Love Never Fails: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

1 Corinthians 13:1-13: "1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

That the Feast of St. Valentine falls on Quinquagesima, which is today, is a result of a movable feast day (Quinquagesima) coinciding with an immovable feast (St. Valentine). Therefore, the Epistle reading for Quinquagesima, which is taken from St. Paul's first Epistle to the Church at Corinth, the thirteenth chapter, beginning at the first verse, seems to be specifically chosen for the Feast of St. Valentine. After all, the Epistle speaks about love, and to the world, that is what the Feast of St. Valentine is all about, love. But this is not the case, this Epistle is appointed for this day, because it fits in nicely with the Gospel reading from St. Luke 18. The Gospel for today starts out with our Lord proclaiming, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem!" His death and burial wait for Him in Jerusalem, and so, it is His love for us that prompts Him to go to Jerusalem.

This is the love that the Blessed St. Paul is referring to in his First Epistle to the Church at Corinth. It is our Savior's love, which does not fail. It is on account of this love of our Savior that St. Paul sings this song about love. Love is all about doing for others, and not for oneself. Love is about sacrifice. That means that love is an action. Love is not a feeling. As if love was some abstract thing that nobody is able to put a handle on. No, love requires action, whether that action be in thought, word, or deed. And that action means putting one's needs below the needs of others around them.

This is of course, why this text comes on the last day of our preparation for Lent, for to be truly prepared for Lent, one must have a true spirit of Christian love. This is why the season of Lent has often been associated with fasting. One fasts, that is, limits what one eats and spends, so that he may give what he would normally use to those who need it. This is why on Ash Wednesday in the Gospel we will hear about fasting, and alms-giving, and prayer. These three things, which we practice throughout Lent, show our love for our fellowman. For we limit the food we eat, so that we might provide a meal for those who would otherwise not have it. We use the money that we saved from the groceries we would buy, to give to those who are in need, and this would include the Mission congregations of the Church, who need our gifts to further the mission of Christ on Earth of calling sinners to repentance. And third, we pray for all those who have need, especially for those outside the Church, that our Lord God would lead them into His flock.

We certainly, are to do these things, all the time, that is, care for our neighbor, and pray for him. But during the season of Lent, we are provided with constant reminders of our duty to the Second Table of the Law. Therefore, the Blessed Apostle, St. Paul, gives us a reminder of what love entails, so that we may be prepared to humble ourselves, and care for other people above ourselves, so that the Word of God, may take root in the soil of men's hearts, and produce the enlightenment that the Word of God produces. Just like it did for the blind man in today's Gospel reading.

Here we are given a different sense of what Lent is all about, for we are often tempted to think that Lent is supposed to be a dreary season, where we are not allowed to have any fun. Well, if showing love to one's neighbor, if sacrificing one's desires, for someone else's needs, if giving to the poor, and praying for those in need is a dreary concept to us, then we need to further examine our own hearts. For a heart that is full of love, gives without prodding, and sacrifices itself without having to be told. It is the heart of Christ, which suffered and died for those who hated Him. And all those who have been baptized, have received the heart of Christ, they have been given a heart a love, a heart that looks to the needs of others, before it looks to one's own needs.

This is what love is to the Church. It is a heart that takes action, and shows the love of Christ which dwells within it. This is much different than the love of the world, which is often self-seeking. The love of the world, is most often about amorous feelings, and often unrequited. We hear these stories all the time, about someone pining for someone, and the other person not being interested, so that the person who has amorous feelings for the other person must resort to some sort of scheme to woo them into loving them.

Our Lord Jesus Christ loves us and the world. His love for the world is unrequited, and in many cases, is met with hatred. But our Lord Jesus does not resort to schemes, He doesn't use smooth words, or gifts to lure us into loving Him. He instead loves us regardless of whether or not we love Him. This is what is called "unconditional love." It is love that doesn't need loving back for it to be validated. This is the kind of love our Lord Jesus showed for us and the world on the cross. He suffered and died for us, while we were still enemies. Is this not what our Lord Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, that we should love our enemies. We should not be consumed with revenge, or getting back at the people who don't love us back, but we should still pray that they would cease their enmity between us, and walk with us in meekness and in peace. For it is God's place to punish His enemies, and those who are our enemies because of our love for Him. It is our place to pray for them, that they might no longer be enemies of God and us.

Love produces joy in the person who practices it, and receives it. Therefore, we have joy in our Lord Jesus for showing His love for us, by His suffering and death on the cross. The same is true of acts of love, such as fasting, alms-giving, and prayer, when these things are done out of love for our fellowman. These acts bring the people who benefit from it joy. And it is their joy that brings us joy, and creates in us a desire to do these things even more.

Therefore, the Feast of St. Valentine provides us, along with the entire Lenten season, an opportunity to show the true love of Christ, which dwells within us. This love is not just reserved for those who return it, nor is it especially about how many gifts, and what kind of gifts one is going to be receiving. Nor is this love reserved for those who are amorously infatuated with one another. True love, that is true Christian love, can be seen in the real person of St. Valentine, who was a priest in Rome, who was martyred on the Flaminian Way by Claudius Caesar in the year 269 A.D. on February 14th. St. Valentine cared for the sick and gave healing to many. He also provided counsel to those who were suffering in this life, preaching the Word of God boldly to lost souls in the midst of great persecution from the Roman government. His love for his fellow man transcended all earthly threats and punishments, and he willing gave his life for the Gospel, being beaten and beheaded for preaching the Gospel. He sacrificed himself, so that others might believe on our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is quite the different story from some dude in a toga shooting bows and arrows at people so that they might have amorous feelings toward one another, that we normally see attached to this feast day. But this is the type of love, the love of self-sacrifice, that our Lord Jesus wants us to learn about, for it is the same love that was in Him, and on account of our Holy Baptism, and our hearing of the Gospel, and our participation in the Lord's Supper and the other means of grace, that this love dwells within us richly. Let His love fill you, so that you might share that love with those around you.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

For Where Your Treasure Is, There Your Heart Will Be Also: St. Matthew 6:1-23

St. Matthew 6:1-23: "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. 5 And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 16 Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"

Three spiritual exercises are described in this pericope: Alms-giving, or charitable deeds, prayer, and fasting. The purpose of these spiritual exercises is given in the closing verses. That is, not to "lay up treasure for yourself on earth," or to say it another way, so that you look good and righteous towards your fellow man. But rather, "lay up treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and thieves do not break in and steal." Does this mean that we should do good works for God and not for man? No! The difference between man-pleasing works, and works that are pleasing to God, is where the heart is.

Man-centered works, the works of philanthropists and sycophants, are done with a heart that sets out to please man, and curry favor with one's fellowman. They are the works righteous persons. This is seen in all three examples.

In alms-giving, the works righteous person is the person who sounds a trumpet before they give a gift. Today we call them "press conferences." But such works righteous giving can also be see in less grand ways, for example donating something to the church, and then having one's name engraved on it so that all future generations will know who gave that article. The gift may be good and useful, but the praise should be unnecessary. From personal experience it seems that at times we desire to mark who gave the gift, so that we know who to blame, if we don't like it.

Our Lord, however, would have us give so that we "do not let our left hand know what our right hand is doing" In other words, keep it a secret. The key here is the motivation of the heart. Is the alms given with the intent of showing your fellowman, how great and wonderful you are, and how great of a Christian you are? Or is the alms given so that you might show your thanks and love toward God for all of His blessing to you? Or that you might support the work of the Church, or an individual, or whomever the gift is intended to help? What is the motivation of your heart? The sad thing is, that because of the sin that dwells within us, we can never be completely selfless in our giving. But this is why our Lord gives up Himself, so that we might be given succor in our giving, learning to give as He has given to us.

In prayer, works righteousness is shown, by the hypocrites who pray openly in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order that men may see what great prayers they are. We have examples today in the many so called "evangelists" on TV. There are also those who when in a restaurant, interrupt the whole restaurant so that they can offer prayer before their meals. These folks may think they are giving a bold witness, but in reality, they are turning people away, and only giving the example that they are trying to impress people. Does that then mean that we shouldn't pray in public at a restaurant before our meals? No! This can be done quietly, and with our focus on what we are praying and to whom we are praying, and not towards who in the room may be listening. The same can be said about praying in church. There are parts in the service where silent prayer is not only suggested, but encouraged. We should not be afraid to take advantage of this, just because there may be people watching.

In the Early Church during what we now call the General Prayer, a time of about 30 minutes, would be dedicated to silent prayer. The Deacon would list certain things that should be prayed for, and then at the Deacons instruction with the words, "oremus" (let us pray) and "flectamus genua" (kneel, lit. bend the knee) the people would pray silently to their Father for these things, when time had been allowed, then the Deacon would say, "levate" (arise, or stand up, lit. be lifted up) and then the Bishop would sum up, or collect, the prayers of the people into a final prayer. We can see this form in the Bidding Prayer, where the Deacon states what we should pray for, then there is silence, then the Bishop prays a collect. This form was developed out of the synagogue prayers. This is pointed out to show that our Lord is not referring to this type of prayer, that is, public prayer, but private prayer.

Again, private prayer involves the heart, that is, the heart of faith, and to whom are we praying. Our Lord would have us go into our rooms, and pray in secret, to the Father who listens in secret. It is here in the secret places where we are more open to praying to our Heavenly Father for the things that we need and desire the most, free from the bonds of who we may be afraid might be listening. Also notice, that our Lord sums up the Lord's Prayer, by talking about forgiveness and forgiving. For it is in our private prayers where we are most free to unburden our sins. This is also why there is a thing called Private Confession, for there we can confess our sins to a man who represents our Heavenly Father in private, knowing that anything we confess will be forgiven and forgotten. And we have the benefit of knowing that our Heavenly Father has forgiven us, for there is a man there telling us that our sins are forgiven. He is also able to comfort us with additional words from holy Scripture, so that our asking of forgiveness is just like talking to our Heavenly Father, and being able to hear His reponse to us.

Sadly, fasting has fallen by the wayside among many people, and even those who desire to practice it, don't understand it, or do it incorrectly. Fasting is about preparing one's heart to receive God's Word. The purpose of fasting is to teach oneself humility, and want, so that he learns to be content with little, and in learning to be content with little, he might learn to be giving when bestowed many earthly blessings. There are different types of fasting. There is the strict fast, which is nothing to eat or drink but water. This is the fast that our Lord undertakes in the wilderness for forty days and nights. Fasting can also take a less strict approach, where one just eats less, limiting himelf to a certain amount of food, such as a 1/2 or 1/4 meal. Fasting most often involves what is properly called abstinence, that is, the refraining from certain foods for a certain time. The most common of this is the abstaining from red meat. Other more austere forms of abstinence include, no dairy products, no oil, no eggs, and no meat. This is practiced in the East. This abstinence can also include the agreement between husband and wife of abstaining from sexual intercourse for a time. Abstaining from wine (except that which is received from Holy Communion) and other alchoholic beverages is also keeping within the spirit of fasting. It should also be pointed out that the foods that are eaten should be simple, inexpensive foods, to keep within the spirit of the fast.

Fasting is always accompanied by increased alms-giving, prayer, and study of God's Word. This is why St. Matthew relates these things in succession, for the Church to have an example of its spiritual exercises. And we should think of them as exercises, just like we would exercise our physical bodies, we also exercise our spiritual bodies. And like physical exercise, if one is spiritually unfit, or new to spiritual exercise, he shouldn't try running a marathon on the first day, but ease into. This is why is a couple of weeks we will have the season of Pre-Lent, the time where we prepare our hearts and minds (and bodies) for the spiritual journey of Lent. Traditionally in the Ancient Church during the three weeks of Pre-Lent a different item of food was removed from the household, and was abstained from until Easter. For example during Septuagesima they would start abstaining from dairy products, then during Sexagesima they would abstain from eggs, then starting with Quinquagesima they would start abstaining from oil, then on Ash Wednesday they would abstain from meat, and would really only be allowed a small amount of bread each day and water until Easter.

Also during the Early Church fasting would include throughout the year fasting on Wednesday and Fridays, except from Easter to the Sunday after Pentecost. Wednesday were observed as a day of fast, for this was the day on which Judas agreed to betray our Lord. Fridays were observed in honor of the crucifixion of our Lord. Wednesdays were later dropped, and only the Friday fast was observed, which is why the practice of abstaining from red meat on Fridays happens for some during Lent

Today, fasts to varying degrees are observed throughout the year. If one wants to observe the ancient practices today, and since we are not used to such austerity, the following suggestions are made: During Advent, nothing to eat or drink, except water, every day, except Sundays and feast days, until 3 p.m., then a small, simple, inexpensive meal may be had for dinner (this applies to all fast days), and no meat on Wednesdays and Fridays. During Lent and Holy Week nothing to eat or drink, except water, until 3 p.m. and no meat every day, except on Sundays and Feast days. On Ember days (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of the third week in Advent, the week after Invocabit, the week after Pentecost, and the week after Sept. 14th (Exultation of the Holy Cross)) and during Rogationtide (the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension) nothing to eat or drink, except water, until 3 p.m. and no meat on those days. There is also a fast in preparation for the Blessed Sacrament that is from Midnight until one receives the Holy Mass, nothing to eat or drink, except water. This would be on Saturday night, and the night before a Feast day. Throughout the year, on Wednesdays and Fridays, nothing to eat or drink, except water, until 3 p.m. This does not apply during Easter, and from Christmas to January 13th, and when a Feast day (and its octave) falls on these days. For there is no fasting from Easter to the Sunday after Trinity, and during Christmas and Epiphany through its octave.

No matter how strict or loose one's fast is, for it is after all up to one's Christian freedom how one observes these fasting, the focus of why we fast should not be lost, that we are preparing our hearts and minds to receive God's Word by humbling ourselves, and teaching ourselves to be content with little. Fasting that focuses on how much weight is loss, is not fasting, it's dieting, and the two should never be confused. Fasting, along with prayer and alms-giving, are spiritual exercise, that are meant to strengthen our faith in our Lord and Saviour, that we might learn to love and trust in Him more fully, and learn to depend on Him for all of our earthly blessings. May our Lord Jesus teach you these things.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas