First reading 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
The supremacy of charity
Be ambitious for the higher gifts. And I am going to show you a way that is better than any of them.
If I have all the eloquence of men or of angels, but speak without love, I am simply a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. If I have the gift of prophecy, understanding all the mysteries there are, and knowing everything, and if I have faith in all its fullness, to move mountains, but without love, then I am nothing at all. If I give away all that I possess, piece by piece, and if I even let them take my body to burn it, but am without love, it will do me no good whatever.
Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.
Love does not come to an end. But if there are gifts of prophecy, the time will come when they must fail; or the gift of languages, it will not continue for ever; and knowledge – for this, too, the time will come when it must fail. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophesying is imperfect; but once perfection comes, all imperfect things will disappear. When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and think like a child, and argue like a child, but now I am a man, all childish ways are put behind me. Now we are seeing a dim reflection in a mirror; but then we shall be seeing face to face. The knowledge that I have now is imperfect; but then I shall know as fully as I am known.
In short, there are three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love.
Responsorial Psalm 32(33):2-5,12,22
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
O sing him a song that is new,
play loudly, with all your skill.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
For the word of the Lord is faithful
and all his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right
and fills the earth with his love.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own.
May your love be upon us, O Lord,
as we place all our hope in you.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
Gospel Luke 7:31-35
‘We played the pipes, and you wouldn’t dance’
Jesus said to the people:
‘What description can I find for the men of this generation? What are they like? They are like children shouting to one another while they sit in the market-place:
‘“We played the pipes for you,
and you wouldn’t dance;
we sang dirges,
and you wouldn’t cry.”
‘For John the Baptist comes, not eating bread, not drinking wine, and you say, “He is possessed.” The Son of Man comes, eating and drinking, and you say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Yet Wisdom has been proved right by all her children.’
Wisdom’s children
“Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish…” (1st reading). 1 Corinthians 13 is a passage that many of us are familiar with. Today, let the words of St Paul challenge us to live a life of love that is focused not on oneself but on the well-being of others. We should look to Jesus as our example of how to love with patience, kindness, selflessness, and forgiveness. The world tells us to love by prioritising ourselves and our needs before others. However, Jesus never stops calling us to dedicate ourselves to seeking the good of others.
“Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” In the gospel, Jesus compares those who oppose His way of life to children, who judge and compare others for doing something different from the norm. Wisdom’s children, those whom the Holy Spirit guides, are open to seeing goodness in others and choosing to love instead of condemning them. May we be mature individuals with hearts full of love, welcoming others in their differences.
Reflective question:
Am I open to love in the way that Jesus wants me to?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
