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Last Sunday, we began a new series of messages called "The Four Love Stories of Christmas." It made me think back to the 1980s when pop singer Tina Turner made a solo comeback with a song called, "What's Love Got to Do with It?" For those of you who remember the song, you may find yourself singing it the rest of the day, whether you like it or not -- sorry about that. The song is about romantic love and the chorus goes this way:
What's love got to do with it?
What's love but a second-hand emotion?
What's love got to do with it?
What's love but a sweet, old-fashioned notion?
What's love got to do with it?
Maybe this leads us to another question: "What kind of love are we talking about?" Maybe if we were to ask the same question today, "What's love got to do with it?" then the "it" might be all the stories about the birth of Jesus. So, if we were to ask the question again, "What's love got to do with it?" -- meaning the birth of Christ, I believe the gospel writer Luke would answer, "Everything! Love has everything to do with the birth of Christ!"
Now I don't know the story behind the Tina Turner song, or even if there is one. It may be about romantic love, but it hardly seems to paint that love in a positive light. But, what exactly is the good of a relationship in which there is not some kind of love at its core? It may not need to be a romantic type of love, but there are other kinds of love: There is the love God has for us and which we can have for God. There is the love between family members. There is also the love between good friends. We will hear more about that love in the weeks to come.
This Sunday we will hear about God's love for us in our musical services of "Lessons and Carols." I hope you will come -- and you will invite a friend to join you to enjoy the timeless message of God's love.
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