Advent Reflection: 1 Corinthians 13
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. I t always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) I think I've read, studied, preached, and memori zed this scripture more than any other because of weddings, pre marital coun seling and preachin g . It s or ig inal intent was not really me ant to be a "wedding passage" in a similar way that Psalm 23 (The Lord is my she pherd...) was not meant to be a "memorial serv i ce passage ." It's a passage about love demonstra ted within a church that wa s competitive, argumentative, arrogant, and struggling to distinguish Christian love from any other kind of love being talk ed about or e xperienced in first century Cor inth. In chapter 12 Paul writes to the churc