A Eulogy on Love

Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The reading from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians is, perhaps, the most famous passage in the entire Bible. It is used by many brides and grooms as they plan their marriage liturgy. Pieces of it are quoted in great works of literature. It even comes up in various Hollywood productions. It is really a standalone eulogy of the virtue of love and becomes chapter thirteen in this Letter. To really understand it, however, we have to take it in the context of the two chapters that frame it, chapters twelve and fourteen. We heard chapter twelve last Sunday, but the lectionary skips over chapter fourteen. Chapter thirteen is actually a clever piece of editing as it is sandwiched between these two chapters about gifts, ministries and works.

In Chapter 12, we were discussing the various charisms and ministries of individual Christians such as prophecy, tongues, wisdom, knowledge, mighty deeds, healing, etc.  We also heard Paul tell us that these gifts (ten of them in all) must be used for the benefit of the community.  Then we heard Paul tell us that no one could claim to be superior or inferior within the community because all of the gifts and the ministries with which they were associated were from the Spirit and for the good of the community. In Chapter 14, St. Paul returns to a discussion of these charisms, especially prophecy and tongues. Chapter 13 is inserted in the middle of this discussion in order to emphasize that the virtue or gift of love is preeminent, a gift all members of the community can practice, and which guides all of these gifts.

Once again, Paul lists ten qualities of love, a list that is not meant to be exhaustive. As we read through the list, it is easy to breeze through it without really paying attention to what is being said about the virtue of love. I daresay that the picture we often have of love is something akin to the story of Cinderella and her Prince Charming. However, Sr. Diane Bergant, C.S.A., suggested in a homily that it might be better to describe many marriages and relationships using the title of an Off-Broadway Musical from 1996, I love you; You’re perfect; Now change! Interestingly, it is the second longest running Off-Broadway musical, with 5,003 performances over a period of twelve years.

The point is that if all husbands and wives, indeed, all Christians, were perfect and without flaw, like Cinderella and Prince Charming, we would not need to be reminded that love is patient or that it does not brood over injury, that it is not quick tempered or that it does not seek its own interest. Why would anyone need to be patient with someone who is perfect? Why would we have to be reminded about a quick temper if our partner or friend never did anything to aggravate? Once again, as it was in last week’s reading, “for others” is the underlying notion here.  Just as the charisms are for others, love is directed toward others. Love is composed of expressed or observable behaviors grounded on the fact that God has loved us despite knowing all our faults and all our sins, making it imperative that we, that I love others.

Some commentators have pointed out that this hymn or poem about love is uncharacteristic of St. Paul’s writing because of the fact that there is absolutely no mention of Jesus in chapter thirteen. All of St. Paul’s preaching was Christo-centric. Careful reading makes it clear that the reading does not simply stand by itself and is strongly related to the discussion of the gifts and charisms of the community, the body which has Jesus as its head. Dr. John Pilch, a medical and cultural anthropologist from Georgetown University, suggests reading the passage and substituting the name “Jesus” for the word love in verses four through seven. Doing so helps us appreciate that St. Paul is still in his characteristic style of using Jesus as the focus and center of all his preaching.

The reading ends by reminding us of the familiar Christian triad of faith, hope, and love. In St. Paul’s writing, faith is loyalty, sticking with another no matter what.  Hope is trust or putting all one’s eggs in one basket. Love is community cohesiveness, absolute commitment to the unity and integrity of the community. In other words, there is not much difference between the three. However, love says it best.