1 Corinthians 13
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Later in the service we will be singing 'You raise me up', you know the one,
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be.
Being a stick in the mud country parson I was against it at first, but Jesus bids us be generous, which is always an inconvenience in parish ministry. The song divides people. Some people think it is a religious song, and some think it is a secular song. Is the 'you' that raises the singer up God, or a loved one? If you have a look online you will see there is a debate, to which there seems to be no definitive answer.
Those we love, and who love us, do indeed raise us up. Loving relationships enable us to thrive, to be our better selves, they inspire us.
When I say 'love', I don't mean mere attraction, or desire, or preference. I mean love that is supportive and unconditional, I mean love that is patient and kind, love that is not self seeking, that does not envy or boast, love that is not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs. Love that always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love like that really is life giving. Having spoken to Terrence and Erik, it sounds to me like that was the kind of person Ingelis was.
When we loose someone who loves us like that, it's painful. I suspect the extent to which we greave is direct in proportion to the extent we loved, and were loved. The hard truth is there is no way to love without risking, or experiencing, pain. Yet deep down, each of us know there is no greater prize than such love, each of us know it is the greatest treasure. Who of us would exchange release from grief for having never known our loved one?
Occasions such as today remind us that our loving relationships should be our first priority.
So is 'You raise me up' about the love of God, or the those who really love us?
The religious want it to be about God.
The sceptics want it to be about humanity.
Some people argue it can be either, that the song is deliberately ambiguous so that you can choose your meaning. Let it be about God, or your loved ones, it's up to you.
Personally, I don't think you have to choose.
The bible says, “God is love, and those who dwell in love dwell in Him, and He in them.”
So when you experience supportive and unconditional love that is patient and kind, that is not self seeking, that does not envy or boast, that is not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs, that always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, when you experience that kind of life giving love, you are touching God.
Behind both the religious experience, and the secular experience of love, stands God.
All true love flows from God, that is why we should regard our loving relationships as holy.
We struggle to recognise God, at least in part because the religious people, and the sceptics, have given us a really bad description of Him. The religious people say God is austere and judgemental, a law giver waiting to smite the transgressor, or that He is an old man with a white beard, dressed in a night gown, benignly smiling from a cloud.
The sceptics say they cannot believe in such a God, and neither can I. As a Christian I believe in the picture of God given to us by Jesus, who the bible says is the flesh and blood image of the invisible God, the Word of God in human form, in him all the fullness of the God dwelt. Jesus is God's great self explanation. In Jesus we see that God seeks to heal, not harm, that He offers forgiveness, not condemnation, that He shows the way to abundant life. A life so abundant that not even death can end it, love is eternal, and life and love continue after our mortal frame has perished. That is the testimony of the resurrection.
The Apostle Paul, who wrote the bible reading we heard, changed from believing God was a judgemental law giver, waiting to smite the transgressor, to become someone who could write so compellingly about love as the greatest virtue. Paul changed because he was transformed by the love of God made known through Jesus Christ.
We don't recognise God because we think He is heavenly, or angry, or absurd, when in fact every day we touch him in our most loving relationships. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus reveals to us that God is made known through flesh and blood.
'You raise me up' is both secular and sacred, as are all our loving relationships. So when you go home today, hug those you love, and tell them what they mean to you.
Amen.
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