“Never Ending Love” – I cor. 13:1-13 – January 28, 2007

Recently, the columnist, Art Buchwald passed away. One time he told a story about a taxi ride he took in New York City with a friend of his. When they left the taxi, his friend told the driver: "Thank you for the ride. You did a superb job of driving." The driver looked stunned for a moment and then asked if he was being a wise guy or something. His friend responded: "No, I'm not putting you on. I admired the way you kept cool in the heavy traffic." "Yeah", said the driver before pulling away.

Art asked his friend what that conversation had been all about. "I am trying to bring love back to New York", his friend answered. "I believe it's the only thing which can save the city." "How can one man save New York?" Art asked him. His friend answered: "It's not just one man. I believe I made that taxi driver's day. Suppose he has 20 fares. He's going to be nice to those 20 fares because someone was pleasant to him. Those fares in turn will be kinder to their employees or shopkeepers or waiters or even their own families. Eventually, the goodwill could spread to at least 1,000 people. Now that isn't so bad, is it?" "But you're depending on that taxi driver to pass on your goodwill to others." "I'm not depending on it", Art's friend responded. "I'm aware that the system isn't foolproof. But if I interact with ten different people today and I make three of them happy, who knows where it could lead? Nothing is lost if the driver doesn't follow through. It didn't take any of my time to tell him that he was doing a good job. If it fell on deaf ears, so what? It didn't cost me anything to be pleasant to him. And tomorrow, there will be another taxi driver that I can try to make happy."

Art’s friend seems to have understood Paul’s message to the Corinthians. They were more filled with themselves than willing to extend love to others. They were proud of their spirituality but failed to apply the all important basic ethic of love. Art’s friend illustrates how love can be contagious. His positive approach of being kind and affirming to other people surely made a difference in the city of New York.

But, was Paul telling the Corinthians that they needed to be more pleasant to one another or was he saying something else? I happened to catch the ending of the movie, Pleasantville, the other evening. The folks in Pleasantville were very nice people and everyone treated each other with kindness and respect. But, there was a problem. They were stuck in time, not willing to change. They had a nice, friendly little town but they weren’t in touch with their feelings. Women were second class citizens and children did not have the freedom to spread their wings or be themselves. It was a chauvinistic society where men had all the power.

The Corinthian Church was not unlike Pleasantville. There was an elite group who held all the power because of their so called, gifts of the spirit. They used them to separate themselves from the rest of the faith community. People were not equal, in fact, many were kept powerless.

When we truly love others we have to let go of power. That requires compromise, a yielding to the will of others, a mutuality that includes everyone in the community. In Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories for a Better World, there is a story that illustrates how letting go of power can make a difference.

A church in Central Pennsylvania was growing and they made plans for a Sunday School addition. The congregation didn’t have a lot of money but they had many willing workers. At a planning meeting there were two men with careers in construction. They had a difference of opinion of whether or not to use plastic or copper for the plumbing. The conflict escalated into a heated debate. The pastor felt responsible for assuring good communication and when it was inevitable that the conflict was not going to be resolved, he suggested everyone go home and they could reconvene the next evening.

The pastor prayed and agonized over the conflict between two of his parishioners, fearful that both families might leave the church and fearful that the building program would never be completed. He rehearsed over and over again what he would say and thought about several options to resolve the dispute.

The next evening the group gathered in a Sunday School classroom, weary from the previous meeting. The pastor opened the meeting with prayer and no sooner had he said, “Amen,” then one of the men, Earl, started the meeting by apologizing for his behavior the night before. He personally apologized to Dave, the other contractor, and then to the whole group. He went on to say, “I have an idea. I have experience with roofing and siding and Dave has experience with indoor construction. How would be if I supervised the exterior of the building and Dave the interior?”

There was a collective sigh of relief and everyone turned to Dave to see how he would respond. With a mildly surprised but admiring look in his eyes, he nodded in agreement. The group embraced Earl’s idea and the meeting ended with handshakes, smiles and good-natured slaps on the back.

Love occurs when power is shared. People have to be willing to compromise and allow love to reign over pride, knowledge and their egos. But, what separates love from all other things, i.e., faith or hope, is the fact that “love never ends.”

Just when we think we have run out of energy to cope with a crisis, or when we have so much pain and all seems hopeless, we have an endless supply of love. It is a power that we can draw from within. Love is a gift from God, something we don’t have to purchase, earn, or even inherit. Love is an infinite resource that can help us through any situation we face.

In Les Miserables, Victor Hugo tells about Jean Valjean, whose only crime in life was the theft of a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving children. Valjean served nineteen years for this crime before being turned out penniless on the streets. Hardened and unable to find work as a former convict, Valjean finally made his way to the home of an old bishop. The bishop gave him supper and a bed for the night. He served Valjean using his best silver platters and candlesticks, which Valjean recognized as being highly valuable.

Yielding to temptation, Valjean stole the bishop’s silver plates and slipped away from his home. But, soon later he was caught and returned by the police. When shown the silver plates, the bishop said to the police, “Why, I gave them to him.” And then turning to the thief Valjean, he said, “And Jean, you forgot to take the candlesticks.”

A shocked and eternally grateful Valjean accepted the candlesticks as more than valuable silver pieces, but as expressions of love beyond measure. The bishop’s act of love brought about a true repentance and changed a life.

The old bishop reached deep into God’s infinite resource of unconditional love and passed it on to Valjean. Paul also wanted to remind the Corinthians that they too had an abundance of never ending love that could be passed on to others. Love withheld is not love, but a self-serving love that benefits no one. We may run out of financial resources. We may run out of electricity and perhaps food. But, we never run out of love.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio