Epiphany
January 28, 2016

Scripture Reading: I Corinthians 13:1-13

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 –I Corinthians 13:1-7

There have been a lot of noisy gongs sounding recently, and clanging cymbals, but I have not noted them being sounded in the name of love. When a people, called to love, places what they believe above their love for others, what they believe becomes idolatry. That is a hard concept for all of us.

I hear some say we should love the sinner but not the sin. An impossible task, I think. The old hymn states it well: God welcomes us just as we are. If there is any changes need, that is between the person and God. We cannot hate the sin in another, if we also practice Jesus’ instruction not to judge. We are called to love and, I think, God uses our love mixed with a whole lot more of God’s love to work through anything that might be separating me or others from God. We really are not even capable of seeing our own sins much less anyone else’s.

Thus God gives us the gifts of patience, kindness, humility, unselfishness, and peaceful countenance.

Prayer: Grant me the full measure of your love and let it pour forth through me to all I meet along the way. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.