What's Love Got to Do With it?

What’s Love Got to Do With It?
For some, Valentine’s Day is a special day to celebrate with someone that they love—a spouse, a significant other, a good friend…For some it’s a painful reminder of love lost or maybe even love never found…and for others still, it’s just another day and has little meaning at all. And in this congregation this morning, there are people who feel all those things…But regardless about how anyone feels about Valentine’s Day and what it has become.
Did you know that the holiday was originally a Catholic Feast for a saint? St. Valentine’s Day…In Christian history, there were several Valentines who were martyred—who were killed for professing their faith in Jesus Christ. Up until about 1970, the Roman Catholic Church celebrated numerous Valentine’s Days. Now, St. Valentine’s Day represents 3 Valentines who were martyred. Not much is known for sure about Valentine, as legends have crept into the facts of history, but here is what is most commonly believed about St. Valentine. St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer. Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine". But that part has been believed to have been added later as Valentine’s Day began to be associated with romantic love.
So, Saint Valentine’s Day was recognizing a Christian who had died for his faith. Someone who had accepted the love of God so much that he was willing to give his life…That’s not something that you’ll read on any Valentine’s Day card today!
Now regardless about how you feel about Valentine’s Day, it is impossible to escape the message of romantic love that wafts through the air with the smell of roses and chocolate or in the cardboard hearts and greeting cards in every store…But since romantic love was not the original intention of St. Valentine’s Day, but rather celebration of someone’s love for God…Let’s focus on that for a few moments…
Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth—the 13th chapter is one that is known by most people. Many people don’t know that it comes from Scripture when they quote it…It’s beautiful poetry and has profound meaning to it and it is used in most weddings. Verses 4-8 are the ones that are used most often, but as with all of Scripture, it’s important to read the context around it to completely understand the passage.
Paul begins by writing, “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” Paul is responding to something specific in the church at Corinth—perhaps there was an argument of some kind—there was something going on in the church that was causing a division. If all the people in the church at Corinth are shouting at one another and arguing at one another without any love in their speech, it must be quite a noisy place…a lot of gongs and cymbals! Have you known any gongs or cymbals throughout your life? It’s hard to miss them sometimes! I knew someone who would point out all of your faults and flaws to you without regard for feelings or with a hope for growth and change, and without a hope that there would be equality in the sharing, that you would be able to share with her where her growing edges were, but just because she wanted you to feel badly about yourself so that she could feel better about herself…There have been times in our lives that we have all been noisy gongs or clanging cymbals.
Paul continues by saying that he can have anything and everything in the world—he can understand the mysterious powers of faith or have all of the knowledge in the world, but without love, he is nothing…And he can give away everything he has and even offers himself for martyrdom, but does not have love, he gains nothing. Love is a pretty powerful thing! Love is deep to Paul and all consuming…Not romantic love, but the agape love—the love that is all consuming, is a holy love…The love that God loves with. And Paul goes on to describe that love in verses 4-8…
Love is patient, love is kind, love is not envious or boastful or rude, love does not insist on its own way, love is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice in wrongdoings, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends….That’s the kind of love that we all should strive for…That love that encompasses all things…The love that is so beyond anything that we can begin to comprehend…the love that God loves us with…Can you honestly say that you have lived up to this love? I can’t…Because as much as I love someone when they have done something that I knew was wrong, it’s a good feeling to say, “I told you so!” Or sometimes we are able to be the nastiest to the people that we love the most—we can take out our frustrations of the long work day or of something someone said to us…It’s easy to then be irritable or rude to the ones we love the most. And who doesn’t want their way most of the time? Who here is willing to say, “That makes me uncomfortable, but I know that it’s for the best.” As long as that is done in love and not seeking accolades for attention, that’s what love is. Everything else…is a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal.
Paul continues in this part of his letter to talk about the things that will end…but that love will continue on. Because right now we can only see a small part of the picture…But when completion happens—when the New Heavens & the New Earth are re-created, we’ll see the whole picture and we’ll understand…It’s like when you get to the end of something and suddenly everything before it makes sense. You come to the end of something and you go, “Oh! That’s why this, this and this happened…Now I get it!” Even though we only see through a mirror dimly, we like to think that we see everything and we know everything…You think you know, but you have no idea…There is always more to the story than we can even begin to see and understand…
But what we do know is that although we don’t know it all…We are fully known…Even though we don’t even know our full potential and full beauty…God does and we are fully known by God’s love…We are being perfected in God’s love…We have been justified by God’s love…We are being sanctified by God’s love…We are known by God’s love. That’s all we need to know…But we also need to remember that just as we are fully known, all people are fully known…Regardless of what we think of them, they are surrounded by God’s love as well…For now we see in a mirror dimly…
Our Gospel passage for this morning is Jesus’ first miracle from the Gospel of John…Don’t think that it’s an accident that it was at a wedding! But, if you read also…Jesus wanted nothing to do with the miracle that was going to follow…When his mother came up to him, she said “They are out of wine.” And Jesus says, “So? What does that have to do with me? My time has not yet come.” And Mary tells the servants to do whatever Jesus told them…Jesus doesn’t go to the host of the party and ask what kind of wine they’d like the best or even if they want more wine…Jesus just turns the water into wine…And he does it because he wants the celebration to continue…The celebration of love…Yes, it’s the romantic love between the couple, but it’s also the love of all of those who have gathered together to share in this occasion…the friends and family who may not have seen each other for years…The enemies who put things aside for the celebration of the day…The love that is shown throughout the celebration…
This morning, as part of our worship service together we will have a time for those couples here who would like to reaffirm their marriage covenant. For those who want to recommit their lives to loving one another…If you and your significant other would like to do that this morning and did not sign up ahead of time, you are still welcome, all couples, please come forward during the offering for instructions and directions. And for those who would like to reaffirm their marriage covenant, but their spouses have died…For those of you who want to honor and remember your spouse, please come forward following the reaffirmation of vows for a lighting of candles and prayer.
These are acts that we do as a community of believers because we share in the same love from God and we share together all pieces of our lives. God does indeed love you…Let us love and show that same love to others…