Like
a lot of couples, my wife and I used part of today’s reading from First
Corinthians in our wedding ceremony. I remain glad we chose it. Paul gives us a
beautiful description of what love can and should be: patient and kind, and so
on.
But
there is some irony in using this passage at weddings, given Paul’s stated
preference for celibacy over marriage. And given Paul’s preference for celibacy,
it is not surprising that this passage is not about love in marriage, but
rather about love between Christian brothers and sisters.
Two
things strike me as particularly important about this chapter in the context of
First Corinthians as a whole. First, this chapter is the solution to the basic problem
of the entire letter. From the beginning of the letter, Paul has worried about
divisions in the Church. The divisions in Corinth take many forms, but a big
one is a kind of rivalry between people with different spiritual gifts,
particularly the gifts of prophecy and speaking in tongues (chapter 14—tomorrow’s
reading). What Paul says in chapter 13 is that the gifts of tongues, prophecy,
and all the rest are worth nothing if they are not used in love (13:1-3). Love
is what makes the gifts valuable because love is what pushes us to use our gifts
“for the common good” (12:7).
That
is a good lesson for Christians today, just as it was for Christians in the
first century. Being right is not as important as loving each other. Better to defer
than to insist our own way. Better to seek the good of our neighbors than to
promote our own agenda, good though our agenda may be. That is easier said than
done, but the principle is clear enough.
The
other thing that strikes me is Paul’s treatment of love as itself a spiritual
gift, indeed “the greater gift,” “the more excellent way” (12:31). Our capacity
to love comes from God. As we grow in our relationship with God, we should grow
in our capacity to love as well, no matter what other spiritual gifts we may
receive. It is probably not true that “all you need is love.” But it is certainly
true that you need love!
Fr. Harvey
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