we are all our hands and holders

beneath this bold and brilliant sun

A sermon on Paul's more excellent sermon on love

We take it for granted that the goal of life is to MAKE something of ourselves. A person ought to GROW into their full potential. And one should develop all their capabilities, too. Shouldn’t they? You know the drill, be all you can be and all that. 

But then again, the folks in Corinthian thought the same thing. And you know what? That belief was the source of a lot of problems. In fact, as far as St. Paul was concerned, it amounted to nothing more than a whole bunch of misguided religious folderol.

Somewhere along the line, probably the world at large, the folks at First Lutheran in Corinthian got it into their heads that they needed to make something out of their newfound faith. All they really did, though, was undo everything the Holy Spirit had already done amongst them! And that’s our first point, brothers and sisters in Christ. Trying to make something out of yourself makes nothing out of everything Christ has done for you. Let me say that again. Trying to make something out of yourself makes nothing out of everything Christ has done for you.

…A caveat is in order here, however. Now, usually, I try to avoid qualifications in the sermon like the plague. Luther said assertions make for a good sermon, not subtly. That said, I want to make a note of something. 

The truth is, stepping out on your own IS a part of growing up. It’s called self-differentiation. And it’s normal and good. A healthy person is someone who can separate themselves from those around them. 

I mention this because graduation is right around the corner. All you parents, just remember, your child disagreeing with you is a good thing! Trust me, I teach confirmation! So, I know all about knee-jerk dissent! But we do well to remember that this is a positive step in the child’s maturation! So next time you’re tempted to bite through your tongue or your child’s head off, just remember it’s only a stage in their growth!

Not that it’s much help at the moment. But hey, it’s better than nothing! Barely, I know. But still, it’s better than nothing. 

And I want to add another nuance here. Notice that the skills the Corinthians are cultivating are laudatory, too! Eloquence. Wisdom. Spirituality. And faith. There’s nothing wrong with those things! Is there? 

No, of course, there’s not! Those things, too, are all well and good. They, too, are a part of a normal faith life. However, they’re not ends in and of themselves!

Just like self-differentiation, spiritual gifts, no matter how good, are only a stage in a larger progression! And stopping at any one of them is to begin to regress. And I use that word intentionally, too: regress. Paul doesn’t tell the Corinthians to keep going. Does he? No, he says, in effect, that they’re acting like a bunch of babies! A bunch of babies.

There’s truth to this, too. Isn’t there? You can get stuck. Clinging to any achievement, no matter how worthy or hard-won, is a surefire recipe for miserable deterioration. Some of the worst times in life are the ones when you won’t let go. Aren’t they? 

For instance, the bond between parent and child can sour if the child does not or is not allowed to stand on their own. And too great a focus on your own development rots into self-righteousness, too. Doesn’t it? As Luther noted, we can use God’s best gifts in the worst ways!

On the other hand, the opposite is also true! Learning to accept your child as a fully-fledged human is the doorway to friendship with them! And children, learning your parent is a human in their own right is the first step to realizing the incredible sacrifice they’ve made for you. 

Or take self-differentiation. Learning to let go of the you you’ve worked so hard to become is a mark of real growth! After all, this passage is often read at weddings. Isn’t it? And as we all know, some of the best parts of a relationship are losing yourself to the power of love! That’s why it’s called falling in love! 38 Special were right! Weren’t they? You’ve got to hold on loosely! Loosely.

…As essential as self-differentiation or spiritual gifts may be, to stop at any one point of growth is to cease to become the person God is making out of you. And while it may seem safe to stay the same, it’s really awful! You can’t do it. And it’s a fate worse than death anyway. It amounts to a living death. An existence where you may be physically alive, but inside, you’re dead to everything that really counts.

And that’s our second point, fellow children of the heavenly Father. Not only is trying to make something out of yourself to make nothing out of everything Christ has done for you, it’s also for babies! It’s downright immature to focus on your own growth! And it’s plain childishness to try to measure your or anyone else’s progress, too!

Yes, I know that goes against conventional wisdom! But that’s why we call it the foolishness of the cross! Sure, letting go of all your progress may look like a bunch of nonsense to those who are wasting away. But to us who are being saved, this odd ability is nothing less than the very power of God at work in our lives!

Our third point! In Christ, you already have it all! The Christian life isn’t fostering your aptitude. No, the Christian life is simply getting used to the fact that Christ has already done it all for you! So get used to it!

The fuel for your life isn’t the cold water of shoulds and oughts. No, the cross is pure kerosene for you! Now that you know Christ has done it all for you, you finally get to ask that question the rest of the world is afraid of! What are you going to do now that there’s nothing you have to do?!? What are you going to do now that there’s nothing you have to do?!?

…That was awfully fruitful for a caveat. Wasn’t it? That’s just how our Lord and Savior is, though. He’s an all-purpose Redeemer like that. Nothing is beyond the scope of Christ’s all-powerful, albeit wounded, hands!

Nevertheless, that puts us in uncharted territory. Doesn’t it? We know all about the world of dos and don’ts. Don’t we? But this is something altogether different. 

In Christ, what the world says is the end is only just the beginning! Sure, self-differentiation and spiritual gifts may be the best those who are staying home can pull off, but Christ has so much more in store for you and me today! In Christ, you are no longer doomed to have no greater recourse than yourself! In Christ, there is more to you than you! In Christ, you are even free to step outside of yourself!

That’s right, outside of yourself! In Christ, you are free from the tiny confines of your own little skull-sized kingdom! In Christ, you can step out of yourself and into the glorious fellowship of the Holy Trinity Thyself! In Christ, that lovely and lively LIFE of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is ALL yours!

Go back and reread Paul’s delightful little ode to love. You can’t accuse him of being overly intellectual with that. Can you? That said, it’s a tall order. Isn’t it?

Honestly, it’s above OUR capabilities. And so long as you are all you have, you’ll never be able to do it! No, you’ll always be too busy shoring yourself up against all the perceived threats to your personhood. The only way you’ll ever love the way Paul describes, is to lose yourself. In Christ, the ultimate mark of growth is to be able to be unable! To be able to be unable.

But that just begs the question. Doesn’t it? How?!? How can you or I ever really get to that place where we can confess our inability?

…Well, guess what?!? You don’t need to worry about that! Life will drive you there all by itself! Why, some of us may be there already! And if you are, that just means you stand, well, sit at the threshold of everything Christ won by his resurrection! In fact, you’re at the very precipice of the other side of your empty tomb and all the blessed freedom thereof! 

The end of your abilities is the beginning of your life in Christ! As St. Paul said, when we are weak, God is strong! God’s power is perfected in weakness! Yes, to the ways of the world, that’s the absolute worst place to be. But, in Christ, it’s just the beginning of the real good stuff!

Now that you don’t have anything to prove, you're ready, at long last, to receive ALL of God’s love! You don’t have to prove your worth to God. In Christ, God has proved God’s love for you, win, lose, or draw! God’s love for you comes with no strings attached! You can’t and don’t have to earn it! And if you did, that wouldn’t be love anyway! Would it?

You know what this means. Don’t you?!? It means reality! It means this life is the staging ground of redemption! It means you need look no further than the broken relationships and shortcomings that are staring you down right now to discover the beginning of God’s infinite love for you!

It means you can let go of being right! And it means you can ask for forgiveness for all the times you were wrong, too! The you that has to stand on its own merits has already died! BUT now, in Christ, the you that lives is the you the Holy Spirit raises from all your nothings to stand before God and all your neighbors in perfect faith, hope, and love! And the greatest of these is love.

And when you have that, you have it all! Suddenly, life opens for the great adventure that it’s been all along! Now that you don’t have to do it right, you can finally get started! You can now get out of your head and into this messy, albeit deeply loved world and discover just how beloved it really is! 

And when you can do that, you can finally look beyond your own navel! On that great horizon breaks the life that really is life! You won’t believe how good it can get! It’ll make a mystic out of you yet! It’ll open the trapdoor of God’s bottomless love and the delight of real life, leaving breathing people all around you mixing it up with you! And this mixture will be alight with nothing less than the very fire of God!

…But you know what? I’m done trying to convince you to take the deal of more than a lifetime. Go ahead and look this gift horse in the mouth if you want. It’s silly. But go ahead. Life will cure you of that foolishness. And when it does, because it will, come to me. 

When the fallen ol’ world has its way, come to me. Come to me, and I’ll tell you what I’ve been saying all along! And when that happens, a miracle will transpire! The Holy Spirit will roll away the stone that closes you off from life! And Christ, the risen one, will come alive through those words to walk you out of your tomb! And in that moment, God will recreate you all over again! 

In those easy words, your life in Christ will really begin. You’ll grow into the full stature of Christ in less than a hot minute! And you’ll be reborn as fresh and free as a newborn! Sounds good. Doesn’t it?

But let me let you in on a little secret that’s really no secret at all. You already have all that! You don’t need to go through all the trouble of finding out for yourself! Christ, the prodigal, has left heaven and harrowed hell to give it all to you TODAY! Dear children in Christ, if the Gospel is true at all, and it is all true, it’s all already true! It’s all already true.

And so, having all that, let us ask God to continue to draw us to this miracle. Our hymn of the Day is hymn number 532. Gather Us In—hymn number 532. Gather Us In. Let’s sing!