Solid love

Verse for the week: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!"  Psalm 103.1

Bible reading for the day:  I Corinthians 13.1-13 (note: Paul has just declared the varied spiritual gifts which the Lord gives to his body, the church.  Now he defines the “more excellent way” under which those gifts are subsumed.)

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

¹³ So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Prayer (based on TRIP* method): Gracious and almighty Lord, thank you for loving sinners like us with the solid, patient, true love of Jesus Christ. Far more durable than sentiment or a flowery “love-in” leftover from the 60’s, Christ’s love sees through our wrongdoings and does not rejoice in them but takes them upon himself and to the cross…and gives us the truth in exchange.  Thank you!  You know my congregation and me fully and you know that we aren’t very good at your kind of love: we can be boastful, rude, and resentful. So, until you return and we see you face to face, have at us Lord: put to death our old, prideful selves and raise us daily as your new creation… forgiven ones who fear, love and trust you above else… and who love our neighbor with your kind of love. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved, classic hymn that connects with today’s conversation with the Lord:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcKlYUL5B0E

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord…

What does this mean?

I believe that Jesus Christ — true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary — is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, and has freed me from sin, death, and the power of the devil, not with silver and gold, but with his holy and precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this in order that I might be his own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as he is risen from the dead and lives and reigns for all eternity. This is most certainly true!  (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)

Benediction: The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.  Phil 4.7

 

 

*The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin Luther prayed and taught others to pray.  It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria, MN).  The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:
T: thanksgiving
R: regret (repentance)
I: intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
P: plan or purpose
Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God.