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.
~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Today’s word for Lent? Love. It was inevitable that this word would show up for reflection during these holy days. It is the crux of the gospel, the single message of Jesus that we strive to embrace, to live day after blessed day. Sometimes we hit the mark. Most often we fail or fall someplace in the muddy middle.
These words from Paul’s letter to the people in Corinth are the most popular reading at weddings. It seems obvious. And yet, as I always point out in the message during the ceremony, these are not words intended for a couple standing at the altar. They are words meant to be a guide for each and every person, partnered or single as they interact with their fellow human companions. They are words Paul hoped would ring in the heads of a community hell bent on being snarky with one another, of being in competition and in tearing one another down. In that context, these words are full of challenge to our 21st century ears and could be a guide for our own particular time in history.
Love. Yesterday I had the privilege of witnessing love in a profound way. I walked into our sanctuary to find two people sitting quietly in the front pew looking forward toward the pulpit and the organ. A metal walker sat to the side and these two white-haired people were sitting, fingertips touching. As I greeted them, smiles spread across their faces. They were eager to tell me that they both had been baptized and confirmed in this sanctuary. They also had been married in the same room…67 years ago on the day. They had come to see, to remember, to mark the anniversary in the place their married life together began. We talked about where their lives had taken them and they asked quick-fire questions about my life, as well. Clearly, one of the things this couple held in common was curiosity and a deep interest in other people. I could imagine that this was only one of the many common traits that had been woven through their 67 years together. They snapped my picture on their smartphone and immediately texted it to their children. To mark the moment and one of the steps along their anniversary day.
But it was their love that shown forth and their love that confronted me. A love that was patient as one or two of the stories one told was repeated. A love that was kind as they filled in the missing words or memories for one another. A love that was filled with grace and giving and a deep sense of how their life together was precious. They asked if I would pray for them which I humbly did. And as words formed on my lips, I knew it was something so much greater, so much deeper, so much More that held our hands together than any prayer I could muster on the spot. It seemed that time itself was suspended.
Paul’s words may have been meant for a community of people. But it was clear to me that these famous, sometimes overused words, had became a real and present truth in their lives. And I was blessed to be in their presence and the presence of so great a love. All on an ordinary Thursday.