Benny Nalkara, CMI

The hymn on love in 1 Corinthians 13 is considered to be one of the most radical and revolutionary statements articulated by Paul in his writings. There are arguments in favour of and against the direct authorship of Paul on this hymn of love. But without any doubt we can conclude that this hymn is one of the very best summaries of St. Paul’s spiritual and theological thoughts. Paul’s notion of love which is based on the self-giving of Christ, who loved us even though we were still sinners (Rom 5:8) is clearly expressed in the hymn.
In Greek language the different aspects of love are reflected through four Greek words: storge, eros, philia and agape. Storge stands for the natural love, eros for the passionate and romantic love, philia for the affectionate love and agape denotes the convinced-committed and benevolent love. The agape- the self-emptying love is the most demanding love because it is based on profound convictions and radical commitment in response to the teaching of Christ about the Fatherhood of God who is love (1 John 4:16) and the kingdom of God. A love that hurts and goes into courageous actions for the sake of others. In this hymn in 1 Cor 13, Paul presents agape as “the excellent way” and “greatest virtue” for Christian praxis.
1 Cor 13:1-13 is to be treated not merely as a soothing spiritual hymn or attractive piece of advice used by Paul to exhort the Christians on love as a recommended virtue for the Christian life. It’s not a song of praise Also. The hymn is to be seen from the overall picture of the situation in the Corinthian Church where fragmented communities disfigured the face of the Church of Christ. This particular passage is given in the context of the prevailing disputes in the name of charisms and gifts among the faithful (12:1-14:40) The chapter 13 is strategically situated within a discussion revolving around the use of spiritual gifts in the Church. Chapter 13 intricately connects the gifts outlined in chapter 12 to the problems facing the Church by the improper use of those gifts in chapter 14. Paul addresses the Church of Corinth, who was more captivated by the spectacular manifestations of spiritual life: speaking in tongues, trading in words of knowledge, engaging in prophecy, was aware of the danger that consisted in interpreting the gifts far too narrowly. Paul might have inserted this hymn which presents love as the most “excellent way (1 Cor 12:31).” He analyses here the excellence of love over all other charisms and also the various aspects of this love. 13:1-3 speaks of other charisms as meaningless ones without love; 13:4-7 deals with the dynamics of love when it is put into practice; and 13:8-13 highlights the abiding and imperishable value and power of love.
In 13:1-3, Paul asserts that love must be the lens through which the gifts of the Spirit must be employed, for without love they are simply a “noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor 13:1). In chapter 12 Paul discusses the spiritual gifts like the gift of tongues — glossolalia — what could be called the tongues of angels, the gifts of prophecy, intellectual knowledge, passionate faith and martyrdom and now makes it clear that all these great gifts are useless if it is unaccompanied by love. Love infuses meaning into every aspect of life.
In verses 4-7, Paul unpacks for us 15 characteristics of love – what love is and what love is not. The personification of love here almost makes love and Christ inter-changeable. In Pauline understanding, love is not primarily a feeling or emotion; it is willing the good of the other as other. When we love, we escape the black hole of our own clinging egotism and live for someone else; to love is to leap ecstatically out of the self. The superiority of love is not any kind of domination, but on the other hand the desire that the other to be elevated and finding the real joy in it. The one who is inspired by the true sense of love is naturally and inevitably inclined to the side of tolerance, patience, and kindness in his relations with others.
In the last stanza, verses 8-13, Paul highlights the supremacy and imperishability of love. He stresses its absolute permanency, absolute completeness, and absolute supremacy. For him, faith and hope are only second to love. Faith without love is cold and hope without love is grim.
We live in a world where love is understood and identified as liking. The number of “likes” you receive determines the success of your life! But the real love is not just a feeling of liking but a determined act of the will that results in determined acts of self-giving. Love is the willing and joyful desire to put the welfare of others above our own. It leaves no place for selfishness. True love (agape) gives not in order to get, or to retain, or to control or to manipulate. True love simply gives, just as Christ gave himself for us. Agape-love is the greatest of all loves – it’s God’s love. It’s the virtue of virtues.