Sermon: Scariest Chapter in Scripture
Text: I Cor 13:1-13
Occasion: Quinquagesima
Who: Mark Woolsey
Where: Arbor House
When: Sunday, Feb 26, 2006
Where: TI Ash Wednesday
When: Sunday, Mar 1, 2006
Audio link: http://providencerec.com/Sound%20Files/Srmn060226WoolseyICor13;01-13QuinquagesimaScariestChapterInTheBible.mp3
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I. Intro
In times past I have spoken of special days of the church calendar: Ascension Day, Easter Sunday, Christmas, Epiphany, etc. These are more or less familiar to many of us. Today, however, has one of the strangest names of the year: Quinquagesima. It sounds rather impressive and solemn, but really it’s Latin for 50 days. Today is exactly 50 days before Easter. It is also the last Sunday Ash Wednesday which is the first day of Lent.
II. Lent
Before I start with the Biblical exegesis, I would like to speak for a moment about Lent. Lent comes from the word meaning "to lengthen" because the days are getting noticably longer now that winter is coming to a close. Although it started out as a two or three day fast before Easter for the first three centuries of the church, it has grown to the period of 40 days we know today. 40 days of fasting is a good Scriptural pattern since Moses, Elijah, and especially our Lord did this. You may be surprised, however, to find out that if you count the days between the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday, and the end, Easter, you get 46 days rather than 40. The reason for this is that the six Sundays are feast days in which we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord; no fasting is to be done on those days.
Unfortunately, among Evangelicals Lent has quite a bad rap. We tend to see it as a left-over artifact of the works-righteousness days of the church, or as an unnecessary addition to our spiritual disciplines. In reality it is neither. Although any spiritual exercise can and has been abused, Lent should be seen as an antidote, rather than a cause, of self-salvation and thus a very necessary spiritual discipline. Instead of seeing it as a way to pay off some of our debt to God, which we can never do, it is properly seen as revelation to ourselves of our own sinfulness. If we are honest with outselves, in the end we think we are not really that bad. We’ve never robbed a bank, never murdered anyone, we’ve been honest in with our money (well, ok, maybe we a little creative on our expense statements and tax returns, but everyone does that). We’ve even helped old ladies cross the street. Maybe we’re not a Billy Graham or Mother Teresa, but we are decent people; surely God will give us a passing grade, won’t He? Lent disabuses us of our self-deception. Like a person who cannot see the black streaks that he has smeared all over his face, our sins are for the most part invisible to us until the mirror of Lent, by it’s use of God’s word, forces us to acknowledge and deal with them. In and of itself it provides no way to wipe those marks off, but it does identify them and create in us an awareness of their insidious nature. The night of Lent helps us all the more to see the light of Easter. When Lent is properly practiced, grace is transformed from boring into amazing. The fast of Lent becomes a reminder of our sins and the sacrifice of our Lord. It heightens the joy of Easter Day. Find some small thing you love and give it up to the Lord during this time. Don’t make it big; you’re not going to impress or propitiate Him, anyway. Christ has already done that. Everytime you are irritated that you cannot have that small thing during this 40 days, consider how dark your heart really is, how prone to self-deception, and then remember that Christ forgave even that. None of us really understands the depth of our depravity. At least we have a slightly better insight to this during Lent. I highly recommend it’s observance.
III. Scariest Chapter in the Bible
The Epistle reading for today, I Cor 13, may seem somewhat surprising as we are preparing ourselves for solemn Lent. This is arguably the most famous chapter in all the Bible, in part because it is read most often during weddings. The bride, with stars in her eyes, gazes worshipfully on her groom as these words are read and expounded upon. Love is patient and kind? Well, of course! He’s perfect anyway, so all the demands of this chapter are easily obeyed - for the first six months. Unfortunately, though, most men - except for my wife’s husband, of course ;-) - lose this status of perfection after six months or so, and the force of this chapter becomes more onerous. In fact, if this chapter were properly understood, I think it would be one of the scariest chapters in all of Scripture. To help us take a fresh look at what it says, I would like us to travel back in time to our wedding day; but this time the preacher is something out of a bad dream...
IV. Love is Impractical
Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and thought I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poort, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. (v1-3)
Americans are a nortoriously practical people. We don’t care what creed, nationality, gender, or race you are, we just want to know what you have done for me lately. When Ronald Reagan sought to unseat President Jimmy Carter in the election of 1980, one of his most devestating questions was, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago when Mr Carter first took office?". The resounding answer was, "No!", and President Carter was swept out of office. Love, on the other hand, it immanently impractial - no matter how good you may have performed, it counts as nothing before God if it was done without love. Martyrs for the faith, if their motive is something other than love - such as fear of hell - profit not one whit by their heroic resistance before death. It’s simply insufficient. Love is inheritantly impractical.
V. Love is Painful
Love suffers long, and is kind ;... does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked (v4-5).
You’ve just had the hardest, most stressful day at work that you’ve ever had. You come home and your wife asks you in that snippy, harsh voice of hers. "Why are you 5 minutes later than you said you’d be?". You’ve slaved at a deadend job just for her, and she verbally slaps you in the face. Nothing would feel so good as to strike back, yet love suffers long. It’s not fun, it’s painful.
VI. Love is Naïve
Love ... believes all things (v7)
This is the 5th anniversary in a row that he’s forgotten. Didn’t even mention it to you a week later, yet when you ask him about it, he claims he still feels for you like he did when you were courting. Love must believe this because love is naïve.
VII. Love of Self
In spite of the seeming impossibility of living up to this standard of love, we find there is actually one person in all the world that we do love like this. We do love this person when it is impractical an painful; we love him or her naively. Yet this is the one person God FORBIDS us to love like this - ourselves.
VIII. Love is Impossible
After all of this, how do we stack up against the standard of love presented in this chapter? Reminiscent of the recently-concluded winter games, if God were the Olympic judge and our contest was love, how would we fare? Listen from the gospel to our competition:
He (Jesus) took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him.
He did this out of love. If this is the standard, what chance do we have? God does not grade on the curve. There are no silver or bronze medals - only gold. Who will receive it? This love is impossible to live up to. Yet this very damnation is our salvation.
IX. True Love
The same example that damns us is the act that saves us. His death was for us, and accomplishes that which we cannot. We are unloving, He is pure love. We are selfish, He is selfless. We are sinful,
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (II Cor 5:21).
His death wipes our our lack. It’s not just the good news that if we perform, if we stuggle, if we appropriate it, if we generate faith, then His death applies to us. No, it applies because He loved us! To all who believe in Him - and even that faith is a gift from Him - He became our sin, and we become His righteousness. We are united with Him such that all that God sees in Him gets credited to our account. His death did not potentially save us, it actually did. For all He has determined to save, His death saved. There’s nothing left for us to do. He even gives the faith by which we receive this gift. That’s true love.
X. Seeing that Love
That’s all well and good, you may say. But how can I see and touch that love? I can see my wife, my husband, my children. That’s love I can see on this on this earth. What does God have to compare with that? He has a table. On that table are bread and wine. Yet they are not only bread and wine. Because of love, that bread and wine take you up to a place where you taste and touch the Master Himself. He is broken before your very eyes and you feast on Him. Spiritually, you can see and touch Him. His love is real.
This is the word of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Soli Deo Gloria!
