Saturday 01 April 2017

Psalm: Psalm 131

Background

Paul's lyrical reflection on love is one of the best-knownpassages in the whole of the Bible. Yet its precise focus can beblurred by the wide-ranging meaning of the English word 'love'. The20th-century author C S Lewis, of Narnia fame, wrote a bookentitled The Four Loves, distinguishing between the four Greekwords for love: 'philia' means the love between friends, 'eros'means erotic love, 'storge' means empathy and 'agape' means thelove of God which binds Christians to one another and to God. Paulis talking about agape-love here, and his teaching focuses onencouraging the Corinthians to appreciate the wonder of this, thegreatest of God's gifts to us.

Paul contrasts agape-love with charismatic gifts such astongues, prophecy and special knowledge (verses 1-2). Even the mostgenerous charity, even the strongest faith, have no value if loveis lacking (verses 2-3). The writer to the Colossians makes asimilar point: love binds everything together in perfect harmony(Colossians 3:14). It is the foundation andnothing can survive without it. Moreover, love is the only reallypermanent aspect of creation, because it alone truly reflects God'seternal perfection (verses 8, 10). It characterises the matureChristian.

Alongside his comparison of love with other spiritual gifts,Paul also finds ways to describe this love in itself. He answersthe question 'what is love?' through describing what love does (anddoesn't) do, and identifies a range of behaviours which areunthinkable for those who genuinely share God's agape-love. Thoughhe does not make direct links with the life of Jesus, this listwould have resonated with his hearers, who knew the stories ofJesus' life and (especially) his death.

When we read this passage in the context of the whole letter,it's clear that Paul is addressing the problems of the church atCorinth: their poor behaviour towards each other, their excessiveconcern for flamboyant charismatic gifts. But there is so much moreto this chapter than a local issue. Paul finds words to describeGod's greatest gift which have rung true for Christians of everygeneration. Love surpasses even faith, the grateful, trustingacceptance of God as God is, and hope, the future aspect of faith,as C K Barrett puts it. It doesn't make sense to speak of God ashaving faith or hope - but it doesn't make sense to speak of Godwithout love. Love is the greatest because, through love, we sharethe life of God.

To Ponder

• C S Lewis distinguishes agape-love from other forms of love.How far can you identify this distinctive kind of love within yourown experience of loving and being loved?

• How can agape-love shape the life of a whole church as well asthe individuals within it?