1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (NRSV)
Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 13If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. Verse 2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. Verse 3If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Verse 4Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant Verse 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; Verse 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. Verse 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Verse 8Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. Verse 9For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; Verse 10but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. Verse 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. Verse 12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. Verse 13And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
Devotion
While frequently chosen for weddings because of its language of love, this reading resonates also at funerals with poignancy and simplicity. Both by occupation and by virtue of having a huge extended family, I attend a lot of funerals and have abundant opportunities to see how people are remembered. Be they captains of industry, community leaders, accomplished professionals or volunteers, they are remembered most for how they made people feel—loved. I once officiated at a funeral for a man whose invention had transformed personal banking. It barely got a mention at his funeral. Instead, he was celebrated by his adult grandkids for being the best grandpa ever. They were effusive in their love for him and the gift of how much time he spent with them. That was how he would be remembered—not by his accomplishments, which were numerous and impressive, but by his love.
Prayer
Loving God, life is complex. We are pulled in a dozen directions. Everything feels like a priority. Remind us to be centered in love in all we do, just as you center us in your love for us in Jesus Christ and the sustaining power of the Spirit. There is always room, always time for love. Let your love be our guiding star. Amen.
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