Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
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Original Manuscript:
The last two weeks, Paul has been talking a lot about gifts.
This is in part because the Corithians were very focused on gifts, and one gift in particular: the gift of tongues.
That's why Paul has been emphasizing all gifts these past weeks. All gifts are important, are needed, and have their place.
What Paul is saying today is that ultimately what matters isn't the gift itself, but what is behind the gift, mainly Love.
Love here isn't a feeling that wells up inside of you. Love isn't a passion that we feel deeply. Love is a bond that ties us together inexplicably.
Love is deep and broad and just a little hard for us to define. That's okay, because Jesus shows us exactly what it is.
Jesus shows us by dying on the cross to save us. He didn't have to do this. We did nothing to earn His help. We did nothing to deserve His help. But Jesus came down to dwell among us anyways. He died for us even though we didn't always treat Him well. Jesus died for us because He loves us and wants us to be with Him.
As Jesus says to His disciples before His crucifixion in the Gospel according to John, "No one has greater love than this, than to lay down one's life for one's friends."
That is the love that gives renewal. It's the love that gives belief and hope. This is the love that Paul is calling us to put at the center of our lives and all that we do.
We are called to share the love of Jesus Christ with all others, just as He shared it with us. It's not a feeling we have for Him. It's not even our passion. It's something deeper, which words can almost not describe. Our Love for Jesus is there, even when we just aren't feeling it, when we don't want to pray or take the time to be with Him. It's something that surprises us when we least expect it.
We are called to have the love of Christ Jesus at the center of everything we do. It is our reason for being. If we don't have that, then we are "a noisy gong", a reference Paul is making to the sound of tongues. If we don't have Jesus at the center of our action, then we don't have our purpose, our meaning.
As you move forward, in your own personal life and our Christian life together, ask where is the love of Jesus. Don't be a noisy gong. Have purpose in your ringing.