April 28, 2002
1Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2And 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, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (KJV)
Have you heard the story about the actor who was playing the part of Christ in the Passion Play in the Ozarks? As he carried the cross up the hill a tourist began heckling, making fun of him, & shouting insults at him. Finally, the actor had taken all of it he could take. So he threw down his cross, walked over to the tourist, & punched him out.
After the play was over, the director told him, "I know he was a pest, but I can’t condone what you did. Besides, you’re playing the part of Jesus, & Jesus never retaliated. So don’t do anything like that again." Well, the man promised he wouldn’t. But the next day the heckler was back worse than before, & finally the actor exploded & punched him out again.
The director said, "That’s it. I have to fire you. We just can’t have you behaving this way while playing the part of Jesus." The actor begged, "Please give me one more chance. I really need this job, & I can handle it if it happens again." So the director decided to give him another chance.
The next day he was carrying his cross up the street. Sure enough, the heckler was there again. You could tell that the actor was really trying to control himself, but it was about to get the best of him. He was clinching his fists & grinding his teeth. Finally, he looked at the heckler & said, "I’ll meet you after the resurrection!" (1)
We don’t know if the actor ever followed through "after the resurrection". But he provides the backdrop for the first of two statements we need to hear about love:
I. A Christian loves because he does
For many years in American culture, love has been portrayed as a feeling that overcomes you. It includes weak knees, unexplainable head-in-the-clouds and that goofy look other people see on your face. That is not really love, but rather it is romance - a kind of lust-driven drunkenness.
Love is also not doing things for other people because you have the means and they don’t. That is simply what many nice people do out of compassion, at best. A lesser motive is that we fear being like the poor folks and give to appease whatever gods control the distribution of stuff. But, the worst motive is self-aggrandizement. We want to be noticed when we give.
True Christian loving is doing what the other person needs most, simply because truth and integrity demand it.
Football great Bubba Smith has sworn off booze. Not drinking it, but selling it. Bubba never did drink, but he sold a ton of beer by making cute television ads. Not anymore. Bubba has kicked the habit….Here’s how it happened.
"I went back to Michigan State for the homecoming parade last year," Bubba said. "I was the grand marshal and I was riding in the backseat of this car. The people were yelling, but they weren’t saying, ’Go, State, go!’ One side of the street was yelling, ’Tastes great!’ and the other side was yelling ’Less filling.’
"Then we go to the stadium. The older folks are yelling ’Kill, Bubba, kill!’ But the students are yelling ’Tastes great! Less filling!’ Everyone in the stands is drunk. It was like I was contributing to alcohol, and I don’t drink. It made me realize I was doing something I didn’t want to do.
"I was with my brother, Tody, who is my agent. I told him, ’Tody, I’ll never do another Lite beer commercial.’
"I loved doing the commercials, but I didn’t like the effect it was having on a lot of little people. I’m talking about people in school. Kids would come up to me on the street and recite lines from my commercials, verbatim. They knew the lines better than I did. It was scary. Kids start to listen to things you say, you want to tell ’em something that is the truth.
"Doing those commercials, it’s like me telling everyone in school, ’Hey, it’s cool to have a Lite beer.’ I’d go to places like Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale on spring breaks (as a spokesman for the brewery), and it was scary to see how drunk those kids were. It was fun talking to the fans, until you see people lying on the beach because they can’t make it back to their rooms, or tearing up a city.(2)
I don’t know if Bubba is a Christian, but he acted like one. He loved when he tore up his beer commercial contract. But we ask the question, Why does a Christian act like that? What makes him do for others?
II. A Christian does because he was loved first.
Everything that makes a believer act unselfishly, truthfully, compassionately and above-and-beyond is motivated by the Master’s love. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4.19).
Here is what motivates me to come to the table this morning…
STILL HE WALKED
He could hear the crowds screaming "crucify" "crucify"...
He could hear the hatred in their voices,
These were his chosen people.
He loved them,
And they were going to crucify him.
He was beaten, bleeding and weakened... his heart was broken,
But still He walked.
He could see the crowd as he came from the palace.
He knew each of the faces so well.
He had created them.
He knew every smile, laugh, and shed tear,
But now they were contorted with rage and anger...his heart broke,
But still He walked.
Was he scared?
You and I would have been
So his humanness would have mandated that he was. He felt alone.
His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed him.
He searched the crowd for a loving face and he saw very few.
Then he turned his eyes to the only one that mattered
And he knew that he would never be alone.
He looked back at the crowd, at the people who were spitting
At him, throwing rocks at him and mocking him and he knew
That because of him, they would never be alone.
So for them, He walked.
The sounds of the hammer striking the spikes echoed through
The crowd. The sounds of his cries echoed even louder,
The cheers of the crowd, as his hands and feet
Were nailed to the cross, intensified with each blow.
Loudest of all was the still small voice inside his
Heart that whispered "I am with you, my son",
And God’s heart broke.
He had let his son walk.
Jesus could have asked God to end his suffering,
But instead he asked God to forgive.
Not to forgive him, but to forgive the ones who were persecuting him.
As he hung on that cross, dying an unimaginable death,
He looked out and saw, not only the faces in the crowd,
But also, the face of every person yet to be,
And his heart filled with love.
As his body was dying, his heart was alive.
Alive with the limitless, unconditional love he feels for each of us.
That is why He walked.
When I forget how much My God loves me,
I remember his walk.
When I wonder if I can be forgiven,
I remember his walk.
When I need reminded of how to live like Christ,
I think of his walk.
And to show him how much I love him,
I wake up each morning, turn my eyes to him,
And I walk.
------Author Unknown
(1) MELVIN NEWLAND, in a sermon, The Most Excellent Way, SermonCentral.com
(2) James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), 309.
