The Rev Melissa Remington

Love is in our DNA 1-30-2022 Rev Melissa Remington Faith, Hope and Love and the greatest of these is Love. This is from the famous passage we just heard that is often read at weddings; 1 Cor 13 :1-10(-13). This passage describes what ideal love or God like love is. Something we can strive for but never perfectly. This passage also includes the works and gifts people offer to do God's work in the world. What Paul is telling the early Christian community of Corinth is that all the good works and efforts to proclaim God, to due God's work in the world don't amount to much if they are not founded with a Christ like loving heart. Apostle Paul was working with this new Christian church community in Corinth. This community was part of a cosmopolitan city in the region of Achaia in @ the year 50 A.D. and the people were in a lot of conflict. Paul writes to them in response to a letter sent to him asking about how to settle conflicts over issues like the practice and beliefs concerning marriage, meat sacrificed to idols, use of spiritual gifts, cases of incest, legal disputes, expressions of freedom, disorders at the Lord's supper and denial of the resurrection to name a few. He reminds them everyone has different gifts and backgrounds to offer and grow the church, but, the only way people will be able to get past differences and conflicts is with a loving heart. Striving to offer our gifts and good works with a loving heart and belief in the power of God's love is not easy when we are in fear, in conflict, and having feelings of unbelief. But, we are told that Love is our salvation; it can turn angry unbelieving hearts into loving believing hearts. Here is a fun story about unbelieving and believing hearts: A young man who was sure there wasn't a God was spending a quiet day fishing when suddenly; the Loch Ness Monster attacked his boat. In one easy flip, the beast tossed him and his boat at least a hundred feet into the air. It then opened its mouth waiting below to swallow him. As the young man sailed head over heels and started to fall towards the open jaws of the ferocious beast he cried out, "Oh, my God! Help me!" Suddenly, the scene froze in place and as the young man hung in midair a booming voice came out of the clouds and said, "I thought you didn't believe in me!" "God, come on, give me a break!" the man pleaded, "Just seconds ago I didn't believe in the Loch Ness Monster either!" "Well," said God, "now that you are a believer, you must understand that I won't work miracles to snatch you from certain death in the jaws of the monster, but I can change hearts. What would you have me do?" The young man thinks for a minute then says, "God, please have the Loch Ness Monster believe in you also." God replies, "So be it." The scene starts in motion again with the man falling towards the ravenous jaws of the monster. The Loch Ness Monster folds his claws together in prayer and says, "Lord, bless this food I am bout to receive..." It is a cute story, but I also think it speaks to the need for us to remember that difficult outcomes in our lives are not necessarily the will of God. Rather God desires us to tap into our hearts of love and apply this to all our good works and use of our gifts and toward challenges in our lives. I think of a Christ like love this way: God is our Creator, our source of being, we were created in God's image. God is the source of our love that is at the core of our being. It surrounds, penetrates, and rejuvenates our very core, down to the DNA level in the nucleus of our cells if you will. It wells up from the depths of our being and without it the rest of our person "is lost". We have the capability to clog up our core. The good news is even if our core gets clogged with things like anger, evil or indifference, God can still work to unclog even the worst plaques blocking our love. It is God's love, Christ's love that held the early Christian Communities together and then with the power of the HS they handed their mantles on to us. How do we demonstrate a Christ like love in our lives? In our homes, workplaces, communities, and church? Especially when we are in conflict and our faith is being challenged? I think this is where we consider what the Gospel from Luke is offering. To remember that we all have our differences and God's love is our common ground. The Gospel of Luke is known as the social justice Gospel. Tradition says Luke was a physician, and artist who repeated symbolic examples and stories of the Old Testament to teach that God's love includes everyone. For example, there is a focus on the schism between Jew or Gentile. The reader is shown that no prophet is accepted in their hometown because God calls them to all the people, not just a particular group. He uses the example of Elijah being sent to the poor woman from Zarephath in Sidon instead of helping the famine in Israel, or, when Elisha only cleanses the Syrian leaper. A Syrian leader would have been a threat to Israelites so for Jesus to heal him was unacceptable to them. These examples attest to God's call of inclusivity and the respect of diversity, and honor of the mixed multitude. The essence of the Kingdom of God that is always at hand is where God's love resides. At the core, the DNA core of the Kingdom of God, like at the core of our own DNA, is this love. And it is greater than we can imagine, and it is never ending. For the sake of our families, our communities, our church, our mission, and purpose, we must continually tap into it. A Christ like love is all encompassing, and all inclusive. It points to the end of oppression, injustice and exploitation and guides us toward the hope of a new humanity founded on God's omnipotent love. 2