ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
September 25, 2021
Beginning this coming Sunday, and then for another four Sundays, I will preach on the Love Passage from 1st Corinthians. We’ve all heard it at a wedding as it is probably the most common passage requested by a couple. Paul, of course, was not writing this letter to couples who would soon be tying the knot, but to a community that appeared to have lost focus on the number one thing – love. He begins by writing, “If I speak in tongues of human beings and of angels but I don’t have love, I’m a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal.” We’ve all talked a good game at one time or another, yet did not follow the talk with good action. As parents, most all of us have told our children to behave one way to only do the opposite ourselves. I’ve heard what appeared to be divinely inspired oratory with poetic phrases and lush metaphors, yet the person attached to that creative voice appeared to be living a life that undermined every idea presented. Sometimes it is so abrupt and shocking that it feels like a gong or cymbal going off. Some might say we need more Cowbell, and maybe that’s true, but the church doesn’t need more cymbal or gong sounds coming from our midst.
Be my strength and encourager, Gracious God, as I seek to align my words and actions with the life of Jesus. It’s not always easy, but the world does not need a disingenuous expression of the Gospel. Amen.
