“Love is patient, love is kind, love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no records of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends.”- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
The epistle we will hear on Sunday is from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. It is a passage about love that we often hear at weddings. Which makes sense when else is love more front and center than when two people profess theirs for each other and promise to do their very best to hold onto that love for the rest of time. What’s almost ironic about the common use of this text in weddings is that the context Paul was writing to in Corinth was very much not a context experiencing the bliss of matrimony. Instead, it was a context on the other end of that spectrum. One that might have been on the very edge of divorce. It is a community in the midst of an argument about who is in charge, who is more powerful, who’s gifts are more important, whose teacher is more correct. It is a context that seems to have lost track of the love and life that Jesus has called them to be an example of. Paul is writing to remind them of this love and call them back to it. Because all the things they are arguing over teachers, gifts of prophecy, healing tongues and so on all of those things will come to an end but the love they experience in Jesus will never end.
It is hard not to draw parallels between the context the Corinthians found themselves in and the one we currently find ourselves in. Outrage at prayers for mercy, glee at others misfortune, hate, slander, and violence dominate the news as echo chambers get bigger and louder than ever before. It can all feel overwhelming, and disheartening. Which is why we must return to Paul’s words on love. All of this will pass away, we will pass away but Jesus love will continue to be at work in the world and in our lives. So my prayer is that you search for that love, find that love, and participate in that love.
Peace,
CoreyF
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