On Love

Our second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians - the great reflection on love …is one of the most beautiful passages in all of Sacred Scripture. We often hear it on weddings.

Actually, the reason why St. Paul wrote this was because the community was celebrating the Eucharist – incorrectly.

You see, the early Christians gathered together on Sundays – like we do - in obedience to the Lord's command: "Do this in memory of me." So, they shared a meal just as Jesus shared a meal with his disciples at the Last Supper. During those gatherings, the needs of the community were taken cared of…. Foods were shared in common. They brought enough so that the poor members of the community had enough also
The Eucharist was being celebrated as part of a full meal but things started to break down. Factions and cliques – or exclusive groups - were forming even as the Corinthians gathered to celebrate the Lord's Supper. The rich were bringing good food and drink only for themselves and their friends… while the poor were being neglected and were left to take care of themselves. Come to think of it - this does not seem too different today in some form or another… with all due respect.

So, St. Paul corrected the Corinthians by going right to the heart of what the Eucharist is all about… that…at the Lord's Supper, everyone shared the One Bread of Christ, making the participants one body, one community of love…and he pointed out that the division into factions - with the rich neglecting the poor, even treating them with disrespect or ignoring them as in conflict with the communal nature of the Church…. As Christ called His Church to be.

So, St. Paul talked about Christian community – as we heard from last two Sundays’ second readings also – St. Paul pointed out that the various gifts of the members of the community – wisdom, understanding, prophesy, speaking and interpreting tongues, and so forth – they all flow from the same Holy Spirit.

…One gift is not more important than the other, one member of the community is not more important than another. Together – all - with their gifts - compose the unified or One Body of Christ. Do you see how it also applies to us today?As we heard in today’s second reading, St. Paul emphasized that the gifts of the Holy spirit are useless, meaningless, without love…

Even if you speak in angelic tongues, even if you comprehend all mysteries; even if you give your body to be burned, even if you give a lot to the poor, but if you do not have love, you gain nothing.

St. Paul was basically telling the church how to be church…Eloquent sermons are not enough…. Exercising even radical faith is not enough… even feeding the poor, taking care of the homeless, is not enough…. For the church to be truly church, the Body of Christ, it must express the unconditional love of God, as individuals and as a community.

St. Teresa, the Mother Teresa of Calcutta said it so beautifully:

It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing.

It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.

“Faith, hope and love… and the greatest of these is love.

Sadly, with all due respect, we all have experiences of people who claimed to have great faith or to have knowledge of faith and Scriptures but who lacked love. We all have met people who were so stern, so harsh in their dealings with others…. so rigid in what they thought is proper Christianity, that – instead of people experiencing God’s love through them - they actually drive their children and spouse and friends away from their lives – even turning people away from the Church… people were turned off.

Without love, we, as individuals and as Church, are nothing.

St. Paul wrote: “If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.”

- Meaning – when we die - all our gifts become nothing – only love remains or survives… So, our focus should not be so much on the gifts of the Holy Spirit… they were given to us for us to grow in our faith – in our relationship – in our Oneness with God…. And our ultimate focus must be on living the Love of God – learning to love God not because of what He gives us but loving God and each other because we ourselves have become Love… not a matter of doing or giving but it is a matter of the heart, a matter of Being… being Love as God is Love.

We were created in the image and likeness of God who is Love and so our very nature is to Love… Not so much to be loved…but to love… and Be Love in existence.

God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, God became one of us - human, so that – through Christ - we can become as He is – divine love… we share in the divine life of God.

We heard in the reading: “At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror (meaning -just getting a glimpse of God), but then, face to face – when we get to heaven, we see God face to face - At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.”

That is why - with that awareness and Christian maturity – to which we are all called to - St. Paul said: “When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, think like a child, reason like a child. But when I became a man, I had to put aside childish things.” In other words – calling us “to grow up”…. To grow not just in age but in wisdom… in communion with God…. to go beyond being “minimal” Catholic Christians…. just whatever it takes just to get by.

As Christians, we are called to higher standard of loving.

That’s why St. Paul clarified what love is as we heard in today’s second reading.

It is actually a statement of what is essential for authentic Christianity.

Let me paraphrase: Love is a patient man, a patient woman. Love is a kind man, a kind woman. Love is a person who is not boastful, or rude, or self serving… Love is one who is not quick tempered, or vengeful. Love is a truthful person, a man or woman of integrity. A loving man, a loving woman endures anything and keeps right on loving. No matter what happens, his or her love remains strong.

I suggest, at the end of the day, before going to sleep, as part of your examination of conscience, ask yourself: Was I patient, kind today? Was I boastful, rude or self-serving today? Was I quick tempered or vengeful today? etc. Use the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Ch. 13… to examine your conscience even before going to Confession.

We, the Church, the Body of Christ – share in the mission of Christ, to bring good news of God’s love, and freedom to those who need them.

Let us not be like the people of Nazareth, Jesus’ home town, as we heard in today’s Gospel reading …who refused to hear Jesus’ message…

We are all called to believe that God fulfills his promises through us….we are the Body of Christ – today, now - if only we allow God to work through us.

We were all also anointed at our own baptism and so now, I invite you to claim as our own profession of faith this passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah which Jesus proclaimed as we heard last Sunday - just in case you did not hear it or remember it and about which Jesus said as we began our Gospel reading today: “Today, this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing,”

Please repeat after me:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me

to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

and to let the oppressed go free…”

Amen… meaning – So be it. Meaning - this Scripture passage is being fulfilled also in you and in me today and all the days of our lives.

God bless…