The Greatest is Love
February 3, 2013
By Joy Wattenbarger
If you walk into Mass late this weekend, you might mistake yourself for being at a wedding. The second reading, from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is one of the most popular readings for weddings, and for good reason. You’ve probably heard it before; “Love is patient, love is kind…” It’s one of those readings that it’s easy to listen to, think “aw, that’s sweet,” and then let it go right in one ear and out the other. And then, probably within that same day, flippantly tell someone close to you, “Love ya,” as you run out the door.
But this reading, as with all Scripture, is one that, if we really listened and let it permeate our hearts, could truly change our lives in a powerful way. It can sometimes be easy to tell our family, friends, and significant others of our love…but are we really living out that love? These verses in 1st Corinthians 13 can be a great test. Take out the word “love” and put your name in the space and see how true the sentence is then.
Love, real love, should be at the center of our lives and relationships. We can be doing our best to follow God, and even accomplish a lot of great things for Him, but this reading reminds us that, if we’re not truly acting in love, the rest of that stuff is pretty much pointless. And this love that we hear about is quite a tall order…patient, not jealous, not rude, not quick-tempered, enduring all things. When you sit down and insert your name into these verses, it may almost seem like an impossible list to fulfill. Thankfully, not only do you have the perfect example of this Love, but He wants to help you to share this Love with those in your life. Ask Him to help you live out this kind of love.
The first reading and Gospel both share stories of people being rejected and unappreciated by those around them. It’s often easy to feel like those in our lives who are closest to us are the ones who are the least affirming of us. But this Love is the key to changing that, and bringing hope and healing to those relationships. It starts with you.
Although it may be difficult, your plan can be fairly simple. Pick one of the adjectives describing real love, Christ’s love, and choose to focus on just that attribute of love for the week. Make a conscious effort in all of your relationships, from your family and close friends, to the kid at school you don’t like, or the checker at the grocery store, to really embrace and live out that quality of love. It may be far less exciting or glamorous that doing some huge act of service for God, but in the end, truly loving people is what really makes the difference.
“And these three remain: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.”
“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” ~ Mother Theresa
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