St Paul's face would have creased in incredulity had he heard Tony Blair reading at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, from the first letter the apostle wrote to the deeply unattractive and divided church at Corinth.
The prime minister gave the famous chapter 13 the full hymn-of-love treatment, lingering over the sonorous phrases as many in Irish churches will tomorrow. Very few, one suspects, will have done the essential homework of putting the passage in its context which would lead them to realise 1.Corinthians.13 is the chilliest, most withering piece of tongue lashing in the New Testament.
By the same token, this almost universal misreading makes it essential for clergy to explain to blissfully happy couples that Granny's insistence on this passage as the reading for the wedding is going to open a Pandora's box of references to divisive and destructive character traits more familiar to Relate counsellors than to wedding guests. That always supposes the preacher boldly goes where the apostle takes him, instead of retreating into pious platitudes about "the story of, the glory of, lurv".
For sure, after reading the letter, no girl in Corinth would have asked Paul to preach at her wedding because he spoke so endearingly about love. She might have written to warn him that if he visited again he would get an angry, resentful reception from the church's leaders.
The church at Corinth had been established by Paul despite opposition which brought him almost to the point of despair (Acts of the Apostles 18:1-17). When Paul wrote to the church it was evidently rich in spiritual gifts, but besotted with the spectacular variety, such as speaking in tongues and prophesying. Disappointingly for the apostle, church members were nonetheless unsure about Christian foundations so St Paul went back to the basics of the cross, resurrection and return of the Lord Jesus.
To try to break down the constituent parts of love, as an essayist might, without reference to the Corinthian church's pride, divisiveness and lovelessness is to ignore what Paul has already written to these proud (4:6; 8:1), rude (7:36) and self-seeking (10:24) Christians. No wonder the church is a heartbreak, for this congregation is immature and the reference in v.11 to putting childish ways behind them is central.
The triad of faith, hope and love of v.13 are, however, the authentic, unchallengeable evidence and hallmark of the work of God in the soul of man. This is true godliness, genuine spiritual maturity which prompts believers to serve others with their gifts rather than themselves. Like our word radar, devised for reference to an entirely new phenomenon, agape became the Christian word for selfless love. This love, which Paul urges us to aspire to in this life, will endure into the eternal world. Spiritual gifts, however dazzling and tantalising the Corinthians found them, are for the here and now and will pass away.
Christians today can be as beguiled by exotica or secondary issues, as were the Corinthians, while immaturity, petulance and backbiting thrive in our congregations Every Christian gathering tomorrow needs the message of 1.Corinthians.12-14; so if you have been asked to read chapter 13, do your homework by reading all three chapters, get the emphasis right, and so distance yourself from that misleading Blairite tendency!
G.F.