I Corinthians 13:1-13
This passage of scripture has been affectionately called the “Love Chapter.” It is often read at weddings to reflect the tenets of love that will make the marriage strong and that will allow each person to be a gift to the other. Yet, most biblical scholars agree that this beautiful passage of scripture is probably written in a state of anger and frustration by Paul. The church at Corinth is one that lives in a state of dissension and disharmony amongst it members.  In this fractiousness, the different groups in the church often try to one-up the others.  This at times gets displayed as “haughtiness and boasting and even disdain” for others outside their group. There is a genuine lack of respect and consideration for each other. Paul tries to help affirm the differences of the people by pointing out they all have distinctive gifts that need to be used together for the church to be strong and whole. One only need to read the preceding chapter where Paul uses the analogy of the human body to show how all parts must work together to be a fully functioning body or community of the faithful. Then he moves to Chapter 13, which provides the basis for understanding how they will be able to overcome their differences, join together in their distinctive beliefs and talents and become the body of Christ. It is in practicing these tenets of love.
Read Chapter 13.

Luke 6:27-36
In this passage, Jesus reminds us that love is not just for those we love, but is in fact an ethic we live by and give to all we encounter in our lives. The word enemy in this passage can refer to national enemies, but also to those we consider personal enemies in our lives. Enemies can refer to people we simply do not get along with for whatever reason, those we do not agree with in our lives. Jesus, in essence, has laid the foundation for the teaching we have just read by Paul to the people in Corinth.
Read Luke.

The word of God for the people of God.

Sermon:

Last week, I shared with you my favorite definition for preaching. “Preaching is allowing people to overhear your prayers.” It is sharing your personal beliefs, your faith statements about who God is for you and how you experience God in your life. Yet, I shared the definition, not so much to define preaching, but to also say it is, in my opinion, the best definition for being evangelistic I know. As people called to live the Great Commission of going into the world preaching and teaching the good news, you are asked to go and allow people to overhear your prayers, your deepest beliefs and experiences of God in your life. I entitled the sermon, “Sharing Your Stories.” Your stories are indeed the witness to God’s presence and activity in the world today.

It is no wonder though that faith sharing can be so difficult. We are asked to share with people our deepest core convictions. So if someone rejects what you share, the feeling is they are rejecting you at the deepest level of your being. It takes first a lot of courage to share our faith, and secondly a lot of trust. It is like the Children’s Moment today. To build trust, you share a little with someone, and if they honor that, we may trust sharing a little more. Obviously, this is one of the issues Paul is raising with the people in Corinth. One must respect the gift someone has given you by their sharing, if you hope they will trust you to share in the future.

This past spring, we have truly tackled some personal and controversial issues as the church. We have talked about everything from personal relationships, abuse, peace at its deepest sense, and maybe foremost, immigration and we have heard some deeply held beliefs and convictions on these topics. In the midst of these discussions, I have received some wonderful letters from some of you. Mostly those of you who do not agree with what you have heard or perceived where I might stand on the issues. Yet, the letters have been kind, and discerning, and with a sense of trust, as you have shared with me what you believe in your heart of hearts. I felt so affirmed that you would trust me that deeply. I have also heard from some who have said that they were concerned about tackling these issues and that maybe we, as the church, should not discuss controversial issues because it might disrupt this wonderful, caring feeling we have as a church. I appreciate the concern that we do not want to have people feel any kind of dissention in the church. But, I would ask that you consider another possibility.

I believe that we should discuss any and all topics as a people of faith, no matter how controversial they are. I can just hear some of the inward groans as I say this. But, the reason is because I believe it builds a real sense of community as people of faith. Scott Peck is or was a Psychiatrist and author, best known for his book, The Road Less Traveled.  He wrote several other books, among them, The Different Drum, which is a book about building and living in community. Peck says real community is built in different ways, but most usually at moments of crisis. A moment of deep pain or concern which will rally people to community. 9/11 and Katrina are just two examples. But, as Peck says, as soon as a crisis ends, so does the feeling and need of community. Peck says that there is a way or a process we can go through that will help us be intentional about building community. The process has four steps. The first step is to realize that we start at what he calls pseudo-community.  It is where people gather and in the gathering it feels like we have community. But real community takes work he reminds us. In my mind the best example of pseudo-community is the greeting, “How are you doing?” Everyone knows you are not asking how are you doing really, it is just a way of saying hello. So a person always responds just fine and yourself, even though they may be dying in side. They may have lost a loved one recently, or had a bad diagnosis from the doctor, their child may have been in an accident, or they may have just lost their job. But none of those are the right responses. It would disrupt the harmony of community, or pseudo-community.

Peck says that to risk this, we need to enter chaos. No one wants to enter chaos. He defines chaos not so much as total confusion but as a time we seek to make everyone who is different than us, who has different thoughts and beliefs than us, normal. And of course normal means making them be or think just like us, the epitome of normalcy. The problem, Paul reminds us, is that we all see dimly in our lives today. To get through chaos, we need to learn that our goal is to not make everyone normal. To spend all of our time and energy converting people to our way of thinking. To move from chaos to real community we need to enter into emptiness. Emptiness means letting go of everything that is a barrier to communication, letting go of our own prejudices and judgments that cause us not to listen to others. For it is only in listening and understanding each other that our world opens up to newer and possibly deeper understandings of life.  In the passage in Luke Jesus called it compassion, and pointed out that God is compassionate and we are called to be compassionate as well. It is also Paul’s definition of love. Love is patient and kind, slow to anger, never insisting on its own way. It is never boastful, arrogant or rude.

This is what leads us to real community. This is what allows us to be a people who are compassionate, caring and present, fully present for each other. So this is why I say the more we can gather and talk openly about our beliefs even in the midst of our differences, the closer we move toward real community. Think about what that means to each of us. Think about those times you have been hurting and needed some encouragement. “En” meaning to wrap someone in. Encourage meaning to wrap another in our courage, when they need a little extra strength. Let’s look at some of the extremes, knowing that everything I mention is a reality in this congregation, maybe many times over. What if you just found out your child was gay. Would you trust sharing that with the community? Or would you be afraid that someone would judge and condemn you and them? What if you found out your child was using drugs, would you seek strength from the community, or would you be too afraid of being labeled a bad parent? What would happen if people found out I was a Democrat? Would they still care about me as much? I’m not of course. I am really a Republicrat or a Demopublican. Actually I’m the only moderate liberal conservative I know. As silly as this may sound, is this not what we do to people when we do not let them express who they are and what they believe? We ask people to fit in to the group they are with as best as they can.

The point being, we can only feel like community when we have the ability to be embraced for who we really are, and not for who we pretend to be. Even if we are loved in the perceptions we allow to be public, our real humanity, our real sense of self never feels affirmed and cared about. It is why I believe Jesus says the truth shall set you free. It is only when people know you in the fullness of your deepest beliefs and convictions, your core of your humanity and embrace you that you can feel fully loved, and know you are a part of a real community.

I will even go so far as to say, that all that I have just shared is the deepest and best understanding of what it means to experience grace. Scripture tells us that God knows us better than we know ourselves. God knows our needs even before we ask, and helps us to pray in moans deeper than what we can understand. In other words, God knows us at our deepest, most human level. And it is in this deepest sense of being known we are loved by God. This is the example we are given to live our relationships with each other. That is why grace is defined as unconditional love. If we are to be real community, if we are to be people of grace, living together in grace, then we need to be able to be people who love and affirm each other at the deepest level of our being. This is why I said that I believe we need to be open to hearing and listening to each other at the deepest, most controversial places in which we share life together. For if people can learn that even here we will love and encourage each other, that even if we disagree with each other, we will still go over and give each other a hug, then we truly are living in real community.

Skit: This skit has two people sitting next to each other in the pew and allowing us to overhear their thoughts, or as I introduced earlier, allows us to overhear their prayers.

YOU - SITTING IN THE PEW NEXT TO ME

From Reaching for Rainbows: Resources for Creative Worship by Ann Weems, © 1980, Westminster Press. Used with permission of Westminster/John Knox Press.

First Person:
You-sitting in the pew next to me-
I don’t know you.
Oh, I know your name.
I know the “Hi, how are you?” part of you.
I know the “Rainy weather we’re having, isn’t it?” part of you.
But I don’t know you-
Not what you’re thinking.
Not where you’ve come from,
Not where you’re going.
You sit so still:
Are you serene?
Or are you troubled inside?
Are you content with life
Or are do you have dreams which have yet to be realized?
Are you here because it’s a habit
Or because it’s a joy
Or because your mother brought you years ago?
Is it expected of you?
Are you setting an example for the children?
Are you glad to be here
Or are you just tired from a long hard week?
Are you bored
Or are you filled with fire?
Are you tuned into what is being said
Or are you disenchanted?
Did you come from a chaotic morning or from too much quiet?
Are you thinking about last night’s party
Or this afternoon’s ball game?
Or are you wondering what it’s all about?
Will you ever reveal yourself to me
Or are you just someone in the pew I’ll never fully know?

Second Person:
You-sitting in the pew next to me-
I don’t know you.
Oh, I know your background.
I know you’re here every Sunday.
I know you’re busy around here-
Church school teacher, chairperson of this and that,
On all the important committees.
Even went to the national meeting, didn’t you?
Who are you behind that smile,
Behind all that activity-
Do you love Christ so much you’ve got to give your time?
Are you seeking something significant for your life
Or are you filled with God’s Spirit?
Are you desperately trying to fill the emptiness in your life
Or are you overflowing with goodwill?
Would you tell me if I asked you
Or would you hide your reasons from me?
Would you really care if I told you my problems?
Would you really listen
Or would you be uncomfortable?
Could I be honest with you
Or would my honesty make you nervous?
Would you take the time?
Would you be interested to know what I feel?
Would my doubts make you uneasy?
Would you want to get involved?
Would you care what I’m all about?
Where I’m heading,
What I’m thinking . . .
Does the fact that we’re sitting side by side in God’s sanctuary
Make us community?
Does it make the difference?
Or are you just someone in the pew I’ll never fully know?

First Person:
You-sitting in the pew next to me-
I’m lonely.
You’d be surprised at that, wouldn’t you?
How could I be lonely with all the family and friends I have?
I’m not lonesome, I’m lonely!
I’m lonely deep down where it hurts.
I want to reach out to somebody and say:
This is me.  This is really me.
These are my deepest hopes and these are my deepest fears.
But everybody passes quickly.
They’re all so busy.
Everything’s kept superficial
As if when we busy ourselves with enough things
We won’t have to think;
We won’t have to face our emotions.
Oh, I long to cut through our rote responses, our pleasantries, our right answers.
I want to say: I’m sorry you have a cold, and I’m glad we’re having weather,
But would I offend you or be too personal?
What is on your heart?
Are you angry?
Are you hurt?
Are you frightened?
Are you confused?
Are you who you want to be?
I’d be interested in what you feel
Would you be interested in what I feel?
What are you searching for, hoping for, reaching for?
It’s all a part of what I think it means to be here,
In God’s church.
Are you lonely, too?
Do you wonder or do you have it all solved?
Are you just someone in the pew I’ll never fully know?

Second Person:
You-sitting in the pew next to me-
I’m scared.
Years are passing quickly
And I seem to have little control over my life.
It’s as though somebody else
Set out a course for me.
When did I decide on this lifestyle?
I’m scared by the subtleties of life.
I’m scared by what’s expected of me
By some unknown “they” out there.
I’m scared by the pushing, the pulling, the pressures.
When did I decide that I had to live on this street in this house
And work like crazy to live on another street in a bigger house?
Where did I learn that success was chasing after things?
And that there’s no end to it . . .
Keep chasing . . .
My life dedicated to owning.
Whoever decided I owed my children bigger and better things?
I’m scared when I take a good look at my way of life.
I’m scared when I look at myself.
That’s why I am here-
Because I’ve heard there is a better way.
I’ve heard that some people take Christ seriously.
I’ve heard that maybe in church I could be born again.
That there is another way of seeing life and living life that can be more meaningful, more exciting, more caring, more fulfilling?
Is it possible?
Could I talk to you about it?
Did it happen to you?
Does your life in the church make a difference for you?
How?  In what way?
Would you laugh to think successful me needs you?
Or would you be compassionate because you know I’m scared?
Maybe you’ll be the one to tell me . . .
Or are you someone in the pew I’ll never know?

First Person:
You-sitting in the pew next to me-
What are you really doing here?
Do you believe in Christ Jesus?
How much?
Enough to risk?
How much of a risk?
Risk your reputation?
Risk your family?
Your money?
Do you?
Do you believe in Christ?
What do you believe?
What difference do your beliefs make in the living of your life?
Will you share it with me?
Will you help me as I seek the Christ in my life?
Will you share your faith with me?
Will you help me as I seek to deepen my faith?
As I seek to be born again?
Or are you someone in the pew I’ll never know?

(Two people come out of their thoughts as service ends and address each other)

Second Person:
Hi, how are you?

First Person:
Oh, fine.  Rainy weather we’re having, isn’t it?

Second Person:
Yes, isn’t it?

Sermon delived by Rev. George Cushman on August 27, 2006.