Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Word of the Lord which engages us this morning comes from our Epistle lesson (1 Corinthians 12: 27 to 13: 13). ����������������

News item (1998, Washington Post, June 20): "Members of an historic church� near the U.S. capitol are embroiled in a bitter dispute � which recently erupted in a brawl outside the sanctuary". Sad, so sad when such disputes happen and become publicly known, as they were happening in the Corinthian congregation 2000 years ago. Jesus said "on this rock (the confession of Christ's name) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." (Matt. 16: 18). Indeed, the gates of hell have not prevailed against it � in fact no outside forces have succeeded in conquering the church. But is there ever danger from within the body of Christ itself? Can the walls begin to break down from the inside? Paul's words about love give us an insight into the Master Builder's plan for the church and the difficulties that come about when love is missing.

Loves Reflection in the Blueprints (12: 27-31): In the first verses of our text Paul starts with the foundation. God provided apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, administrators, and those who could speak in tongues as a foundation row of bricks for his church. Peter's Pentecost sermon allowed the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of 1000's. Paul's missionary efforts laid the groundwork for the early expansion of Christ's church. ��

All Christians today are built on the foundation laid by Jesus' disciples as they went into all the world in response to his Great Commission. ����������������

But later members of the church located above the foundation row are included as well! Paul says each one of us individually is also a member of Christ's body. We upper bricks are as necessary to the body as the foundation row. No member's gifts may be excluded as being less important or unnecessary. When a cathedral was built in Milan, Italy, the story is told of a little girl who claimed, "I helped build this cathedral." When bystanders asked her what she meant, she replied "I brought lunch for my father while he was working on the building." In the same way, God uses each individual's gifts � great or small � to accomplish his unique purposes in building the church. ����������������

Each gift spelled out in the blueprint is necessary for Christ's final constructed church! How could the Word of God have come to us today without specially 'sent ones' such as apostles and prophets? How could the Word be understood without teachers? Throughout the centuries, these and other gifts have been used by the Spirit to advance the Gospel and thus are part of the foundation. Love's precedence over the Gifts (13: 1-3): So, Paul gives us the blueprint, the foundation, and the individual stones. Is anything missing? When it comes to buildings, nobody thinks much about the mortar between the bricks, do they? It's just sort of there. But a wall can only be as durable as the mortar holding its bricks together. One of the most important qualities of mortar is its ability to serve as a strong, pliant buffer between individual bricks and stones. It keeps them from shifting against each other and breaking up in the process. ����������������

In the same way, Paul goes on to say that love is the quality so indispensable for holding everything together that the church cannot be considered complete without it. Like mortar, love may sometimes be taken for granted, but Paul's words imply that there will be wall failure when it begins to disintegrate. For those of us who have been members here for less than 4 years, it's hard to imagine the struggles that went on here at Immanuel during the 1990's. Now as we see the mortar of love re-strengthened by Christ, it is hard to imagine there was a time when it seemed like bricks were frequently rubbing against other bricks. ����������������

A church can be extremely gifted. For example, one member might enjoy the ability of speaking the Gospel in different languages. But Paul says if it is done without love, it is incomprehensible, and the wall is damaged from within. One might possess the gift of speaking on God's behalf as a prophet, or have great knowledge or faith, but if these are employed in a loveless manner, they are defective. Any gift used without love allows the individual bricks to shift and rub against each other. If the bond of love fails, destructive forces can penetrate, and the very bricks in the wall begin to disintegrate.

Love's Pragmatism among the gifts (13: 4-7): Paul doesn't describe LOVE as a feeling, like we normally think of it. This text is not about romantic love or designed for weddings. This is about churchly love between fellow Christians. Paul says churchly love is pragmatic � it is concerned with showing itself in concrete action. Love doesn't just have the 'patience of a saint,' it is especially patient with other saints. Love isn't content at rest. It insists on showing itself in kindness to others. Love cheers on the truth; love protects by putting the best construction on everything regarding others; love always trusts by giving someone the benefit of the doubt; love always anticipates good prevailing over evil; love endures all challenges. Christian Love seems uncomfortable unless it is DOING something. ����������������

Not only are there practical things for churchly love to do, but there are also pitfalls for it to avoid. Just as good mortar needs to avoid being harder than the bricks that surround it, love must also avoid allowing itself to be envious. Love must never be boastful. Love can have nothing to do with pride. Because its focus is toward others, love cannot be self-seeking. Love seeks out others to help. Love must laugh off quarrels; love can't keep a hit list of people who have somehow wronged it; and love will never align itself with anything evil. ����������������

Compare these characteristics of churchly love with the lack of love sometimes evident at church. For example, love is patient and kind, but how many times are we at church impatient and unkind? Love is not envious, but we at church can be envious when we do not receive the same recognition as another member of the congregation. Love is not boastful or proud, but we in church can act as if we are using our gifts primarily to be recognized by others. Love is not rude, but we can be rude when we ignore other members. ��

Love is not self-seeking, but sometimes Christians act as if congregations were there for the express purpose of filling their own individual needs instead of serving the needs of others. Love is not easily angered, but many Christians become overly sensitive when they do not get their own way. Love keeps no record of wrongs, but we in congregations begin to keep score after our toes have been stepped on a few times. Love takes no delight in evil, but even some of the best Christians gossip and gloat about the problems and lives of others. You get the idea. The love Paul speaks of is great � it's people who are the problem. It can seem, at times, like the walls of the church are on the verge of collapsing inward onto themselves. ����������������

That's where LOVE comes to the rescue in the form of another person. John says directly (1 John 4: 8) "God is love". I once heard Dale Meyer, the former Lutheran Hour Speaker, do a sermon on this text, and he substituted the name Jesus for love in this chapter. Some Bible scholars believe that Paul may have used the word LOVE as a synonym for Jesus with the Corinthians. Listen to it like that: Jesus is patient (literally), long-suffering. Jesus is kind. Jesus is not rude � especially when dealing with rude people like us. For the love of us 'unlovables,' he bled and died and rose again to forgive our lovelessness. As we turn to him in repentance, not only are we forgiven, but also now his love empowers our relationships with others in the body of Christ. We can love others the way Christ has loved us because we have Christ living in us. ����������������

His love is renewed every time we read about it in the Scripture, every time we remember our Baptism, and every time we taste of the Lord's Supper. As we remain in him, the Master builder is continually at work tuck-pointing � renewing the strength of the wall by re-supplying the mortar that allows the bricks to do their jobs without destroying one another. That is what Christ, through His Word, has done here at Immanuel. Through Christ's love he changes us to be more and more like Him. Like Jesus' name can be substituted throughout this section, you might try substituting your own name to hear as a goal for your own Christ-like love: "Jeff is patient, Jeff is kind� Amy is not rude� Amy does not keep a record of wrongs. Love's perpetual character among the gifts (13: 8-13): Christ' LOVE brings about the unfailing, unceasing, enduring kind of love spoken of in the final verses of our text. Paul says this love will outlast all the gifts. Someday in heaven we will need no prophecy from others because the Lord will speak to us directly. Eventually we will no longer need any special knowledge because we will be filled with the knowledge of God. What we do now is partial and incomplete; what we will experience in heaven will be full and eternal. ����������������

Until then, we can have the kind of love shown at a church in Oregon. One Sunday morn, a young man wearing jeans and a t-shirt came to worship at a well-dressed congregation. Several people were uncomfortable as the man searched for a seat. Finding none, the man finally decided to sit on the carpet up front. An elderly leader of the church moved to the front, where the young man was seated on the floor. People held their breath, waiting for a confrontation. ��

But to their surprise, the elderly man dropped to the floor and joined the young man sitting there (from R.M. Pippert, Out of the Saltshaker and into the World, Intervarsity Press, 1979). ����������������

Love counts at church. The God who is calling you to show love is the God who offers you the same love in Jesus. Let Him tuck-point his forgiving love into you so you can show love to others.

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4: 7)

Note: This sermon, modified slightly, was written by Rev. David Emmrich in the Concordia Pulpit Resources, January 2001, p. 35