“The Missing Ingredient” 2013

1 Corinthians 12:1,4-6,11-13,31, 13:1-7,13

1 Corinthians 12:1,4-6,11-13,31, 13:1-7,13

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

The first time

I tried to follow my mother’s chocolate frosting recipe,

I was very careful to melt and stir in the butter, the bakers chocolate, milk and other things …

… and I was so pleased

that it looked right, exactly as I remember it.

Then I tasted my cooking, and it was awful – horribly bitter.

I had forgotten to add and mix in the sugar,

an important ingredient was missing.

Ancient Corinth was a colony set for retired Roman soldiers,

and a busy crossroads on an important trade route,

so it was a busy and bustling city with rich diversity

that welcomed people from all over the ancient world…

… and that diversity was also a part of the church in Corinth.

Paul specifically mentions that there were

Jews and former pagans, slaves and the wealthy and powerful…

… a variety of converts trying to be Christians together.

As a group, the church was blessed

with a vast array of spiritual gifts, skills and abilities,

and as a faith community, they had it all going for them.

The main issue that the Apostle Paul addresses in his letter,

is that, their diversity and differences were also causing

petty jealousies, friction, resentment and conflict.

In Corinth, the main problem was,

that those with the more visible and prominent gifts

assumed and pushed for a hierarchy of spiritual gifts,

as they saw themselves as superior to the others…

… which led to destructive resentments, bitterness,

and petty battles that were tearing up the church family.

They might have sung with gusto and in unison,

“And they will now we are Christians by our love”,

but that wasn’t a truth they were living.

The Apostle Paul was very direct in his letter and explained that

they were missing the point of spiritual gifts. vs. 1,4,11-12

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

They were fighting over

whose gifts and abilities were the best and most important.

But there is no room or place for human pride, because all of

our gifts are unearned, and come as a gracious gift from God,

according to God’s perfect and loving will and purpose…

… gifts are not something that any of us have achieved.

Spiritual gifts

are given to help build-up the church and its mission;

and God freely provides the gifts that are needed

for the mutual benefit of the whole church body,

so that the church

can faithfully and effectively fulfill its mission…

… which means that everyone’s gifts are all

equally important for the life and mission of the Church,

and each given according to God purpose, design and love.

As Paul explains it,

everybody has been given exactly the right spiritual gifts,

and they are all necessary in accord with God’s purpose,

which connects all as the blessed children of God,

and calls for mutual respect and appreciation.

Paul realized that their jealousies, bitterness and conflicts

had damaged their fellowship

and were destroying their life together in community.

They were missing the point of spiritual gifts

because they were missing an essential ingredient --

- and so Paul writes, vs. 31b

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

When I bought my first car, my dad explained to me,

that if my car was going to continue to run,

then all of the engine parts

had to be happy with all of the other parts.

They all need to be lubricated, otherwise the friction

of part against part would surely destroy the engine.

In the Church, obedient and sacrificial love

as Jesus demonstrated in his life and on the cross,

love that places the interests of others ahead of our own

is the necessary lubricant against the friction

of one member rubbing against another member…

… or as Paul explains it, vs. 31-3:3

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

It is not a case of love instead of gifts and Christian service;

but that when gifts and good deeds are done without love,

they do not serve to build up the body of Christ,

and do not honor or glorify the Lord our God.

* Love is the necessary motivation and indispensable ingredient

that makes our offerings and service acceptable to the Lord.

The Corinthian Christians were very talented and gifted.

They probably worked very hard & were committed to their faith,

but they were not living out sacrificial Christian love…

… and love was the missing essential ingredient.

We often hear this passage read as poetry at weddings,

but Paul wasn’t writing about sentimental romantic love.

* His concern was that our spiritual gifts and Christian service

must be motivated by our love for God and for one another.

His point is, that the Holy Spirit calls and equips us, it is à

to build up other people and not to attack or put anyone down,

* that it’s God’s love flowing through us in service to others.

And what does this God-love look like?

God showed us this love in the life and mission of Jesus…

… as Paul describes it, vs. 4-7

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Substitute “Jesus” for the word “love”

and this text describes his life, his mission and message,

and sets the standard for sacrificial Christian love.

Paul’s not describing some idealistic, theoretical dream-world,

but rather he is very practical, specific, and concrete.

It is a self-sacrificing, active and practical love

that places the wants and welfare of others above self…

… which sometimes means taking the hit without complaint,

and other times it is the courage to stand, even alone.

* As Paul tried to make clear to the Christians in Corinth,

the focus is not on our gifts, or our accomplishments,

but on serving within the context of sacrificial love.

To that end, as we come to the Lord’s Table today,

consider our words, deeds and attitudes …

… what are the motivations behind what we say and do?

“Am I in my Christian service and my relationships,

perhaps missing the essential ingredient, sacrificial love?

When you reach for a sponge to wipe off a kitchen counter,

the first thing we do is get the sponge wet, because

the sponge is crispy and crusty and hard and brittle,

and we can’t use the sponge until we get it wet.

Sometimes people can develop crusty attitudes and hard hearts,

and before they are able to enjoy offering gracious service,

they need to add the moisture of God’s gracious love,

and be immersed into God’s grace and compassion.

And then, as that heart changes, it becomes moist and useable

as a tool that God can use to love and to serve other people.

The standard is love, a very high standard

way beyond the reach of our own efforts of will power.

But the point of this text is not to pile on more guilt and shame,

and though we will sometimes fail and get it wrong,

… yet we are not entirely without hope.

God loves us, has shown us that love in Jesus Christ,

and invites us to let that gracious love

grow in us, guide and transform our lives and living,

along our life-long journey of faith with our Lord …

… as we learn to say, “not my will, but they will be done”

Two questions we might ask at the Table of Grace today:

“O Lord, to whom or to what are you asking of me this day?,

and how can I show your love to others, as you have loved me?”