THERE IS FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE. AND THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE

IV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13

Chapter 13 of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is one of the true gems of the New Testament. Indeed, the Hymn of Love is one of the most beautiful and profound passages of the writings of St. Paul. It is part of the discussion on the charisms or gifts which we receive from the Holy Spirit. Paul makes it clear that all charisms are meaningless without love. Only love makes them gifts at the service of the community, building up the body of Christ. Without love, the charisms easily become an exercise in selfishness and a show-off. And this selfish attitude may taint gifts so important as prophecy and faith. Love is the crown of all gifts. This implies that on our own, no matter the effort we make, we cannot achieve true love. Only God, who is love, can teach us how to love, giving us the grace to love with his love. 

Speaking of love, we should be aware that words are always acquiring new shades of meaning, even though they are related. Nowadays, when the word love is heard - and it is being heard time and time again - many people will think immediately of passionate love and a sexual relationship. Many people may understand love as sexual love. 

The Greeks knew well that there are different types of love and they had different words to name them. Thus eros was used for passionate and sexual love; philia was the love of friendship; storge was the love within the family, the love between parents and children; and agape - word which was adopted by the Christians - to express a universal and free love, an unconditional love, which comes from God and is addressed to the others whoever they may be. Even for the Greeks, the passionate love (eros) could and should grow into philia and storge, giving it a deeper meaning. If the love between two people remains only at the level of passion, then it easily falls prey of selfishness, looking only for personal gratification.

In his letter, Paul used the word agape, implying the highest instance of love, which may include all other types of love, validating them and giving them truth and depth. Agape is a selfless love, by which I commit myself to be at the service of the other. And Paul presents the qualities of this love - fifteen qualities, eight presented negatively and seven positively:

“Love 

is patient 

and kind; 

love does not envy 

or boast; 

it is not arrogant 

or rude. 

It does not insist on its own way; 

it is not irritable 

or resentful; 

it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, 

but rejoices with the truth. 

Love bears all things, 

believes all things, 

hopes all things, 

endures all things.”

This kind of love makes me discover that I find my happiness when I strive to make others happy. When I allow God’s love to take possession of my heart, then my heart finds peace, filling me with a deep inner joy.

This love is eternal as God himself. Faith and hope will disappear. “Now we are seeing a dim reflection in a mirror, but then we shall be seeing face to face. The knowledge that I have now is imperfect, but then I shall know as fully as I am known. In short, there are three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love.”

May the Lord send his Spirit upon us and fill our hearts with his love, so that his love is always present in our lives, leading us to be witnesses of God’s love in our relationships with the others.