The Shape of Love in the Way We Live

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Shannon Baker
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1 The Shape of Love in the Way We Live September 16, 2018 Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13; Luke 10:25-37 The Rev. Dr. Seth E. Weeldreyer One shape of love could be a wedding ring. Of course, the physical character itself doesn t matter so much what it s made of, how it looks or feels or lasts. Gold, silver, or platinum, plastic, tattoos or twisties. What makes the difference is what of life and relationship it expresses. Meaning we give it. What we actually do what shapes our motives, promises, desires, actions; how we actively live with a ring or any other thing. Abounding grace and patience, no judgment or rudeness in wrongdoing, all Paul urges in 1 Corinthians I ve known in life with Suzanne when I lost my ring twice! We all need that kind of love. Bonded by affection and tenderness, we get through joy and sadness, good and bad, health and sickness with a spouse, other family and friends. And that d be enough to bring peace to all the world, if only everyone thought and acted and lived exactly like us, like family! Ah, but, then that s not always true of family, or church family, let alone all society. We need a moral pattern for love beyond just those we like, interwoven with people we don t know, or dislike, even enemies. You see, friends, more than sentimental fondness, Holy Love in our lives gets revealed in selfless risk, personal cost, passion for a greater cause, sometimes even against culturally accepted norms and attitudes, celebrated victories or priorities. Paul calls it dedication to a still more excellent way. Though it s fitting to read 1 Corinthians at weddings, he speaks to ordinary everyday living faith. Agape he calls it. You may know Greeks had four words for love

2 affectionate, erotic, filial, and sacrificial. The agape Paul urges is this last sacrificial service, loving others by seeking their good more than our selves. Anything could be or not be in the shape of love. Rings are just a circle of some metal humans over years deemed valuable. It could be a frying pan when used to make breakfast for a beloved, or the griddles used by men this morning. It could be books or toys, utensils or tools, jewelry, food, or even socks when received as gifts that say: I know and care for you. The shape of love could be a snow shovel when used on a neighbor s drive. Tissues, paper and pencils for classrooms. A hammer with Habitat. Medical supplies, a business ledger, or legislation. Anything in our use that says of someone else: we know, we care. It could be wood once a wall up here to separate, reused for a table to nourish life together. Or a mini-tower, with metal bowl for water a fountain flowing with the claim, the promise, the call of God s steadfast love for every infant and adult who comes to it. It could be beams of wood long ago used to crucify Jesus as he poured out love, unselfishly, courageously, sacrificially, to his life s end; now the shape inspiring trust that God s love remains present even in our darkest trials, most difficult times to raise us to new life. We come to church to worship, to talk with good sense in classes, to serve wholeheartedly so that resurrection power of love shapes our life. We all want to love and be loved. And there s a darker shadow side in all of us. A disconnect between what we feel and know to be right and what we actually do, how we act. Fears and anxieties. Biases. Simple insensitivities diminish more than nourish life. In these first weeks of autumn, our worship centers on moral, ethical foundations for life to flourish. Last week we began with dignity of every person embodied, upheld, challenged, nurtured in community. No matter how much money, how perfect decisions, how twisted perspectives may seem, we all have value because God created and love us. There are no throw-aways. And with dignity, each person bears responsibility to help all creation flourish. Now from that firm foundation, any step

3 we take, any choice we make gets shaped by love. The question is what do we love? To what do we give our heart? What work? What dream or vision? What guides our motivation, our actions? Gratitude or critical complaint. Greed or generosity. How do we orient what s inside so that it shapes all we say and do? That s what s really going on in Jesus conversation. The lawyer knows the right answers of faith love God, love neighbor. Heart, soul, mind, strength that is every bit of our being. He s more scripture scholar than courtroom advocate or prosecutor. Deuteronomy and Leviticus (where the double commands come from) are as clear to him as the details from Harry Potter for many youth and young adults, or maybe its fantasy sports figures, some period of history, or tv show for us. Jesus says to the lawyer: now go do this love and you will live, you will flourish. You will share eternal life more fulfilling than just personal salvation into heaven, a quality of living here and now. You know, I ve heard several times that this story of the Good Samaritan is the best-known Bible passage cited by non-christians in our society and around the world. Something s going on here that transcends religious dogma and division, to resonate with human longings deeper than particularities of time and place and culture and biases that abound. The lawyer asks Jesus: who is my neighbor? What s his motive? Is he sincerely seeking, or scheming to entrap him? And in Jesus parable, why do priest and Levite cross the road to avoid the victim? Much fruitful insight and speculation has been written about duties to fulfill in religion and community, that pressure the priest and Levite to remain undefiled by death. They are good respectable people. And in the pattern of telling a parable, the third person would be the hero, maybe an average faithful Jew like you and me. But Jesus throws in an unexpected twist. That s just like him, isn t it, what he often does? You see, Samaritans were Jewish kin who became the greatest enemy, because they sort of blended Jewish faith with other religious ideas and practices in the region. In the face of prejudice and all that

4 separates and causes conflict in society, it s a story intended to shape how we act with generous, pragmatic, and realistic love. I was shaped by sermons David Gushee gave at Chautauqua this summer. One day he preached on this parable. Like the quote from his book, Gushee asserted this is the heart living faith for us. It s the norm, the true shape of our loving witness when raised to new life in Christ. Like many other scholars he focused on the quick, simple, clear verbs. The Samaritan came near. He saw. He was moved. He went, bandaged and poured healing oil. He carried the wounded man, took care of him, and gave a credit card with pre-authorization for any expense needed to make the man well and whole. Imagine! Based on Jesus parable, David Gushee outlines what Paul might agree is an excellent way of serving ethically. See with compassion, enter into a situation, offer practical care, reconnect in community, and deal with the causes of harm. i See truly, care deeply, choose intelligently, act courageously. On my way to a wedding this week, I caught up on a few episodes of the podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. One of the hosts, Casper, told a story about his grandparents living in the Netherlands during World War II. A story, as I heard it, of steadfast, unfailing Holy Agape bringing new life in a time of darkest trial a claim, a promise, a call, a commitment. Casper s grandparents met while working with the resistance against the Nazis. British, American, and Canadian airmen got shot down, parachuted to safety, knocked on a random door, would get taken care of and given shelter. Maybe it s all a bit like a man on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Casper s grandparents traveled to rural train stations to pick up an airman, total stranger, 19 or 20 years old. They d pretend they re all family or friends and take the train back to Amsterdam or Rotterdam. Then at night they d sneak the airman to the beach for a rowboat across the channel.

5 One time they missed a connection. The airman had to stay the night with Casper s grandparents. To say thank you for all the risk and care they provided, for saving his life, he wanted to give them the only thing he had to offer. Of course, they said: No way! You re crazy! Keep it! Next morning, they got him to safety and off he went. Now, Casper s grandparents were not the greatest house cleaners rooms usually untidy or messy. Years later when his grandmother finally lifted the carpet to sweep and vacuum, she found the airman s wedding ring. ii The shape of love. Thanks be to God. Amen. i David Gushee, On Love (sermon preached at Chautauqua Institution on July 3, 2018). ii Casper Ter Kuile, Glory: the Weighing of the Wands on Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, February 15, 2018.

Grade 6 Lesson Plan & Handouts Discovering God s Purpose for Relationships

DIOCESE OF FORT WAYNE SOUTH BEND SAFE ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM Grade 6 Lesson Plan & Handouts Discovering God s Purpose for Relationships Time estimate: 45 minutes Session objectives: 1. Identify different