In the 1960’s, one of the most-influential and widely-loved bands of all time was given a challenge: write a song with a simple message that would be understood by the people of any and every nation. John Lennon, fascinated by the power of slogans, responded with a song that was both easy to understand and hard to get out of your head. This song debuted on live television in front of 400 million viewers and quickly became a hit. The simple message offered by the Beatles was this: “all you need is love, love is all you need.” Right away, this song was well-received, especially in the UK and US, where it spent time at #1 on the music charts.
Whether or not they intended to, the Beatles hit upon a spiritual truth. They were right to say that all you need is love! But they were not the first ones to proclaim this bold truth. St. Augustine, in a 4th century homily, tells his congregation to love (meaning God) and then do what you will. But even this great Doctor of the Church was borrowing something that had already been stated by another. We find the inspiration behind both the Beatles and Augustine in today’s second reading of St. Paul to the Corinthians. In this beautiful letter, proclaimed at nearly every Christian wedding, Paul gives us a poetic and precise definition of what love truly is...and is not. To conclude, he emphasizes an important point: “In the end, faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
It seems so simple! A music critic, after hearing “All you Need is Love” rejoiced in the fact that their message could not be misinterpreted. It was clear that love was everything. One might feel the same way about the St. Augustine’s daring command to “Love God and then do what you will”. The scary thing is that both Augustine and the Beatles are right on the money; the problem is the world doesn’t know what true love is. Fortunately for us, St. Paul lays it out for us.
Before we can appreciate the terms of Paul’s definition of love, we need first look at the context in which the Apostle to the Gentiles was writing. He was NOT just speaking to people about to get married, nor was he setting out to define love! He was writing to the Church in the city of Corinth which had some serious problems. On one hand, most of the believers in Corinth were extremely excited about their faith. There were people with tremendous gifts in the community; there were teachers and healers and those who could speak in tongues. There were those who could lead in worship, those who were preachers and others who could prophesy.
In the same church, and often in the same people, there were also some strange and unChristian things going on:
- like the man who was sleeping with his step-mother or the two church leaders who had dragged each other off to court instead of making peace.
- and some people really didn't behave that well at the meals held in memory of Christ: some ate too much, some drank too much, while others went hungry;
- and then too, there were public disagreements about which of the apostles and teachers who had come to Corinth were the best - and which were the worst;
- and there were even some folks who believed that their contribution to the community of faith was more significant than the contributions made by others - and because of this, their views on things should be considered first.
In short people in Corinth were, at times rude, impatient, arrogant, greedy, selfish, egotistical, and unkind. This even though they had also displayed some very wonderful spiritual gifts - this even though they were generally good people. The hard truth about true love, as outlined by St. Paul is this. It doesn't matter if you have enough faith to move a mountain; if you don’t have love, you are nothing. It doesn't matter if you can speak for God - if you know all mysteries - and can heal all diseases - and do so - if you have not love - it won’t save you. Love is the test of our faith. People know we are Christians by our love and they know that we are something less than fully Christian when we lack it.
So then, the million-dollar question: what is love? Simply put, it is loving God above all things and our neighbor as we ourselves want to be loved and cared for. Even more simple: God first, neighbor second, and self last. Authentic Christian love moves us to see that each person is created in the image and likeness of God. It makes us realize that within each person is an immortal soul God wants to love forever in heaven. Love makes us want to help that soul be united to God no matter what the cost. Sometimes true love will make people uncomfortable, angry, or even hurt their feelings. Christian love does not always feel good, it is not necessarily politically correct or popular. But it always moves us to want what is best for others just as badly as we want those good things for ourselves. True love helps us to look past the trivial hurts, slights, and worldly setbacks to what is truly important: eternal union and happiness with God, whether it be for ourselves or someone else.
With this background information, we can understand why St. Paul says love is patient and kind. It only makes sense that it is not jealous, pompous, inflated, rude, or self-seeking. Of course it cannot be quick-tempered, or brood over injury, or rejoice over wrongdoing. It must instead rejoice with the truth and bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things. This love cannot fail.
We must measure our love against the gold standard Paul places before us. I want you to put yourself into today's passage where love is described. I want you to think about your own life and where you need to grow to embody this fullest form of love. Listen again to this passage, slightly changed, of how God’s love should look in your actions:
I am patient. I am kind. I am not envious or boastful, arrogant or rude. I do not insist on my own way. I am not irritable or resentful. I do not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoice in the truth. I bear all things, I believe all things. I hope all things. I endure all things.
All you need is this love! May you share it generously so that you may receive it freely from source of all Love, Jesus Christ, whose love never fails.
