LESSON: 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:5b

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At Home ⁽¹⁾

While I was dining out with my children, a man came over to our table, and we started talking.

He asked where my kids go to school. I told him we home-schooled them.

With a raised eyebrow, he asked if my husband is the sole breadwinner for our family. I said, "No, I also work ... out of our home."

Then, noticing our two-month-old son, he mentioned that his daughter had just had a baby, and he wondered what hospital our son was born in.

"He was born at home," I answered.

The man looked at me, then said, "Wow, you don't get out much, do you?"

1. What is the mind-set of this man?

2. Does he really understand?

3. He sees what he wants to see, that which is on the surface.

4. This is so like public opinion.

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INTRODUCTION:

"In a summer 1985 'Talk of the Town' section of the New Yorker, an anonymous person wrote about how the world can easily become a hall of mirrors when one starts counting sheep. 'The individual, instead of looking out upon the world, looks out upon public opinion, trying to find out what the public would like to hear. Then he tries his best to duplicate that, and brings his finished product into a market place in which others are trying to do the same. The public, turning to our culture to find out about the world, discovers there nothing but its own reflection. The unexamined world, meanwhile, drifts blind into the future.'" ⁽²⁾

1. We live in a country in which people are engaged in multiple culture wars.

2. In the midst of the culture wars, the Christian lives in and with love.

1. We can expand on the principle that love does not insist on its own way by using the teachings of Jesus and Paul.

1. We can use the word of Jesus in Matthew 5:

⁴³"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect, (Matthew 5:43-48, NRSVA).

2. Again he said in Luke 6:

²⁷"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. ³⁰Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

³²"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. ³⁵But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful, (Luke 6:27-36, NRSVA).

3. Paul writes in Romans 13:

⁸Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet"; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, "Love your neighbor as yourself." ¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law, (Romans 13:8-10, NRSVA).

2. This type of love ought to have a powerful impact on society.

1. We seek to exemplify the principles in which we believe

2. We seek to influence the process by which all life is governed in a positive and constructive way.

3. At the same time we are called by love to be helpful and supportive wven with the people with whom we disagree.

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MAIN BODY:

1. Richard J. Mouw, in an article "A Spirituality for Public Life", writes: ⁽³⁾

"Part of the 'striving' that the Bible calls us to engage in as we seek to live peaceably with other human being, involves, as I see things working at the cultivation of empathy. Again. it does take work. Our differences do go very deep these days. But the work needs to be done. And for most of us, much of this work will have to be done within the life of the Christian community. If anything like the older patterns of 'civil religion' are to be reestablished-a development that I think we ought seriously to consider-they will not originate 'out there' in the public arena. We must bring them to public life from the arenas where our own concrete particularities are given full expression.

"Here is an empathy-producing spiritual experience that once happened to me in a worship service. I had seen an advertisement for an 'AIDS mass' at a church that was known for its support for the homosexual community, and I decided to attend. My hope was as to arrive shortly before the service was to begin and slip into a back pew where I could observe the event. When I arrived at the church. however, there were very few seats left. Either I had to leave or allow myself to be ushered to a pew midway down the center aisle. I chose to stay.

"I was very much aware of being surrounded by people whose sexual lifestyles were in conflict with my own understanding of the morality prescribed by the Bible. But when the service began with one of my favorite hymns, I was quickly drawn into the worship experience. I was not prepared, however, for the emotional-and spiritual-impact of two events in the liturgy. The first was a unison reading of verses 13-15 of Psalm 139:

For it was you who formed me in my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

"The second element of worship was 'the prayers of the people.' The leader asked individuals simply to speak out the names of friends and loved ones who had died of AIDS. The response was almost thunderous and went on for minutes: 'Hank.' 'Joan.' 'Arnie.' 'Philip.' 'Fred.' 'Ashley.' Name after name, accompanied by a chorus of sobs.

"Nothing that happened that evening caused me to change my views about homosexual practice. But the encounter did have a profound impact on me. It brought home to my consciousness in a powerful way the sense that I was surrounded by fellow human beings who are fashioned in the divine image and who have experienced heart-rending sorrow in the deep places of their lives.

"My experience is not unlike one described by Saint Therese of Lisieux in her wonderful spiritual journal. A cloistered nun who managed to generate much spiritual wisdom in her much-too-short life (she died before the age of thirty), she seemed to work especially hard at generating empathy for others-but she also knew that she had to call regularly on Jesus for help. Here she describes the effort as it applied to an especially disagreeable member of her religious community:

One of the nuns managed to irritate me whatever she did or said. The devil was mixed up in it, for it was certainly he who made me see so many disagreeable traits in her. As I did not want to give way to my natural dislike of her, I told myself that charity should not only be a matter of feeling but should show itself in deeds. So I set myself to do for this sister just what I should have done for someone I loved most dearly. Every time I met her, I prayed for her and offered God all her virtues and her merits. I was sure this would greatly delight Jesus, for every artist likes to have his works praised and the divine Artist of souls is pleased when we do not halt outside the exterior of the sanctuary where He has chosen to dwell but go inside and admire its beauty. ⁽⁴⁾

"I find Saint Therese's image of the Divine Artist especially helpful. For Christians, coming to experience our solidarity with other human beings especially those with whom we are inclined to differ on important matters-is a process something like an exercise in art appreciation. To some of us, art appreciation, in the straightforward sense of the term, comes more easily than to others. But for others of us-for most of us, I suspect-it is something we need to work hard at cultivating. (1 have special reasons for confessing my lack of proper cultivation in this area. My wife is trained as an art historian, and our son says that this means that his father has sat waiting on the steps of some of the great art museums of the world!).

"Civic-mindedness requires something like the sensitivities of art appreciation. And we know that in the aesthetic realm the reason why the requisite sensitivities do not come easily for most of us is due in part to the fact-when it comes to being able to appreciate a Picasso or a Warhol or a Nevelson-that we have not studied the subject enough. The need to study what we are being asked to appreciate is also necessary to the case of human relationships."

1. Saint Therese of Lisieux observed:

"I was sure this would greatly delight Jesus, for every artist likes to have his works praised and the divine Artist of souls is pleased when we do not halt outside the exterior of the sanctuary where He has chosen to dwell but go inside and admire its beauty." ⁽⁵⁾

2. Go inside a person and admire their beauty.

3. This is difficult, but not impossible.

2. We understood that there are essential moral needs that need to be met.

1. We may approach these needs with this question:

1. How we are willing to manage:

1. Freedom

2. Rights and

3. Feelings

2. Take these three one at a time.

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3. We are all free, but it is important how we use our freedom.

Richard John Neuhaus writes in Christianity Today about Pope John Paul II's 1993 encyclical Veritatis Splendor (letter: The Splendor of Truth) ⁽⁶⁾

"We are asked to reflect on the meaning of moral truth. "The sorry truth of the matter is that many people today think moral truth is a contradiction in terms. You have your values and I have mine, and that's that. Beyond the individual assertion of values, there is nothing left to discuss.

"He notes that the modern world has a great deal to say about freedom, and that is good. Freedom must be grounded in truth. Freedom standing by itself inevitably degenerates into license License, which is unbridled freedom, quickly becomes the enemy of freedom

Once the reality of absolute truth is denied, all arguments--indeed, all human relationships--become nothing more than an exercise of the will to power.

"Ours is a radically individualistic culture in which it is hard to make the case that we must discern and obey what is objectively true.

Rather, each of us decides what is true for me. In other words, says John Paul, we arrogate to ourselves the right to create the truth.

"Many intellectuals today argue that everything, including ideas of morality, is created by culture.

We are, they say, socially constructed all the way down--truth has no foundation in either reason or revelation.

According to this theory, freedom may be high among your values, but it is only because you are the product of a culture that values freedom. Put bluntly, what you call freedom is a delusion.

You are as captive to your culture as somebody else who is the product of a culture that values collectivism, or child sacrifice, or the worship of Baal, or whatever.

Pope John Paul appreciates the insights of psychology, anthropology, and the behavioral sciences into the ways we are conditioned by culture, genes, and factors yet unknown.

But deep within each acting person is an aspiration towards the good, which is finally an aspiration toward God, that we either follow or defy.

"Many of our contemporaries will object that all this is very nice; it may even be true in some sense of the word.

But, they say, there is no going back to simpler days when it was possible to assert that we hold these truths as though there were actually truths to hold and to be held by.

Nowadays we live in a pluralistic society, don't you know.

"There is no agreement on what truths we hold, we most not impose our values on others, on and on."

1. Writing to the early Christian Community, Peter, 1 Peter 2:13-16, reminded them of this important point.

For the Lord's sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish.

As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil.

2. Do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil.

1. EVIL = As judged by the appearance or effects, something is evil when it is worthless and corrupt; displeasing, ugly and sad; or painful and injurious.

2. Evil is simply living as if there were no moral laws or rules to govern life.

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4. We all have our feelings with which we have to deal.

1. How will we deal with our feelings?

2. How will we seek to protect not only our feelings, but also the feelings of others?

1. I served on the Human Growth and Development Committee for the Mukwonago School District.

1. We were putting in place a Sexual Harassment component to the Curriculum

It begins with a admirable premise.

"Students learn about creating environments where student interaction is positive.

"These environments provide students with three things: the freedom to act, mutual and equal power, and good feelings about their interaction with others.

"No answers are right or wrong

"Sexual harassment is in the eye of the beholder.

Perceptions about language or behavior are often more important than intentions.

Harassment is about feelings, beliefs and experiences.

"No fixed list of behaviors or circumstances constitute harassment, but the courts say that you may be responsible for how another person feels about a personal encounter.

2. How another person feels!

1. Instead of creating freedom, it curtails freedom.

2. It inhibits relations with people of uncertain response.

3. I did look up the Sexual Harassment Curriculum for the River Valley School District, and it does not contain the feeling element.

5. We all have our rights which need to be stated and protected.

1. How we define rights?

2. How do we seek to achieve them?

1. Abortion Rights.

1. We have a belief system.

2. But, though this may be a moral issue, it is also a State Issue.

3. I believe that abortion is a poor choice.

4. Sexual relations ought to be confined within the covenant of marriage.

5. A better choice would be not to engage in unprotected sexual activity.

6. The Church has a position, this may not be the position of the State.

7. I am required to allow for the abortion option.

1. Confronted with a young woman seeking my help I would not tell her what to do.

2. We could explore options.

3. We could explore the morality of those options.

4. We could address the social and psychological consequences of the options.

5. In the end, love requires me to stand by her and support her to achieve the best possible outcome.

2. Gay Rights

1. Homosexuality may be from physical or psychological origins.

2. From a physiological and biblical view this is not normal.

3. But, again the Church has a position.

4. The State also has a position.

5. Our schools teach tolerance.

6. I am required to uphold human rights, no matter what your orientation may be.

7. As an example, I had a young man come into my office and tell me that he was Gay.

1. He was a vocal major student in the UW system.

2. He sang for worship.

3. There was no reason to deny him the use of his talents to glorify God.

4. What I did tell him was, "I can accept you for who you are, but do not expect me to approve of all you do.

5. This is how we may handle this type of situation.

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CONCLUSION:

1. We live in a hostile world.

1. I was reading in 1 John 5, and was strongly reminded of an important conclusion that John makes.

¹⁸We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them. ¹⁹We know that we are God's children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. ²⁰And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life, (1 John 5:18-20, NRSVA).

2. The whole world is under the power of the evil one.

3. This is a hostile environment.

2. We all would like to live in a non-hostile environment.

1. One that is free from any kind of threat.

2. Unfortunately, that is not possible.

3. Because we have place so much emphasis on freedom, feelings, and rights, we are in danger of the erosion and possible loss of all of them.

1. We are in the same danger that developed in the life of a man in one of Aesop's fables.

A middle-aged man had two wives, one older and one younger.

Younger wanted him to look like her--she pulled all the gray hairs.

Older wanted him to look like her--she pulled all dark hairs.

2. Poor man wound-up bald.

4. What is needed is for church and families to teach morality, manners, respect for property and persons and culture to the children.

1. This is the primary solution to our situation.

2. The secondary solution is for all of us to become more involved in the social and political processes.

1. Churches should stay out of politics.

2. Churches yes, people no!

3. In the words of Stanley Hauerwas ⁽⁷⁾ we are called to faithfulness-not freedom

"One of the deepest sentimentalities of liberalism is the presumption that you can have children without having them suffer for their convictions. People get very upset by the idea that the children might have to suffer. Well, why...are you having children? You want them to be Christians, don't you? If they are going to be Christians, they are going to suffer. That is what life is about. Life is not about freedom. Freedom...has absolutely no place in the Christian life.

"Christians are called to faithfulness and obedience so we can be free from the tyranny of those who would enslave us in the name of freedom."

1. What is true for children is also true for all of us.

2. Love does not insist on its own way.

Amen!

1. Pastor Tim [posts@cybersaltlists.org]

2. Retrieved from http://www.homileticsonline.com/subscriber/default.asp?, Illustrations

3. Richard J. Mouw, "A Spirituality for Public Life", Theology Today, 61, 4, January 2005, pp 478-481

4. The Autobiography of Saint Therese of Lisieux: The Story of a Soul (New York: Doubleday, 1957), 126-7. Cited in Richard J. Mouw, "A Spirituality for Public Life", Theology Today, 61, 4, January 2005, pp 478-481

5. Ibid

6. Neuhaus, Richard J., "A Voice in the Relativistic Wilderness," Christianity Today, Volume 38, Number 2 (February 7, 1994), 33-35.

7. -Stanley Hauerwas interviewed in The Door (May/June 1993)

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