May the words of my mouth and the meditations of

my heart be always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord,

my strength and my redeemer.

A Church member wrote a letter to the editor of a

newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to

church every Sunday.

"I’ve gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I

have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life

of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think

I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by

giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the

Editor” column, much to the delight of the editor. It went

on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife

has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I

cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those

meals. But I do know this... They all nourished me and

gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife

had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead

today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for

nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"

Have you noticed there is always a grain of truth in a joke?

Today I’m going to talk about Today’s Epistle and how the

spiritual gift of love is essential to nourish our Christian

lives.

1 C O R I N T H I A N S 13 (N E W K I N G J A M E S V E R S I O N )

T H E G R E AT E S T G I F T

1
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of

angels, but have not love, I have become sounding

brass or a clanging cymbal. 2

And though I have the

gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and

all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I

could remove mountains, but have not love, I am

nothing. 3
And though I bestow all my goods to feed

the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,[a]

but have not love, it profits me nothing.

4
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy;

love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5

does

not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not

provoked, thinks no evil; 6

does not rejoice in

iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7

bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all

things.
8
Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies,

they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will

cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish

away. 9
For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
10
But when that which is perfect has come, then

that which is in part will be done away.

11
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I

understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when

I became a man, I put away childish things. 12

For

now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face.

Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I

also am known.
13
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but

the greatest of these is love.

I need to back track to chapter 12 of 1st Corinthians where

Paul is talking about the problems that have divided the

Corinthian church: they have split into factions, and some

members think that the talents they have been given make

then superior to others.

In chapter 12 in verses 1-11, Paul says:

1
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you

to be ignorant: 2
You know that[a] you were Gentiles, carried

away to these dumb idols, however you were led. 3

Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by

the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say

that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

4
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5
There

are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6

And

there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God

who works all in all. 7

But the manifestation of the Spirit is

given to each one for the profit of all: 8

for to one is given

the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word

of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9

to another faith by

the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same[b]

Spirit, 10
to another the working of miracles, to another

prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another

different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of

tongues. 11
But one and the same Spirit works all these

things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

UNITY AND DIVERSITY IN O N E B O DY

12
For as the body is one and has many members, but all

the members of that one body, being many, are one body,
so also is Christ. 13
For by one Spirit we were all baptized

into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or

free—and have all been made to drink into[c] one Spirit. 14

For in fact the body is not one member but many.

Paul points out each have been given different talents by

the Holy Ghost for service in the Church. But the key thing

to remember is Our Lord and Savior directs us in our

Christian growth by the reading of Holy Scripture. For

instance, we have the “Comfortable Words” which his

Apostle’s wrote and which the priest reads during every

Communion, that Christ came to save sinners, and that he

is our Advocate with the Father. We recall the First and

Great Commandment: “Thou shall love the Lord thy God

with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy

mind.” This fills and nourishes us and our every action as

members of Christ’s church.

Love is the bedrock virtue. It is necessary because we

can’t do without it. If we don’t follow the great

commandment and do things out of love, then the value

those actions is lost, or greatly diminished. And though I

bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I

give my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, it

profits me nothing. Doesn’t that say that God knows

what informs our actions in our inward hearts? We cannot

do them for our own agenda to vaunt ourselves above

other miserable sinners. God knows us in our hearts. Paul

is pointing out that even a “good deed” can be spoilt if it is

not done in the right spirit. Therefore love must be the

preexisting virtuethat informs all Christian actions.

Individualism must be subordinated to our fellow man.

Paul shows what happens if we have not love. To

paraphrase him, he says:

I may speak with the most attractive words, I may have the

deepest understanding of the world, I may have the

powers to make things happen in the world, I may even be

so devoted to the cause I am willing to die for it.

But—Paul says—if these fine qualities are not inspired by

what I can do for my fellow men, they are wasted. I think

of that old Christmas classic movie in black-and-white:

Scrooge by Charles Dickens. Remember his attitude

toward the poor? There’s a phrase, “as cold as charity”

which means that our alms giving can be so denuded of all

real sympathy for the person we say we want to help that

it can repel the beneficiary like an insult.

Now that Paul has shown us what love is not, he proceeds

to tell us the characteristics of love. He gives us examples

so we may better understand. Love is both kind and

patient. It endures. Other things may fail, but love is

eternal.

Paul says that if we approach those who need us with

patience and kindness, God will do the rest, because only

God knows the outcome. We have imperfect knowledge

until we come face to face with our maker. We see

“through a glass darkly.”

I’m sure all of you have heard of the PygmalionEffect.

That’s where psychologists told a group of teachers their

students had been tested and were all exceedingly bright.

The result was a self-fulfillingprophecy. The students did

exceptionally well because the teachers’ actions were

formed by their belief the students were not average.

Others have described the result as, “What you expect is

what you get.” If you expect love by giving it

unconditionally as our Savior did, you may expect to

receive in return.

Therefore, we Christians are to be filled with agape love.

We are charged to act with selflessness. Our gifts from

God do not make us superior to any other Christian in the

Church. We are all to contribute to our Common prayer

and Thanks giving as we are able.

Are we allowing our actions to show we are fulfilling

Christ’s commandment that we love one another as he

loved us?

Do we understand that we are as children in the eyes of

the Father?

As we look back over our lives, we recall all the changes

that occurred as we moved–putting aside childish things”

to adulthood. However our journey is not done. We merely

think we have reached adulthood. But we are not static

nor are we perfect. We are moving forward. Paul says,

“Now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I

am known.” If such a man can acknowledge his

imperfections in the eyes of Our Lord and Savior, how can

we do less?

In closing, as Bishop Pressey has so often said, music is

often more profound than the wisest sermon. Let your soul

be nourished by these words as you go forth from this

place. It is a Hymn called “The Gift of Love”

“Though I may speak with bravest fire,

And have the gift to all inspire,

And have not love, my words are vain,

As sounding brass, and hopeless gain.

Though I may give all I possess

And striving so my love profess,

But not be given by love within,

The profit soon turns strangely thin.

Come, Spirit, come, our hearts control,

Our spirits long to be made whole

Let inward love guide every deed;

By this we worship and are freed.”

And now unto God the Father, God the Son, and God the

Holy Ghost, be ascribed as is most justly due all Might,

Majesty, Dominion and Glory, now and forever more,

Amen.

God is not unrighteous, that he will forget your works, and

labour that proceedeth of love; which love ye have showed

for his Name’s sake, who have ministered unto the saints,

and yet do minister.”

The Offertory hymn is hymn 276.