READINGS: 01/30/2022 ~ Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany ~ Known in Some
Traditions as the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; 1
Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30 ~ VIDEO LINK OF THE COMPLETE SERVICE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcyZ1FWIW3w.
Agape
South Freeport Congregational Church
Rev. Joseph Connolly
January 30, 2022
“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and can endure all things.
Love never ends.” — 1 Corinthians 13:7-8a
You may be tired of me saying I spent 23 years at one church in the New York
Conference. But that is true; I did. Now, just like churches, conferences have annual
meetings. I was, in fact, at one point on the Board of the New York Conference.
A couple of years before I came back to Maine someone approached me at one of those
annual meetings and they told me they felt I was an institution in the Conference. I had
no desire to be an institution of any kind, so I was actually a little upset by that
accusation. But I kept my cool.
I responded with a smile and said, “Change is good for institutions. It must be time for
me to leave.” A couple years later I did just that, I left. (Slight pause.)
At the first Conference board meeting I attended, the General Counsel of the United
Church of Christ at National Church level offered a short course on the ethical standards
expected not just of church boards but of all non-profit boards. Many points were made;
lawyers do that.
What stuck in my brain from that talk? As is true of many non-profit boards, members of
the Conference Board come from specific segments of a broad constituency. I was
elected as a representative of the Susquehanna Association, the Association to which my
church belonged. The Conference board at least in the New York Conference is
structured that way— constituencies are taken into account.
However, the ethical standard for a board member of any non-profit says, once on a
board, that constituency, that specific affiliation, from which you come is a moot point.
Each individual board member is responsible for representing the whole.
Back then I was also on the Church and Ministry Committee of the Susquehanna
Association. And even though I’ve been back in Maine a fairly short time I am already
serving on the Church and Ministry Committee of the Cumberland Association.
On those Committees I did and now do my best to represent the whole. As a member of
those boards that’s what I was supposed to do and what I am supposed to do.
To be clear, representing the whole does not mean you fail to bring your own sensitivity,
sensibility, insights and intelligence to what is being considered. It means you strive to
represent the whole to the best of your ability. That... is the ethical standard. (Slight
pause.)
These words are found in 1 Corinthians: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes
all things and can endure all things. Love never ends.” (Slight pause.)
As was mentioned when this reading was introduced, there are six words in Greek for
love. We speakers of English are confined to just one word.
Here is the list of those Greek words with a brief explanation of each.
Eros is a physical expression of love;
Philia— friendship sometimes referred to as brotherly or sisterly love;
Ludus— playful love;
Pragma— longstanding love;
Philautia— love of self but this indicates vanity and is not about a protective love of self.
Last we have Agape. Agape is unconditional, altruistic, universal, inclusive love. (Slight
pause.)
It is fairly well known that, in this passage, Paul addresses Agape. And yes, as a
community we should be aware that we need to have a special affinity for one another.
As a community we need to be aware that we are bonded in and by Agape, this
unconditional, altruistic, universal, inclusive love for one another.
But the very meaning of the word should also instruct us about the greater impact, the
effect of Agape love. Agape love should not and does not end in this place, with those
we know.
The very meaning of the word should instruct us that we, this community of faith, having
bonded here in this place, at this time, in and by unconditional, altruistic, universal,
inclusive love— we need to move beyond this place, this time. (Slight pause.)
You may not be aware of this. In terms of our polity each member of this church is a
member of a another church group. We are all members of the Cumberland Association
and yet another church group the Maine Conference. So, therefore yes, you guessed it:
we are members of yet another church group, the United Church of Christ at the National
level.
In terms of our polity your Agape love, as it relates to the church community, this
unconditional, altruistic, universal, inclusive love, does not end with this local
community, this church. Agape love, your unconditional, altruistic, universal, inclusive
love extends to the Conference, to the Association, to the church at the national level.
Indeed, broadening this is an outgrowth of the universality of Agape love.
But there is more. Agape love invites us to look at things with the eyes of another one of
those Greek words for love— Philia is love for all our brothers and sisters, for all
humanity. But Philia is not just love for all humanity. Philia extends to love for all of
God’s creation. (Slight pause.)
I need to add one thing. We Congregationalists have another name for Agape. We call it
covenant love. And covenant love understood well is demanding.
You see, what covenant love invites us to... is growth. Covenant love invites us to...
learning. Covenant love invites us to... engagement. Covenant love invites us to see new
horizons constantly.
Covenant loves invites us to the idea that as we move forward, we remember the past but
understand it is past. Last, perhaps the most important aspect of covenant love is that it
invites us to hold one another’s humanity and well being as precious. (Slight pause.)
We all know and can probably recite by heart Paul’s famous words. (Quote:) “Love
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and can endure all things. Love
never ends.” The challenge for us is can we meet the standard proposed by Paul, the
standard proposed by Paul, the standard proposed by agape love?
Amen.
01/30/2022
South Freeport Congregational Church United Church of Christ, South Freeport, Maine
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before
the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said:
“I have said this from the pulpit here already. I want to repeat it. The Bible does not tell us about
faith, hope and charity. Agape translates into Latin as Caritas. Caritas was then
translated into the Anglo-Saxon language tree as charity. But when that translation
happened the underlying word was still Agape, unconditional, altruistic, universal,
inclusive love, not charity, not giving something to someone. And I hope I have just
illustrated that Paul’s challenge is much more demanding than mere charity.”
BENEDICTION: Let us, above all, surround ourselves with the perfect love of God, a
love which binds everything together in harmony. And may we love God so much, that
we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God, that we are in awe of no
one else and nothing else. Amen.
Traditions as the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; 1
Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30 ~ VIDEO LINK OF THE COMPLETE SERVICE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcyZ1FWIW3w.
Agape
South Freeport Congregational Church
Rev. Joseph Connolly
January 30, 2022
“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and can endure all things.
Love never ends.” — 1 Corinthians 13:7-8a
You may be tired of me saying I spent 23 years at one church in the New York
Conference. But that is true; I did. Now, just like churches, conferences have annual
meetings. I was, in fact, at one point on the Board of the New York Conference.
A couple of years before I came back to Maine someone approached me at one of those
annual meetings and they told me they felt I was an institution in the Conference. I had
no desire to be an institution of any kind, so I was actually a little upset by that
accusation. But I kept my cool.
I responded with a smile and said, “Change is good for institutions. It must be time for
me to leave.” A couple years later I did just that, I left. (Slight pause.)
At the first Conference board meeting I attended, the General Counsel of the United
Church of Christ at National Church level offered a short course on the ethical standards
expected not just of church boards but of all non-profit boards. Many points were made;
lawyers do that.
What stuck in my brain from that talk? As is true of many non-profit boards, members of
the Conference Board come from specific segments of a broad constituency. I was
elected as a representative of the Susquehanna Association, the Association to which my
church belonged. The Conference board at least in the New York Conference is
structured that way— constituencies are taken into account.
However, the ethical standard for a board member of any non-profit says, once on a
board, that constituency, that specific affiliation, from which you come is a moot point.
Each individual board member is responsible for representing the whole.
Back then I was also on the Church and Ministry Committee of the Susquehanna
Association. And even though I’ve been back in Maine a fairly short time I am already
serving on the Church and Ministry Committee of the Cumberland Association.
On those Committees I did and now do my best to represent the whole. As a member of
those boards that’s what I was supposed to do and what I am supposed to do.
To be clear, representing the whole does not mean you fail to bring your own sensitivity,
sensibility, insights and intelligence to what is being considered. It means you strive to
represent the whole to the best of your ability. That... is the ethical standard. (Slight
pause.)
These words are found in 1 Corinthians: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes
all things and can endure all things. Love never ends.” (Slight pause.)
As was mentioned when this reading was introduced, there are six words in Greek for
love. We speakers of English are confined to just one word.
Here is the list of those Greek words with a brief explanation of each.
Eros is a physical expression of love;
Philia— friendship sometimes referred to as brotherly or sisterly love;
Ludus— playful love;
Pragma— longstanding love;
Philautia— love of self but this indicates vanity and is not about a protective love of self.
Last we have Agape. Agape is unconditional, altruistic, universal, inclusive love. (Slight
pause.)
It is fairly well known that, in this passage, Paul addresses Agape. And yes, as a
community we should be aware that we need to have a special affinity for one another.
As a community we need to be aware that we are bonded in and by Agape, this
unconditional, altruistic, universal, inclusive love for one another.
But the very meaning of the word should also instruct us about the greater impact, the
effect of Agape love. Agape love should not and does not end in this place, with those
we know.
The very meaning of the word should instruct us that we, this community of faith, having
bonded here in this place, at this time, in and by unconditional, altruistic, universal,
inclusive love— we need to move beyond this place, this time. (Slight pause.)
You may not be aware of this. In terms of our polity each member of this church is a
member of a another church group. We are all members of the Cumberland Association
and yet another church group the Maine Conference. So, therefore yes, you guessed it:
we are members of yet another church group, the United Church of Christ at the National
level.
In terms of our polity your Agape love, as it relates to the church community, this
unconditional, altruistic, universal, inclusive love, does not end with this local
community, this church. Agape love, your unconditional, altruistic, universal, inclusive
love extends to the Conference, to the Association, to the church at the national level.
Indeed, broadening this is an outgrowth of the universality of Agape love.
But there is more. Agape love invites us to look at things with the eyes of another one of
those Greek words for love— Philia is love for all our brothers and sisters, for all
humanity. But Philia is not just love for all humanity. Philia extends to love for all of
God’s creation. (Slight pause.)
I need to add one thing. We Congregationalists have another name for Agape. We call it
covenant love. And covenant love understood well is demanding.
You see, what covenant love invites us to... is growth. Covenant love invites us to...
learning. Covenant love invites us to... engagement. Covenant love invites us to see new
horizons constantly.
Covenant loves invites us to the idea that as we move forward, we remember the past but
understand it is past. Last, perhaps the most important aspect of covenant love is that it
invites us to hold one another’s humanity and well being as precious. (Slight pause.)
We all know and can probably recite by heart Paul’s famous words. (Quote:) “Love
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and can endure all things. Love
never ends.” The challenge for us is can we meet the standard proposed by Paul, the
standard proposed by Paul, the standard proposed by agape love?
Amen.
01/30/2022
South Freeport Congregational Church United Church of Christ, South Freeport, Maine
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before
the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said:
“I have said this from the pulpit here already. I want to repeat it. The Bible does not tell us about
faith, hope and charity. Agape translates into Latin as Caritas. Caritas was then
translated into the Anglo-Saxon language tree as charity. But when that translation
happened the underlying word was still Agape, unconditional, altruistic, universal,
inclusive love, not charity, not giving something to someone. And I hope I have just
illustrated that Paul’s challenge is much more demanding than mere charity.”
BENEDICTION: Let us, above all, surround ourselves with the perfect love of God, a
love which binds everything together in harmony. And may we love God so much, that
we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God, that we are in awe of no
one else and nothing else. Amen.