The Gift Of The Love
Stories
Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit
Series V, Cycle C
Object:
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.... And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (vv. 1-8a, 13)
O. Henry's short story, "The Gift of the Magi," tells of a Christmas years ago. Della counted the money she had saved to buy her husband, Jim, a present. After scrimping for months, she had the total sum of $1.87. Times were tough. After necessities, there wasn't much left of Jim's $20 a week salary for presents. All she could do was cry.
Jim's most prized possession was a gold pocket watch that had been handed down from his grandfather to his father and then to him. The watch hung from a leather strap, and Della desperately wanted to buy a watch chain for Jim. How could she with only $1.87?
Still crying, she took her money, put on her jacket, and left searching for answers. She happened to walk past a sign that read "Mme. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds."
She thought of her hair -- her long locks which flowed below her knees. It was her pride and joy, but suddenly it seemed expendable -- for a price and a purpose. She sold her hair to Madame Sofronie for $20, which she promptly spent on Jim's watch chain.
She returned home in time to start dinner. As she heard Jim approaching, she prayed that Jim would still think she was pretty. Her own opinion was that she now looked like a truant schoolboy.
Jim walked in. His eyes fixed on Della with a look that was beyond understanding. She immediately explained her appearance -- that she sold her hair to buy his Christmas present. She reasoned, "It'll grow back. My hair grows awfully fast."
Without saying a word, Jim took out a package and threw it on the table. Della opened it and discovered her Christmas present -- hair combs. She had coveted the combs, but the couple could never afford them. She hugged him and repeated, "My hair grows so fast, Jim!"
Della eagerly held out her palm, which held the unwrapped watch chain. Upon seeing the chain, Jim tumbled to the couch and smiled an unusual smile. He explained to Della that he no longer needed the chain because he had sold his watch to buy her combs.
Each had each sacrificed their most prized possession to buy a precious gift for the other. But not just any gift, it was something to accentuate the prized possession of the other.
Their gifts were a display of love, but not just any love, the greatest of love.
Paul wrote to the church at Corinth with a message that pertains to every church. The people in the Corinthian church were fighting over who had the greater spiritual gift.
Some said the best gift is prophecy. Others said it is speaking in tongues. Still others put more stock in knowledge, faith, martyrdom, and the list goes on and on and on.
However, Paul argues that the greatest gift ... is love.
The three most popular Greek words translated as love -- philia, which is friendly love; eros, which is romantic love; and agape which is the term Paul uses here. Of the three, agape is the least used in Greek writings of the time. However, it is the term of love most used in the New Testament. Clearly, Paul is writing about a special kind of Christian love that is different than friendship or lust.
Paul describes agape love in verses 3-7 as he calls the Corinthians to be a caring and inclusive church. The agape love he talks about has two main components: 1) it is self-sacrificing, and; 2) it is unconditional -- it expects nothing in return.
Jim and Della illustrated this self-sacrificing, unconditional love. Each sacrificed and expected nothing in return. It is an example of Christ's love and the one we should seek to follow.
O. Henry's short story, "The Gift of the Magi," tells of a Christmas years ago. Della counted the money she had saved to buy her husband, Jim, a present. After scrimping for months, she had the total sum of $1.87. Times were tough. After necessities, there wasn't much left of Jim's $20 a week salary for presents. All she could do was cry.
Jim's most prized possession was a gold pocket watch that had been handed down from his grandfather to his father and then to him. The watch hung from a leather strap, and Della desperately wanted to buy a watch chain for Jim. How could she with only $1.87?
Still crying, she took her money, put on her jacket, and left searching for answers. She happened to walk past a sign that read "Mme. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds."
She thought of her hair -- her long locks which flowed below her knees. It was her pride and joy, but suddenly it seemed expendable -- for a price and a purpose. She sold her hair to Madame Sofronie for $20, which she promptly spent on Jim's watch chain.
She returned home in time to start dinner. As she heard Jim approaching, she prayed that Jim would still think she was pretty. Her own opinion was that she now looked like a truant schoolboy.
Jim walked in. His eyes fixed on Della with a look that was beyond understanding. She immediately explained her appearance -- that she sold her hair to buy his Christmas present. She reasoned, "It'll grow back. My hair grows awfully fast."
Without saying a word, Jim took out a package and threw it on the table. Della opened it and discovered her Christmas present -- hair combs. She had coveted the combs, but the couple could never afford them. She hugged him and repeated, "My hair grows so fast, Jim!"
Della eagerly held out her palm, which held the unwrapped watch chain. Upon seeing the chain, Jim tumbled to the couch and smiled an unusual smile. He explained to Della that he no longer needed the chain because he had sold his watch to buy her combs.
Each had each sacrificed their most prized possession to buy a precious gift for the other. But not just any gift, it was something to accentuate the prized possession of the other.
Their gifts were a display of love, but not just any love, the greatest of love.
Paul wrote to the church at Corinth with a message that pertains to every church. The people in the Corinthian church were fighting over who had the greater spiritual gift.
Some said the best gift is prophecy. Others said it is speaking in tongues. Still others put more stock in knowledge, faith, martyrdom, and the list goes on and on and on.
However, Paul argues that the greatest gift ... is love.
The three most popular Greek words translated as love -- philia, which is friendly love; eros, which is romantic love; and agape which is the term Paul uses here. Of the three, agape is the least used in Greek writings of the time. However, it is the term of love most used in the New Testament. Clearly, Paul is writing about a special kind of Christian love that is different than friendship or lust.
Paul describes agape love in verses 3-7 as he calls the Corinthians to be a caring and inclusive church. The agape love he talks about has two main components: 1) it is self-sacrificing, and; 2) it is unconditional -- it expects nothing in return.
Jim and Della illustrated this self-sacrificing, unconditional love. Each sacrificed and expected nothing in return. It is an example of Christ's love and the one we should seek to follow.
