A couple of years ago, Jennifer found a set of measuring spoons which
tickled me. Instead of having the traditional measurements of "½
teaspoon, teaspoon, and tablespoon," these measuring spoons had
"dab, pinch, and smidgen." For the accomplished cooks among
us, these terms have meaning. In preparing a cake from scratch, a
seasoned baker doesn’t always use a recipe and often uses her own
quantifiable reasoning: a pinch of this and a dab of that and an extra
smidgen for taste. Accomplished chefs know how much extra to add by
simply tasting the product and then adding what is missing.
In the scripture read earlier, the Apostle Paul was reminding the
Church at Corinth of the vital ingredient to every life recipe–love.
For Paul, faith constituted belief; hope represented motivation, but
love was the vital ingredient.
The flow of today’s worship service represents that last verse of
chapter 13. We can have faith because of past experiences, noted in the
hymn "How Firm a Foundation." We can have hope in a future, as
the choir dazzled us with "I Got Shoes." While faith can be
based on what has already happened and hope can be based on the future,
love is in the present tense. While Paul reminds us that love
never fails, when love becomes the vital ingredient, meanings
change.
While Paul wrote his letter 2,000 years ago for that particular
church, I’d like to share with you a more contemporary paraphrase for
today’s Hampton Baptist Church, describing some of what we are doing
these days.
Choir robes by themselves are aesthetically pleasing while hanging in
a robing room, but when adding love, they become tools of
ministry. Liturgical colors without love become lessons in interior
design, but with love, stories of God’s never-changing nature
amid changing seasons can be shared. Paying for special church projects
without love is simply altruistic fund-raising, but with love,
memorial gifts express not only the dedication of the person being
remembered, but that memory allows others to experience God’s love as
a result. Organ and trumpet music without love is similar to the noise
in verse one of I Corinthians 13, more like a dissonant gong or a
clanging cymbal, but with love, this music becomes worship.
Mission trips without love become humanistic tourism, but with
love, the gospel message comes alive. Cooperation without love is simply
coordinated teamwork, but with love, the Body of Christ becomes
the hands and feet of God. Strategic Plans without love are dusty
blueprints for unfulfilling futures, but with love, these
strategies reach people for Christ. Choral music without love is
performance and grand-standing, but with love, vocal music points
the listener to our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Children’s
activities without love become daycare, but with love, youngsters
learn about a God who cares about them, even more than their parents do.
Youth ministries without love become fun activities, but with
love, adolescents find purpose in following Christ as their Savior.
Sunday School without love is nothing more than a social club, but with
love, students learn how to apply the precious truths of the Bible.
Personnel Manuals without love become work-force playbooks, but with
love, church staff members recognize how important their work is to the
Kingdom of God.
Without love, faith is useless. Without love, there is no need for
hope. Where there are choir robes they will wear out; where there is
Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning Systems, they will fail; where
there are staff members, they will retire or move. Ministers come and
go; hard-workers grow old, and new leaders step up. The most vital
ingredient is love.
Our time of communion today will exemplify that understanding and
our theology. Dependency on a pastor for communion is the wrong focus;
love should be the focus of communion. This summer, because of
vacations, communion leadership by the ministerial staff will be varied.
So today, communion will be led by our two Interim Associate Pastors.
Remember, love is the vital ingredient.