Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-october-13-2025
I Corinthians 13:1-13
Love
1If I speak in the tongues of people and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 For now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
The English language is a great blessing to us in ways that might escape our attention most of the time. For one thing, the scholars say that the English language has a working vocabulary of about 60,000 words. That’s about twice as many as French, Spanish or German. That makes English a more flexible and supple language. We have greater freedom in expressing ideas and thoughts. And since it’s human nature to “think out loud,” our native language is a big help in forming those ideas and thoughts in the first place.
And although the English language takes a great deal of its structure from the Germanic tongues (38 of the 40 most common English words originate in German), we also have many words of Latin origin left behind by the Romans, French words that came in with the Norman conquest, and Scandinavian words that arrived with the Vikings. We have some words from Arabic, and a few from the Incas – like jaguar and jerky. So we can express ideas that originated in other parts of the world.
But the English language also has some complications that can drive foreign speakers nuts when they try to learn it. Some of the spelling and pronunciation seems almost random. And one of the real weaknesses of English, at least from the theological standpoint, is the great weight we put on the word love. We use the word to describe our feelings toward our romantic partners, our children, our parents, our favorite desserts, our favorite songs, and the sweaters we snuggle up in in cold weather.
But it’s also the word the English Bible uses to characterize our relationship with every other human being. And that’s kind of a problem.
It’s no mystery why so many couples have our reading for today in their weddings – the focus of most weddings in our culture is on the couple’s romantic love. But the problem is that the Greek word that’s translated “love” in this passage isn’t about romance at all. The Greek language has a word for romantic love, which is eros, the root of our word erotic. But the word translated “love” in our passage for today is agape, and that word isn’t really about feelings of romantic love, or even about feelings at all. As a matter of fact, the King James Bible didn’t even translate that word as ‘love.’ It translated it as ‘charity.’
The truth is that agape is about commitment to the welfare of others. That could be a commitment to the welfare of our neighbor, of a casual stranger, even of an enemy. Paul’s message in this passage isn’t about our romantic relationships. He’s echoing the call of Jesus to be committed to advancing the welfare of every other person.
So this passage isn’t really about feelings as much as it is about commitment. But it’s probably also true that you can’t completely separate the two. Advancing the welfare of others is something public servants are meant to be doing everyday in their government offices. But genuine agape love, a love with elements of kindness and patience and hope and protection, it seems like one that’s bound to have some feeling in it. So I’m wondering whether the Holy Spirit might be telling us that there’s a deep connection between really being committed to helping another and experiencing a kind of mutual affection with them – the kind of feelings that offer comfort and encouragement in all of life’s circumstances.
Of course, we’re commanded to love our God, too – to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength. So maybe it’s also true that having a real commitment to advancing God’s interests in the world will lead us toward a greater and greater sense of reverent affection for him. After all, the God we love and serve has created the universe, and has also forgiven our sins and invited us to call on him as something like “Papa.” When you reflect on all God has done for us – including going to the cross for us – how could you not feel some affection for him?
Paul writes that “when perfection appears, the imperfect disappears.” But some translations substitute the word ‘completeness’ for ‘perfection.’ The Greek word can mean both things, and Paul never suggests that followers of Jesus become ‘perfect’ in the way we use that term today. He’s saying that devoted disciples of Jesus will come to understand God’s will more and more completely – and presumably, to experience deeper and deeper love for him.
Throughout the history of the Jesus movement, the one trait of the followers of Jesus that has been most surprising to the world is our strange capacity to love others – to demonstrate great caring for strangers and even enemies, as well as for family and friends. The power of the church’s witness to the world really depends on how well we demonstrate that kind of agape love in our dealings with everyone who crosses our path.
Let’s pray. Lord, let your Holy Spirit stir our hearts to love others – to commit ourselves to their personal welfare. Let us serve others – even those we may not like, even those who may want to harm us, remembering that Jesus showed love to those who would betray and deny and doubt him, and prayed for the forgiveness of those who crucified him. Amen.
Blessings,
Henry
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