Monday Evening Quarterback/Preacher

First of all, go Colts. I know that living in Baltimore, the flight of the Colts to Indianapolis is a sensitive subject, but on the other hand, Peyton Manning has been deserving this for a long time. Way to not choke (in spite of my November predictions)!

So this is actually my chance to meditate a little bit on the Scripture passage that I've heard preached on twice in two weeks (was at different churches): 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. This is the big wedding verse because it talks about love. Read the entire text here. It will probably be as familiar as anything.

What you'll probably hear in most sermons about this passage (with the probable exception of wedding sermons) is that it is in fact not written to couples who are looking for some good advice about how to treat each other over the course of their married life. Paul was writing to a church in Corinth. People who weren't very good at getting along with each other and liked to one-up each other over who had the most and best gifts from the Holy Spirit. Ironically, competition over spiritual gifts was breaking up the body of Christ.

So Paul's advice to them is to recognize that the best gift isn't being a great preacher, or singing on key, or being able to speak in tongues, or even having faith. The best gift of the Holy Spirit is love, which Paul describes in the passage.

Now, I could make some comments to say that just because Paul describes love as very giving and forgiving, it doesn't mean that people should be doormats. And I think some of those cautions are built into the text ("love rejoices in the truth") and the context (selfishness and status-consciousness in the church).

Having said that, I think what's really most interesting about this passage is that Paul calls love a spiritual gift - something that God gives to us. There's lots of self-help stuff out there about keeping marriages alive, and getting along with difficult people, etc., etc., but what if love is something more to be enjoyed & treasured than it is something to be manufactured? Paul is trying to help the Corinthians learn to behave themselves, true. But he's also pointing out what we should value most as a sign of God's Spirit among us -- Love.