Be Brave
Last week, we heard that love is a vocation. It’s more than feelings, it’s more than thoughts. Love is something to be enacted in the world. And when we carry out that vocation, there are consequences of it — good consequences, difficult consequences, consequences of every kind. A consequence of love is that we will form deeper, more meaningful and intimate relationships with one another, both our neighbors and enemies. A consequence of love is that we will let go of power and control over the church and each other, even if we think we wield it benevolently.
This week, we keep the conversation going. This time, instead of asking what it means for us to practice our vocation of love, we are asking what it means to be changed by love itself. What does it mean to be changed by Jesus Christ, in whom love never ends, and in whom love will never die.
From the first epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 13, verses 4 through 13:
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; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part, but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I focus on all the wrong things.
I’ve always had a keyboard in my apartment, and though it’s really not ideal, it’s meant to get me to play piano more frequently. And inevitably, I will sit down to play, put my headphones on, and strike a few keys.
Hmm. That’s not the exact sound I was hoping for. Maybe I’ll adjust the settings, and get a more authentic piano sound from it. I adjust the EQ, I change the damper pedal noise, and fiddle with the reverb.
It’s usually about an hour into the process that I realize I haven’t played anything. And at that point, I’m usually too tired to start.
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Just like that struggle, we can become caught up in the mechanics of ministry and forget why we’re here: to love. As our annual report approaches in a few weeks, we might be tempted to let words like “impact” or “reach” or “vision” become debilitating. Are we doing enough? Are we reaching enough people? Did we make a big enough difference?
Paul has some words for us. He says “Prophecies… will come to an end.” Spiritual gifts? “They will cease.” Knowledge? “It will come to an end.” To offer a terrible translation, “Church reports will come to an end.” “Sessions will adjourn.” “Committees will wither and fade.” (I’m relieved there wasn’t any applause when I said that.)
Each of us “will come to an end.” But what about love? “Love never ends.”
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Paul tells the Corinthians, and us, that we’ve been focused on all the wrong things. Even though there is so much kindness, and dedication, and hard work, and imagination in this congregation, we sometimes get love backwards. Sometimes we’re tempted to think that if we get our gifts right, or our church administration perfect, or our finances figured out for a century, that love will endure just as long. We think that the stronger we are, the better chance love has to take root in the world.
Instead, it is love in Christ that comes first; a never ending love in Christ that is the fuel of everything that is ephemeral: you, me, the Church, every spiritual gift and every relationship.
Christ is the fullness of love, the One who keeps us in love forever. That is joyful news for this congregation - we plant the seeds, but God waters.
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We have reason to be brave beyond our wildest imaginations, because if everything but faith, hope, and love will end, then our fears are only temporary, too.
Our buildings, our politics, our bodies, our pocketbooks—none if it will endure. Only love will.
Because of this, we can find bravery to stand up to the ideas and influences that seek to control and manipulate us. The endurance of love reminds us that wealth will not endure. The endurance of love reminds us that corporations and power will not endure. Our bodies, our opinions—you name it, it will not last. But love will.
In seeing things for what they really are, we find bravery to ask the Spirit how we can use our finances and assets for love. We will gather for Christian education to open our minds wider to empathy through love. We will celebrate Communion as often as we can, because though our bodies fail, sacraments are signs and seals of love that will persist for all eternity. We will volunteer at Manna House, support our youth group, and serve on committees to feverishly steer ourselves toward love; love that will transcend generations and our present lives.
We start to see the very heart of this congregation, the very heart that will endure beyond us. We see shared meals enduring; singing together enduring; food drives enduring; mission trips enduring; and on and on and on.
In seeing things for what they really are—utterly finite—we accept the infinitude of Christ’s overwhelming, uncontainable love: love that keeps all things, and that will keep them without end.
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Paul instructs us to pursue this love above all else, and that it isn’t always easy to be changed by it. He writes, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.” Paul is testifying that love is a force of maturation. We are incubated in the love of Christ, constantly moving from adolescence into adulthood, constantly becoming increasingly alive and awake through the power of the Spirit. Patience, kindness, forbearance, hope: these will not let us stand still.
“We have reason to be brave beyond our wildest imaginations, because if everything but faith, hope, and love will end, then our fears are only temporary, too.”
The best comic strip ever written is Calvin and Hobbes. I would sooner you defrock me than disagree about Calvin and Hobbes. If you aren’t familiar, the comic strip focuses on Calvin, a six-year old boy with a penchant for mischief, and Hobbes, his imaginary stuffed tiger and often the voice of reason.
Calvin and his dad rarely agree on much. When his dad tells him to do something, Calvin often argues and tries to rationalize his way out of it. For example, when Calvin’s dad tells him to shovel the sidewalk, Calvin sasses him, his dad responds, “Shoveling the sidewalk builds character.”
When Calvin gets bug bites and they run out of bug spray, his dad tells him “It builds character.”
When Calvin hates his dinner, “It builds character.”
Freezing in the cold builds character. Bruises build character. Camping builds character. Diarrhea builds character!
Though Calvin’s dad says it sarcastically, there’s something accurate about it all. Building character can stink. Growing up can stink. Going from 24/7 playtime to paying bills and shopping around for interest rates can stink.
Paul tells us that it was through the love of Christ that he matured. In other words, “Love builds character!”
Like Calvin, when we are drawn into the love of Christ, building character will involve doing some things we don’t want to do. Love asks us to be brave, and let go of simplified understandings of the world around us. Love asks us to be brave, and be forbearant when we are really, really right. When every bit of optimism runs dry, love asks us to be brave enough to hope anyways.
“We are incubated in the love of Christ, constantly moving from adolescence into adulthood, constantly becoming increasingly alive and awake through the power of the Spirit. Patience, kindness, forbearance, hope: these will not let us stand still.”
In this morning’s epistle, we hear that love in Christ transforms us to increasingly move into adulthood in faith. It is in “putting an end to childish ways,” that we increasingly see the world for what it is. As Paul describes it, we perceive God’s world as a reflection in a mirror. And not a modern mirror, but an ancient mirror, usually a polished bronze plate.
In being transformed by love in Christ, we are always yearning for clearer perception.
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In the past five years, there’s been a remarkable rise in what are called “beauty filters.” Beauty filters are used on social media and online to supposedly make people in photos and videos more beautiful. They’re fueled by artificial intelligence, and are especially popular among youth.
There was one filter on TikTok called Bold Glamour, and after a month of being available it had accrued over 400 million views. It didn’t just smooth your skin. It completely reshaped your face — defining your jawline, adjusting your nose, remaking your face shape, and whitening your teeth.
The popularity is alarming, in part because of the effects on mental health. As you might guess, filters like these are damaging to self-esteem, and have a slew of negative effects on anxiety, depression, isolation, and body image.
“Love asks us to be brave, and let go of simplified understandings of the world around us. Love asks us to be brave, and be forbearant when we are really, really right. When every bit of optimism runs dry, love asks us to be brave enough to hope anyways.”
Love in Christ leads us to let go of every filter we can put on the world or ourselves. As we build character and mature in faith, love asks us to let go of unrealistic expectations. Even when we don’t look as flattering as we want to. Even when the world around us isn’t as beautiful and picture-perfect as we hoped.
Though it might not feel good at first, that clarity of perception will extend to us a more vibrant life, full of relationships that are more real, more meaningful, and more beautiful than we could ever imagine.
We might realize that housing insecurity is rampant, devastating our neighbors and community. We might see children at Manna House, not just adults. We might get to know our neighbors who mostly speak Spanish, and learn about their lives.
Though we will always see in a mirror dimly, and always see a reflection to some extent, love in Christ gives us the bravery to polish it more. To drop the filters. More and more, again and again, until our perception is clearer than it was. Building character and clarifying our perception isn’t fun at first, but it culminates in a stronger, fuller, more stirring love that will leave us satisfied beyond belief.
“In being transformed by love in Christ, we are always yearning for clearer perception.”
This is where we draw to a close. Jesus Christ, strengthening us to be brave on two fronts:
To live enraptured by love, and strengthened by the knowledge that worldly influences and fears are only temporary;
And bravery to see the world as it truly is.
Paul gives us a weird promise of sorts: we only get to see part of the journey. The fullness of love in Christ isn’t going to culminate in February 2025. Or February 2055. Or February 2095. It’s always going to be underway, always changing us, always transforming us, always coming alive through the Spirit.
At the end of all creation, love will be perfected and made manifest in all things. But until then, we only see through a mirror dimly, only participating in its work until we return to dust ourselves.
But there’s a great deal of assurance in that, too. It means the small moments of love—those tiny acts and words that feel ordinary—might grow into canopies of hope that outlast every one of us. Coffee hours, casserole deliveries, volunteering — it taps into a love that God sustains and preserves and fulfills.
So let love endure beyond your every fear; and see the world in all its color. Family in Christ, here is my charge to you: Be brave in love.
Amen.
Sources
Charles B. Cousar, Beverly R. Gaventa, J. Clinton McCann Jr., James D. Newsome, Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press 1994)
Yung Suk Kim, “Commentary on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13,” WorkingPreacher.org, 3 February 2019, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany-3/commentary-on-1-corinthians-131-13-6
Bernard Marr, “Picture Perfect: The Hidden Consequences Of AI Beauty Filters,” 9 June 2023, Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2023/06/09/picture-perfect-the-hidden-consequences-of-ai-beauty-filters/
Zena Chamas, “AI beauty filters on Instagram and TikTok are causing harm in more ways than one,” 18 October 2023, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-19/ai-beauty-filters-on-instagram-tiktok-reinforcing-stereotypes/102986704
