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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion Love is eternal March 22, 2009 |
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Frontline Devotion for Sunday, March 22, 2009 by Susan Hill
I Corinthians 13:8-13 love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
Evidently, some in the Corinthian congregation were assuming greater importance than they deserved; developing hierarchies within the church based on their personal gifts; believing their abilities to lead or prophesy made them more deserving in God’s eyes; forgetting the unity of Christ and the discipleship to which they were called through Christ. As a result, divisions in the church developed compromising a central message of the gospel: to love one another as Christ loved us. Without love, Paul claimed, everything Christian’s do is passing fancy. Love is the anchor for the work of Christ that gives meaning and permanence to the church’s work.
Sometimes we are lucky enough to get a glimpse of what Christ-like “love” looks like in a congregational setting. At Wednesday night’s Lenten service in our congregation we heard from several women who come together on a weekly basis to knit or crochet prayer shawls. Hearing their stories, I believe I understood Paul’s message “love is eternal.” The women gather to knit or crochet because they love to do it; maybe their mothers taught them how. They continue to teach one another, and they welcome all who want to learn to join their group. Egos seem to be absent. Openness and acceptance seem to be abundant.
The prayer shawls are given primarily as gifts of love and comfort to people in the congregation who are suffering from illness or grief. (There’s discussion now of including those who are celebrating the birth of a child etc.) Following an ancient ritual, the handworkers pray for the recipients of the shawls as they knit or crochet, and the shawls are blessed before they are passed along to their new owners. People who use the shawls to wrap themselves in report that they experience a visible, tangible reminder of God’s ever-enfolding love, and they express deep gratitude for the care and unconditional embrace of the congregation demonstrated in the gift of a shawl.
I believe it is this type of love-inspired exchange that Paul is trying to teach us about in his letter to the Corinthians. It’s authentic. It’s centered in love, not pride or arrogance. It builds people up and teaches them about the love of Christ. Chances are shawl recipients will pass this love along to someone else as they have now been taught. It is this continuing, abiding circle of love that we hope to be a part of in the church as we have always been and will be forever despite our human failings. Love is eternal and Christ-centered. It is a blessed, prayer-full wrap that uplifts us and guides us in mutuality. Thanks be to God!
Prayer:God of love, give us the grace to grow in the church as one body with many contributing parts. Inspire us to respect the talents and gifts of each one. Lead us in faith, hope, and love so that your name may be honored among us. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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