Endless Love

1 Corinthians 13:13

I would like to introduce you to the theology of Emil Brunner. He was a contemporary of Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, and the Neibuhr brothers—collectively, the veritable Mt. Rushmore of 20th Century Protestant theology. Dr. Brunner famously engaged in a battle of essays in Christian Century magazine with Mr. Barth over whether or not one could come to know God simply through the experience of being in the created order. Barth argued that it was impossible to know God apart from God’s self-revelation in Christ, titling one essay, “Nein!;” whereas Brunner countered that, yes, simply being aware of the wonder of the cosmos was enough to know God. That detail lets you know something profoundly important about Dr. Brunner—he was a theologian keenly interested in being sure the rest of us experienced the total relevance of theology to daily living. In sum, unless we understand how we meet God each day, what good is theology?

Dr. Brunner wrote a brief little book, Faith, Hope, and Love, rooted in our passage this morning from Paul. In it, he outlines how our praxis of faith informs each day, grounding it in a hope that nothing can shake as we engage in being the people Christ calls us to be.

But what did Paul imply as he concluded one of the most wondrous passages of scripture we have—this essay on love? Dr. Brunner leads us into wonder.

FAITH

Faith is trust in God to be God. We proclaim with St. John that God is love. But how do we know that for sure, particularly as we live in a world as chaotic and full of suffering as we do? 

Trust comes from seeing whom God has always been. To see that truth, we are to examine the record, the Word written. The Bible is the history of God with God’s people—all human beings. What it reveals is that God is Creator, Provider, Redeemer, and Abiding Presence for every human being who lived and lives. God formed Israel from the chaotic suffering of slavery to become the shining light to the nations, calling all into the fellowship of such redeeming grace, fulfilling promises made to Abraham. That pattern of encountering human beings lost in sin (here defined as anything that separates us from God and one another), recreating them through grace, and empowering us to be saints of God is all through scripture. In essence, that is the Christian Gospel—in Christ, the work is complete, all is done, all can be well, and not even death or human murderous impulses can thwart God’s intent that creation find and exist in the shalom of the Seventh Day.

As we encounter the inevitable messes of being human in all of their forms—moral breakdowns, emotional collapses, illness, global catastrophes, both natural and of human origin—all of it—we can know that God is good and grace abounds. The records shows it. The record ensures it continues. 

Trust God.

HOPE

Hope is being able to look into tomorrow without fear. We proclaim God to be Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of all that is. Through trust, we can let go of fear of tomorrow.

Again, the Word becomes the source of hope. The cross stands as the most abysmal moment in human history. Once for all, humanity sought to throw off the imposing presence of God and inhibition on human willfulness. We murdered the Son of God—all of us. Yet, what came of that horrendous failure of human volition? Nothing really. God overwhelmed it. God overpowered it. God raised Jesus from the dead, even after, as the Creed confesses, Jesus descended even into the deepest pit there could be—a place without God—Hell—and redeemed even it. Then, grace upon grace, God freely offers that outcome to all who enter the fold of grace, all who exist within the confines of God’s presence—which actually means everybody. 

Tomorrow is taken care of. Even if the world ends in every way that we know it, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well. Closer to home, even if the car dies, the plumbing explodes, the kids max out their credit cards on phone apps, the job goes out of business, and grandma breaks a hip, all can be well and all manner of things can be well. That is what resurrection means. There are no lost causes.

Apply as needed.

LOVE

With past and present taken of, we can now look to the only moment where we actually live—right now. Love is the means by which to do so. Love is the acceptance and welcome of whomever happens to be before us, and it is the welcome and acceptance of God’s presence in every moment.

Paul pretty well explicated all that love is in 1 Cor. 13:1-12, so I will only call you to go and read, and then read again and again, until it begins to sink deeply into your being what love as God defines it really is. 

However, note that in each moment, there is an opportunity to love in accordance with God. Even if at a given moment, you are alone, love can still guide you. Recognize the presence of God. Then note the people near you, whom you will meet, and with whom you will interact, even if that person is only me, myself, and I. God is there, so love is there.

Remember also that to love is to be other-centered and self-emptying. We allow the agenda to be set by what is needed in any given moment to deepen the connections there. Speak with the other in mind; act with the other in mind; and think in such a way that feeds right speech and right action—even if in that moment God is the only Other present. Second, we meet every moment we have in generosity—what can we add to this moment that makes it holy? what can we bring to make more complete whoever is present? what can we be to be helpful to whoever is there? This works, again, even if you are the only person in the room. 

Love is the way, right here, right now.

So, Emil Brunner was onto something. Here is a life of faith, a means by which to integrate God into every aspect of our lives, allowing us to fully engage in faith as praxis.

Try it.