Paul offers his greatest rule of life in these four simple words - make love your aim. In every situation, no matter the difficulty or challenge, just resolve to make love the aim. Maybe that love looks like soft comfort. Sometimes it will mean tough words. But every need can be expressed lovingly.
You could say this is the overall point of the current sermon series we're in - to love no matter what. The world needs churches that model and demonstrate relentless love. We are seeing unloving, hateful, cruel behavior being played around the world and, as nearby as our local school board. The world needs a loving church.
This Spring Federal Judge Sarah Evans Barker was the commencement speaker at Christian Theological Seminary. Her address was insightful and spot on. Her concluding words to the graduating class of (mostly) future pastors could just as well have been shared from the pulpit of any congregation. I'll leave you with her final remarks:
In closing, allow me to share one final thought: those of us who love the Church (with a capital C) cannot be blind to the fact that we are living at a time when the future of the Church is sort of shaky. What lies ahead for our churches is anything but clear, and the path forward is anything but certain. The news is full of gloomy assessments about the vitality and survivability of all organized religious communities, including Christianity: news reports about declining church memberships and financial support, about church buildings being abandoned when there is neither money enough nor people enough to sustain their programs and services, reports about schisms over doctrine and politics, where disagreements are splitting the ranks of congregations. These things are a worry to all of us who love the Church and embrace her teachings and treasure the important place and role she has played, and hopefully will play again in our individual lives and communities and around the world.
Clearly, no long-range plan that you might construct can or will accurately or reliably capture and control what lies ahead for each of you as you go about turning your professional calling into a life. But these kinds of uncertainties about the future confront everyone - certainly in every profession I know of - these days. I hardly know how to give reliable advice even to my law clerks and other young mentees who are entering the legal profession.
But what I do say to them, I say to you as well: don't spend your time worrying over whether or how things will change; keep your focus on the things that you know will never change. For clergy people, focusing on the things that will never change is your true calling, and whatever else it may entail, it will always, always include extending love wherever you go. Don't let life's uncertainties distract you and prevent you from doing all the good you are capable of doing. Come and bring with you into this needy old world your special gifts of excellence and gentleness and joy. The demand for those things will never change, will never end.
The world needs you, believe me, and eagerly awaits you!
Rob