possible. And we do not have to face the challenge alone. Indeed, we cannot do it alone.The ultimate power of love is that it connects us with each other and it connects us with God. Together we can learn to live into this reality. 

So may we begin to discover in fresh new ways what it means to be truly alive as together we seek to follow this “still more excellent way.” Love really is the only thing that lasts.