Love?

1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30

Today’s gospel reading is a continuation of last week’s story. Jesus is in Nazareth, in his home congregation. He has read a passage from Isaiah, and claimed that the scripture has been fulfilled though him.

And then he goes on to taunt them, daring them to accept him and his message, or to reject him, as prophets have been rejected throughout their history.

After the worship ends, I’m sure there are a few people waiting impatiently to say to him, “Good message, Rabbi!” But more than a few are upset. There can be multiple ways to say, “Isn’t that Joseph’s son?”

Probably, there were people who were proud of knowing a local boy had become famous. “Isn’t that Joseph’s son?” Probably, there were people who were not sure how to respond. “Isn’t that Joseph’s son?” And obviously, there were people there who thought Jesus blasphemed against God and all they believed about God. “Isn’t that Joseph’s son?”

Then, there’s the mob who assaulted him and tried to throw him off the cliff near town. But he escaped somehow. Perhaps those who liked him surrounded him and helped him escape.

What do you think? How would you have responded to Jesus that day? Remember, at this point you haven’t heard the rest of the story, about his hanging out with sinners and foreigners, or anything about his crucifixion and resurrection. Which group do you put yourself into: the proud of the young man group, the puzzled group, or the affronted group? Do you love this young preacher/ teacher/ healer?

…From creation through cave-dwelling days, we are hardwired to be wary or fearful of those who are different from us, because they could harm us. Are they carrying a weapon or are they smiling? Do they come from a group that has threatened us in the past? Do they break the rules we live by? We judge others in order to stay safe.

It’s so easy to jump to conclusions about people or groups. This past Sunday on the TV show When Calls the Heart, the teenagers were planning a dance party, which caused a stir in town. The story takes place in the 1910s and 20s, when the Shimmy and the Charlston were popular dances, and the waltz was not, at least among the teenagers.

At first, there was a negative uproar about the dance; boys and girls in partner dancing?! Scandalous! Until the parents and town leaders learned the dances could be done singly or in a group. Then they became more  supportive. In the end, many of the parents came to chaperone the dance, and everyone had a good time. … The parents and leaders thought they were protecting their traditions and keeping young people safe. But they were causing more hurt by rejecting the young people’s ideas.

…The remedy to our tendency to judge others is to love them, before we know them.  Our reading today from 1 Corinthians 13 is known by many people, including those who don’t believe in Jesus. It highlights love as the greatest gift we receive from God, and the greatest gift we can give each other. It’s what Jesus often says: As I have loved you, love one another.

We wonder: How do we love others while protecting our traditions? Do our traditional teachings need protecting or correcting? When we judge people by outward appearances or different-from-our-own behaviors, it’s hard to love them. We have to look beyond the first impression, to the person’s heart, to know them and love them.

It’s kind of like what Paul says about the mirror. When we look at people in our own mirrors, it’s hard to truly see them. We need to look at them without our own reflections, our own expectations, so we can see them as God sees them. And when we see others as God sees them, it’s possible to love them.

… There is a set of lines from the Service of Night Prayer, or Compline, that always gets me. These images fill my mind and put me in the right place.  “Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings.”  Whenever I pray the Compline service, I imagine God looking at me as if I was God’s only child, so precious and delightful, I have only to love God back. And then I imagine myself cuddled under a giant bird, sometimes a hen, more often a momma eagle, using her wings and feet to keep me in the right spot, warm and safe.

If I can imagine myself that way, so loved and protected, I can imagine others equally loved and protected, even though I have a hard time loving them. People say, we don’t have to like someone to love them. And Jesus said, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.

… If we remember that God loves a person, before – or even after -- we decide how we feel about them, it will be easier to love them, even if we don’t like them, or something they have done. If love guides us, we free ourselves from the oppression of hatred and the weight of our own sin.

 This week, I hope you try to love first. Try to remember that God loves that person who annoys you, or aggravates you, or makes you absolutely bonkers with anger and fear. I think it will make life easier for you if you start with God’s love. Amen