Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Daily Lectionary: Job 12:1-6,12-25; John 5:30-47
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil. (1 Corinthians 13:4-5)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. These words are popular at weddings because they talk about love. But if you look closely, the love that St. Paul describes in this “Love Chapter” of the Bible is really a pretty impossible love. Unless the love He is describing is God's love in Jesus Christ.
Consider our Lord, His life and His work and now on His way to Jerusalem to die. It suffers long. How often did Jesus put up with His dopey disciples! How often does He put up with us and our repeated sinning and turning away!
He doesn't envy as we do, but freely gives Himself unto death for our sins. He doesn't parade Himself, trying to be the most popular, like we do, not being happy unless we are liked and appreciated.
He doesn't behave rudely, as we do, putting others down so that we look good or funny. Such love doesn't seek its own. Our way of loving does. We love because we want something in return. Jesus loves us by dying for us, even if no one would ever return that love!
Love is not provoked and thinks no evil. On the cross, Jesus didn't give in to insult those who hated Him. He held His tongue and commended Himself into the Father's hand. He thought no evil but only of this one thing—that by His suffering and death, He was pleasing His Father and taking away our sins.
Such a love is the love that Christ has for us. It isn't a sappy love that is all about making us feel good. It is an action love that goes to Calvary and bleeds and dies. It is a doing love that washes at the font and absolves and feeds with body and blood.
And it is by that love that the Spirit works in you so that you, too, will learn this love and begin to exercise a similar love to your neighbor. That is, you don't need to FEEL good about others to DO good for them. Such is the salvation which rescues us from our sins and makes us someone loving to those around us, for Christ’s sake. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
O love, how deep, how broad, how high, Beyond all thought and fantasy, That God, the Son of God should take Our mortal form for mortals' sake! (LSB 544:1)