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Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Love: The Heart of the Matter
1 Corinthians 13
One of God's greatest hits, St. Paul's "love chapter" is requested by 4/5 of the wedding couples for whom I tie the proverbial knot. There they stand all starry-eyed, blushing with romantic warmth, pulses racing a mile a minute, while I recite those famous words about love never giving up and never running out. Love is forever. Amen.
But this poetic chapter isn't really about romance at all. It describes a muscular kind of love -- one that knows how to stand up tall, brace itself, and do the loving thing in a loving way. All of that, regardless of how we might feel at the moment. It's God's own kind of love, which we see demonstrated most clearly in the ways that Jesus treated people in God's name.
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I recently witnessed a little miracle right outside my office.
Well, I do work in a church. Shouldn't I expect an occasional miracle? Even so, they don't come around very often.
This one had an interesting background. Think $5,000.
That's the amount of a scholarship grant our church offered for needy families' tuition in the child care center that uses our site. We gave away that money in the same open-handed spirit we'd received it. It was a small portion of our share in the estate of a dear woman who, late in life, had found in our church a new spiritual family. Florence trusted we would be good stewards of her bequest, and now we were confident the child care leaders would do the same.
For a few months, though, the money just sat there. No takers. So we kind of lost track of the matter.
Then a family applied to enroll their infant daughter. Problem was, she had a disease that requires intensive physical therapy -- at the child care center as well as at home. The combined cost was far beyond the family's means. Hmmm, might $5,000 be helpful? The deed was done.
Our elders and I rejoiced that our grant had made the difference. And life went on.
Then one day Director Juneko stood at my office door and said, "Pastor Jack, I'd like you to meet the mother of the little girl your scholarship is helping. She's here to pick up Stella Grace now."
I was delighted to greet the woman. She profusely thanked us for our grant. I politely assured her we were pleased to give it. Etc. etc. etc.
Then Juneko asked if I'd like to see the little girl in her infant/toddler classroom. Of course! And off we went.
Director, mom, and pastor huddled to peek through the open door. Stella Grace was seated at a round table, with her back to us. Juneko whispered, "She stood up by herself today."
And the mother burst into happy tears.
You see, little Stella Grace's disease is a very rare one. It has prevented her body from spontaneously doing such simple baby things as rolling over, crawling, standing up, walking. She has had to be patterned into learning these motor skills with the help of a physical therapist.
Imagine that.
And on this particular day, well ahead of predictable schedule, Stella Grace decided it was time to stand up by herself!
Well, teary-eyed and all, I slipped back to my office while the mother and child got ready to go home.
Except -- they stopped into the office on their way out. Mom and I picked up our joyous conversation, praising God together and getting more acquainted in the process.
Then she put Stella Grace down, so she could stand alongside her! And I knelt down to speak face to face with the girl for just a moment. Afterwards, I could not stop smiling for the joy of it all.
A miracle, I call it. You might disagree.
After all, everything I've described is very physical, material, natural through and through.
Start with the cold cash. Add in medical science to diagnose the problem, then to prescribe treatment and medications as well. Stir in a lot of physical therapy. Voila! So where's your miracle?
Walk over my way a few paces. Look at it from this angle...
We gave that money away in a spirit of grateful love.
Grateful for a loving bequest to help our church's ministries grow, which itself was motivated by gratitude for our church's ministries.
Loving in that we wanted to help people whose families needed quality care for their children. Just because they needed it. Whether we'd ever know who they were or not. Whether they'd ever join our church or not.
We gave it away. The same way God, out of love, with no strings attached, gave away his Only Son to bless the people of the world. Just because we needed what Jesus came to give. Just because God wanted us to have it.
That's exactly the kind of love St. Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 13, the "love chapter" that's so popular at weddings.
Romantic love, as wonderful as it is, is all about satisfying the senses. It's a payoff kind of love, perfectly okay in its own right.
But Paul describes a deeper, wider kind of love. Its motive is simply to bless the beloved, to do the loving thing in a loving way. Whether you feel much like doing it or not. The satisfaction comes in knowing that the one you love has been blessed. That's all the reward you need.
I got to witness Stella Grace's breakthrough day. On the very same day I met her mom and heard how much our gift had meant. The day we celebrated together that small, but major, triumph in this little girl's life.
That's what I call a miracle.
posted by Jack Buckley at
9:54 AM
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