Friday, February 17, 2012

The greatest of these....

"The greatest of these..."

Quinquagesima 2012
"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

1 Cor. 13:1-3
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
1Co 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 1Co 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! It is my distinct honor and privilege to speak to you about this passage from I Cor. 13:1-13, which is the Epistle for today, Quinquagesima. As you know, Quinquagesima is the fancy term for 45 days before Easter. When I was preparing for this homily, it took me aback a little, because we are already moving into Lent. Already, time moves on with alacrity.

We are indeed privileged to think about 1 Cor. 13:1-13 together today, because in my humble opinion, it is one of the most important passages in the epistles of St. Paul. It is certainly one of the most moving. Why and how could this preacher make such a sweeping statement? Simply because the apostle says so himself in the last verse of the epistle, when he says, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

The word “charity”, when it is understood in all its fullness actually encapsulates the entire Christian religion. That is, it should underscore everything that we do as Christians. It is the very bedrock of Christianity, because from charity springs the very root and essence of our religion.

To begin to understand this, let us retreat a bit and explore what “charity” means in the context of the epistle for the day. Instead of the modern thought of “charity”, which is usually understood as providing material sustenance, it must be that the classical sense of charity is something more. Let us not, however, downplay the importance of helping those less fortunate than us with such things such as money, or food, or clothing. There are indeed many fine charitable organizations such as the Red Cross, United Way, UNICEF, or the very worthy Salvation Army.

While these are good and worthy expressions of charity, we will submit for your consideration that giving “things” to people doesn’t do justice to what “charity” really means. The true expression of charity should extend to everything we do, say and think. It should, in fact, be a governing principle in our lives.

Let me explain. First, St. Paul wrote this passage: “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” The Reformers picked up on this thought and asked in the Collect for the Day for the Holy Ghost to “pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity” They weren’t just talking about the ability to sustain people in a material way. They were realizing a universal concept and attitude of charity as being a guiding light and a way to live in harmony with other people on this earth.

When St. Paul wrote this epistle, he had in mind, I believe, the word “caritas”, which is a special kind of love, one marked with one special attribute: the ability to look favorably and kindly on everything around one. When the Reformers spoke about “charity” they were speaking about this same quality, which is the gracious means to treat other people and situations without scorn, ridicule or mockery. Charity, as they meant it, is to see the world through Christ’s eyes and bring all situations under his Lordship. That is, while Christ certainly saw the evils, foibles and sinful nature of man, he also could look beyond them and love men despite what they were.

So, permit me to say that seeing the world with charitable eyes is to bathe the world with love and kindness in spite of what it is and says and does. In financial planning, the planner is urged to see his clients with “unconditional positive regard.” It is exactly the same now that this priest is in the teaching field as my secular employment. As teachers, we must regard our students with unconditional positive regard. In a similar vein, if we are maximizing our Christian behavior, we are to be charitable in our outlook, our actions and our speech. We are to be charitable in our giving and in our receiving. We are to be charitable in our speaking and behaving. We are to be charitable in our feelings and attitudes to one another, especially with those of the house of faith. Of course, the church should be the very expression of charity in thought, word and action, but alas, that is oftentimes not very true, due to our fallen human nature. Just look how Christians have treated other Christians in history. It is very, very, bad.

Sometimes, scorn and the spirit of ridicule get hold of us, sometimes we look down on those less fortunate than ourselves, and sometimes we even allow our annoyance with people or situations to engender within us a spirit of anger or resentment. All of these do not foster the spirit of charity, but rather the reverse. In Galatians 5, St. Paul gives us one of his laundry lists of human misbehavior:
“Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkennesses, revelings, and things like these; of which I tell you before, as I also said before, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Now, of course, these are the results of our fallen human nature run rampant. They all stem from the lack of charity in our souls. When charity does not rule in our hearts, we become servants of all these other fallen traits, and we lose mastery of our behavior and ourselves. This is why, I believe, St. Paul said in 1Cor 13:13: “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

No doubt, you are aware that some modern translations substitute the word “love” for “charity” in this passage. While that is OK, it is not complete. Charity is certainly a form of love; but it is not the whole totality of love. It is, however, a precise application of love in our everyday lives to all around us. So, in my humble opinion, “charity” is a more precise and accurate way to say what St. Paul wanted to say.

Returning to our Epistle, St. Paul says: “Charity has patience, is kind; charity is not envious, is not vain, is not puffed up; does not behave indecently, does not seek her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil. Charity does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth, quietly covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Charity never fails.”

Thus, charity is the universal virtue. When one expresses charity in their life, one is truly living the Christian religion.

One last point about the fundamental nature of charity: earlier, we mentioned that “from charity springs the very root and essence of our religion.” How can this be? What one monumental charitable act separates Christianity from all other religions?

This should be an easy one, of course, for us Christians. The one monumental charitable act that sets Christianity apart from every other religion is God’s gift of Jesus Christ to the world. It was the most excellent, supreme act of giving ever done or that ever will be done. Despite what God the Father knows about us, and despite what we have done, and what we are, He performed the most charitable act possible by redeeming us from sin and eternal death. How? Through the most precious thing that He had, His holy and eternal Son. Beloved, if that isn’t charity, then what is?

This is why St. Paul says in 1Co 13:12: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall fully know even as I also am fully known.” He is describing the eternal experience in Heaven, as we, who on earth now can only see only a little glimpse of God’s eternal purpose for us, but once in Heaven will be able to see the fullness and beauty and perfect-ness of salvation.

Then we won’t see God “through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.”
We shall behold the majesty and glory of the Beatific Vision in all its completeness. And, we will know God even as He knows us.

What a glorious thought!

1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

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