“LOVE NEVER
ENDS
I CORINTHIANS 13:1-13
13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but
have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 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 have not love, I am nothing.
3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body
to be burned, [1] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast;
it is not arrogant
5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not
irritable or resentful; [2]
6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with
the truth.
7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away;
as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought
like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but
the greatest of these is love.
Let me begin with words
of gratitude to my wife Sara, Ali and Kyle, as they had to put up with me these last few week as I processed the last two
years, rode an emotional roller coaster and tried to put it all into words.
As I struggled to find the words I was reminded of being a child at Christmas time trying to find the perfect
gift for my parents. I would spend hours going from store to store in search of gift. Not to please them but because I wanted
it to be meaningful and express the love that I felt for them. And that is how I felt developing the sermon for today.
It is hard to believe that
two years ago I left my home church to begin my year of Field Education here. Yes, I said one year because that is all that
it was supposed to be. I would leave my home church, where I knew that I was loved and cared for and enter a foreign place
where I knew no one. And on top of it all, I was expected to be the student minister
.
That apprehension, that
feeling of being a lost traveler didn’t last very long. Each and every one of you opened your arms to this green student
minister and his family and over time relationships were built and this became home.
Earlier I mentioned that
I have spent the last few weeks trying to put our time together into words but I have really spent the last several months
reflecting on it. There are so many memories of time spent in private conversations and in small groups. Spending time with
the children during the children’s message and talking to some of them at coffee hour. Working side by side with you
at Frosty’s Fair and sharing a snack with some of you at lunch time as you worked on the rummage sale or fair set up.
I have had the honor and privilege of participating in the baptism of your child, sitting with some of you who were ill and
walking with you as you have said good bye to loved ones. I am especially thankful to Rick for our times spent together sharing
reflections and for the wisdom and guidance he has provided me with.
With so much to think about
and so much to reflect upon I thought finding the text that I would preach from this morning would be difficult. As it turns
out, once I started looking that took me the least amount of time. Why? Because as I began to summarize my feelings and thoughts
it all came down to one thing. Love.
Love is what has made the
difference over these past two years. Paul says that, “If I speak in tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. He goes onto say that if I have all these things but have not love, I have
nothing.
We could have gone through
these past two years together and we could have made a lot of noise together. I could have learned and could have grown in
my call but without love, we would have gained nothing.
So what kind of love did
we share? Was it romantic love, a love that was self serving. No. it was a deep divine love, the kind of love that God shares
with us. Paul describes it perfectly and eloquently. He says that Love is patient and kind, we saw that several times
over that past two years, like during a baptism when your student minister called the Godparents the Grandparents, thanks
for laughing with me by the way. Paul goes on to say that love does not insist on its own way, thank you Rev Hughes
for the flexibility to try some things my own way. Paul says that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes
al things, and endures all things. I feel that that is something we have shared these past two years.
I have to say that it was
around Lent that it really hit me that this was it. That soon it would be time to move on. The first time was during the Maundy
Thursday service. Sitting at the communion table I realized that this would be
one of our last times together. That reality of the situation just sunk in. The emotions were so profound that I got lost
in them. So much so in fact that I forgot to put my candle out after my tenebrae reading. Luckily I was able to hold myself
together through it but as soon as I got into the car I began to weep.
The other time, interestingly
enough was at communion last week. Normally I sit with my eyes closed but last week I kept them open so that I could see the
deacons distribute the elements one last time. I also distinctly feeling something special, a grace filled energy between
Rick and I as we sat there. And that was in spite of me crossing the boundaries and pushing him out of the way to give the
invitation.
Why then those times? Why
those times specifically? Was it the reminder that this was Jesus last time with the disciples? Yes. But I also think it was
more than that. It was the realization that love never ends. Even though Jesus is physically gone, we still share in his love;
we still share in God’s love. Yes, that is true of Jesus love and Gods love but what about the love that we share as
human beings? Does that never end as well? Yes it is true that emotional love and other forms of love can die but not the
kind of divine love that Paul is talking to us about. But could I come up with real life example was the question?
I can only say that God
works in mysterious ways. It just so happen that as this was all going on in my head a friend came to me and something that
was being lived out today in his life. He is a very private man who likes to keep his emotions and what is going on with his
life to himself but he has graciously allowed me to share it with you this morning so please accept this as his gift. I do
not want to use his real name so I will call him Walter. Walter has been estranged
from his son for over 20 years. The last time they saw each other and spoke his son was 15.
One thing led to another and several months ago he found out that his son was in a prison in California. Still feeling
love for his son, but not knowing what to do after 20 years he spent 4 days writing and rewriting a 1 page letter.
I had an opportunity to read the letter and was very moved by it. In it he spoke of two things, hope and love.
Sound familiar? After much laboring he sent the letter and hoped for a reply. He wouldn’t be disappointed. His son,
after 20 years wrote him a 7 page response. In it, he picked up on the two themes his father wrote about, hope and love. His
son said that he has read many books and poetry over that past 20 years but never was he so moved and touched by any words.
The words that he was referring to in particular were these. “I love you son, and miss having you as a friend”.
He then goes onto describe sitting in his prison cell and weeping.
After 20 years, many of
those angry years, love lived on. It is love that will hopefully help them to reunite after all this time. Love never ends.
And it is those three words
I leave you with today. Love never ends. Yes, our time together has officially come to a close but the love that we have shared
will last forever. Love is the one thing that never ends.
I have learned much over
the past 2 years. I have learned much and have grown beyond my wildest dreams, but without love, I would have gained nothing.
May the never ending love of God be with you always. Amen
Mike Gelsomini
May 10, 2009
