The Logic of Love

This sermon can be listened to here

Gate Pa – Epiphany 4 2016

Readings:

Psalm                          Psalm: 24: 7-10                                                          

First Reading:              Malachi 3:1-5                                                                            

Second Reading:         1 Cor 13:1-13                         

Gospel:                         Luke 2:22-40                          

           

What I want to say:

Using Brian McLaren’s thinking in “We Make the Road by Walking” John explores the concept of Logos as the logic by which we understand creation, God, and our place in all of this. And then use 1 Cor 13:1-13 to suggest that the logic of God is Love.                       

What I want to happen:

People to explore their own experience of the logic of love – where have you seen the logic of love – in your life, in our world?

The Sermon

     1.     Introduction:

Last week I talked about why we stand for the Gospel.

Using Johns gospel

            suggested that term - word of God

                        rather than referring to Bible

                        refers instead to 2nd person of trinity

                                    crucified and risen Christ

                                    Christ the Word

                                                meets us words Bible

                                                and in Gospels in particular

Word that John uses in chapter 1 is "Logos"

translated as The Word

            also translated as Logic

                        the logic of God seen in and through creation

                        in and through the life, actions, teaching, death and resurrection of Christ.

2. Logic

recently reading book Brian McLaren - talked about past

            this book  we make the road by walking

he talks about this logic

he says that

            when we look at world we use one of a number of patterns to understand what it is we are experiencing

            each pattern has it's own logic.

he offers three universal patterns of logic that are applied

as read them I thought about images of God that fit with each one

·        pattern of rivalry - cosmos is huge battlefield where participants survive by competing, defeating, displacing, winning.

            Image of God the goes with that is God the Victorious King.

            - We can see a lot of Christians operate under that pattern or logic

·        pattern of compliance - where learn rules to live by

            Image of God is God the judge

            - again lot Christians live under this

·        pattern of meaningless mechanism - just cogs larger system with no inherent meaning

            No God

3. Logic of Love

McLaren says none of these are God of Jesus

so what is logic of pattern revealed in life Jesus Christ

what is logic or pattern of God

this morning heard Paul describe that pattern

            that logic

            that word

                        as love

heard Paul describe that love

love is pattern, the logic of God

revealed in life of Jesus Christ

and I could talk at length about that

4.Questions

instead I invite you to do some work on logic/pattern of love

offer three ways to do that work

those want can go to chapel - have discussion - no leader

                        just some questions - sure you can get that going

or write poetry about questions and responses in lounge

or talk about questions while making a collage in lounge

Questions are:

• what stood out, surprised, disturbed, encouraged, warned, helped, you in what I said
• what is your image of God? what does that reveal about how you see the logic of God?
• what would your life, our life, the world look like if we lived solely by logic of love?
• As we look to lent, how might we start to live more by this pattern/logic of love? What new disciplines might you grow to be patterned on love?