I may speak in the languages of humans -- and of
angels -- but if I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging
cymbal. I may have the gift of prophecy
and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; I may have faith so as to shift
mountains, but if I do not have love, I am nothing. I may give away all my possessions, hand
over my body to be burned, but if I do not have love, I gain nothing. (I Corinthians 13:1-3)
In the previous chapter 12,
Paul has been discussing very important teaching about the church, its
ordering, its ministries, its gifts, the interdependence of all this – it is
here that we find Paul’s great analogy of the body of Christ. Then he writes: But now
I will show you an even better way.[1] Church or no church, says Paul, followers of
Jesus will live in love, agapē/love. It will be fragile and
variable, even appear hypocritical, but it will be their distinctive
characteristic. Agapē/love will be their charism.
Paul then supplies a kind of
hymn in three verses, each with the refrain, but if I have not love…[2] Verse 1: If I speak in the languages of
humans and of angels… Paul certainly
knew the languages of humans. He was a
Jew, a pharisee, and a Roman citizen -- he must have been fluent in Hebrew and
Greek, in Aramaic and in Latin, and in various dialects. He ought then to be able to communicate the
truth of Jesus. The language of angels,
he mentions… I prefer to think that might be silence… but in any case, without love, he says, in any language, he
is a noisy gong or a clanging, reverberating cymbal. This is strong talk, and it probably makes us
uncomfortable because it is uncompromising.
Verse 2 is about knowing
everything, and understanding all mysteries.
So… this is for the attention of prophets, seers, professors,
politicians, pathologists, pastors, priests, parishioners who read books… Moreover, he adds, I may have all faith so as to shift mountains… I suppose this could include the religious
miracle workers who prey on credulous or desperate people, or the ones who
think that the more people praying for something, praying harder, louder and
longer, like the priests of Baal, the more likely God will be persuaded to do
what they want… but have not love… well
then, they might as well not bother…, I
am nothing, he writes. The Greek[3]
means an empty space, a void. Verse 3 is
about giving away all I possess, even my
body to be burned… but without love, it is meritless.
So Paul, in the opening of
this chapter, raises a very high banner.
He knows very well that we do not live consistently at the level he is
setting. The church and human society
alike are flawed and fallible – the Corinthian church would have exemplified
this unmistakably. The more we continue with
Christ and with Christ’s company, and the more we follow the path of
contemplative life and prayer, the clearer we find that we approximate rather
than attain. Our best teachers know
this, and so we come to learn what faith and grace mean. We may learn agapē/love, but along with it we learn, as we will see,
very necessary gifts of kindness and gentleness, to ourselves and others, gifts
of understanding, wisdom and perspective.
[1]
See ch.12:31. ἐτι καθ’ ὑπερβολην ὁδον – “an even
better way”
[2] ἀγαπην δε
μη ἐχω – “but have not love”
[3] οὐθεν εἰμι
– “I am of no account…”
No comments:
Post a Comment