Fries Memorial Moravian Church

1^st Corinthians 13:1-13, but especially verses 4-8.

A lot of people love a romantic comedy. What is your favorite?

TCM fans may prefer the Frank Capra classic “It Happened One Night.” Made and set in 1934, at the height of the depression, when everyone needed a laugh, it is the story of a spoiled rich girl and a hard-bitten newspaper reporter who wants her story until he discovers he wants her more. There is a happy ending in the movie—the guy gets the girl, and for the movie because “It Happened One Night” is one of only three movies to win all five major Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screen Play.

Perhaps you prefer less comedy and more romance like 1957’s “An Affair to Remember.”  Many women and some grown men have been known to cry when the hero discovers that the heroine did not meet him at the top of the Empire State Building—or seek him out after because she was hit by a car and left unable to walk.

Perhaps you prefer your romance with a big slice of action like, “An Officer and a Gentleman.”  It is the story of a troubled young man who overcomes all odds, including a tough-as-nails Drill Instructor to become a Navy officer and a gentleman.   It is also the story of a young Puget Sound woman who thought she would do anything to catch a Navy pilot in the making so that she can break free of her dead-end life. In the end, she can’t for her courage and character run too deep.

There are some notable exceptions–perhaps even those mentioned, but most romantic comedies perpetuate the myth that love is a powerful feeling, rooted in biology, and stirred by the fates until it lifts all who serve it “…up where we belong, where the eagles cry, on a mountain high.” Continue reading →

1st Corinthians 12:1-11

In the time of Jesus—“in the days of his flesh,”  medicine was still in its infancy, and spiritual healing was important

Gentiles practiced spiritual healing. Aesculapius was the Greek god of healing, and temples erected in his honor were scattered all over the Roman Empire.  Many of those who went to these temples and received healing erected expensive tablets in honor of their god. Few people would have done this had they not actually been healed.

What then do these pagan healings mean for us?  At the very least they indicate the power of faith to affect our physical health, however well placed or however misplaced that faith may be. 

Some years ago, the President of the Southern Baptist Convention caused a stir when he said that God did not hear the prayers of non-Christians, but Psalm 36 declares that “All people find shelter under (God’s) wings.” I have no doubt that God overhears prayers that are not even directed to him.

Spiritual healing was important to the people of Israel, too. At times they blamed illnesses on sin and sought relief in the temple, where priests offered sacrifices on their behalf. At other times they blamed physical and mental illnesses on demons and called upon Rabbis and Holy Men to cast them out. [Note 1:]

In the gospels, Jesus imitated the healing practices of his time. He did this when he cast out demons, and when he healed the blind man of Bethsaida. In the case of the blind man, Jesus spat on the man’s eyes and then laid hands on him, which was something Jesus’s contemporaries did. (Mark 8:22f).  Of course, in the gospels, Jesus raised healing to new heights. He cleansed lepers, restored the sight of one who was born blind, made the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. Continue reading →