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LoveOctober 12, 2005God tells us to love us. The two most important commandments that he has given us tells us to love God and to love one another. If we are filled with love we will be able to show God's love to others. We should, as Christians, always strive to show God's love to people who need it most. We should always try to love the unlovable. "Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." -1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Have you been to a wedding lately? Does this Scripture sound familiar? This is a very common scripture usually read at weddings. It is a seemingly joyous scripture that celebrates love. Indeed this scripture reveres love as something that we all need, but its original context was anything but joyous. It is speculated that this 1 Corinthians was written in 54 C.E by Paul to a struggling church in Corinth. Paul had founded this church several years prior, but the church is now in crisis. It is a church divided. Different leaders within the church are asserting their authority over another, even over Paul himself, their founder. There are class divisions and divisions regarding appropriate Christian conduct, particularly in the area of spiritual gifts. Paul has gotten word of the rifts in the church and writes an internal memo to its leaders. He writes specifically in response to their situation. Reading 1 Corinthians 13 in its original context, rather than the context of a wedding, can bring a new perspective to this passage. Paul began the church in Corinth with a single theological claim, Christ and Christ crucified. Paul believes that the ultimate human quest is to know God. For Paul, the cross teaches us to know God is not an easy task; the cross reveals the utter mystery of God. Jesus, the son of God, dying on the cross doesn't make sense to our human understanding and thus reshapes our understanding about the power of God. Ultimately Paul confesses that we can�t depend on human logic to know God; rather we must depend on God's spirit. The church in Corinth put a great deal of emphasis on spiritual gifts, such as prophecy, healing, speaking in tongues, etc. They did what every human community tends to do; they began to argue about which gifts were more worthy than others. Certain gifts, particularly speaking in tongues, began to be regarded as indicator of spiritual worth. In chapter 12, Paul refutes this spiritual hierarchy, and asserts that no gift is better than another. For Paul there is a big difference between diversity and division. In order to function as the body of Christ, Paul understands the necessity of diversity, but Paul heeds caution at a church divided. Paul begins his letter by appealing for unity within this community and asks, "Has Christ been divided?" (1:13). Dividedness is not something that can exist in a unified body. At the end of chapter 12, Paul affirms that a variety of spiritual gifts are beneficial, but he claims a yet "more excellent way" (12:31). Love is the more excellent way for Paul. Love builds up (8:1). Paul values the purpose of spiritual gifts, but upholds that love will endureth longer than all these. A congregation that is grounded and guided by love is more attuned to the higher wisdom of the cross, thus closer to the knowing God. Reread 1 Corinthians 13 and consider this: what is it that divides your community (work, school, church) and how would Paul's understanding of love be able to unify that community? My prayer for us at Reinhardt is that we not be like the church in Corinth, battling for the loftiest positions, but that we embrace the diversity on this campus, knowing that we are guided by something more powerful than you and I can understand love. For more informationRev. Leigh Martin |
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