My New Favorite Scripture Passage

One of the positive externalities of taking a religious texts course is I have an unavoidable motivation to actually read Scripture like a good Catholic should. I’ve made attempts before, but these unavoidably have ended with an internal monologue that goes something like this:

“Whoops, I didn’t do any reading today. Ah, that’s okay; I’ll read a little extra tomorrow. Wait, I can’t do that, I’ve got to do this, that, and the other thing. I can miss a few days, though, there’s no problem with that.”

Then I forget about my goal, having found inspiration to start a new project that dies an uncompleted death itself, in a very similar, cyclic fashion. Not unlike how I’ve already forgotten the purpose of this paper!

Anyway, through reading the Scriptures, I’ve finally figured out what I see as a Catholic milestone: my favorite passage from Scripture! Is this an actual, publicly recognized milestone? Of course not, but it’s a term I’ve heard often enough to feel Catholic guilt over not having one. Every anecdote (and the number of times this has come up is really pretty surprising) that began with, “This is actually my favorite passage from…” dug in that little knife a touch deeper, but no longer.

Now if I’m ever asked what my favorite Bible passage is again (again, an astonishingly common occurrence), I can simply say First Corinthians, Chapter 13 holds that distinction.

Why choose this passage as my favorite, you ask? Cutting to the quick of it, because it’s about love.

However, since there’s quite a bit of the Bible that’s also about love, I will elaborate a little further into why. First Corinthians, Chapter 13 is special to me because it very explicitly holds love in the highest importance, and (to paraphrase) will never ever end.

See, I’m a sensitive guy (sometimes too much so) both at heart and by upbringing. I hold love, respect, and kindness in the highest of regards, and I honestly feel that love will be the prevailing force in any situation. Whether it’s love for another or oneself, every action may be boiled down to love of something or someone. At least, this has always been my worldview, and it’s what I’ve done my best to shape my life around.

So, to see a text revered by the largest world religion explicitly stating that my worldview is correct gives me a feeling of security, that I’ve at least got something straight in a world subject to mass chaos. Lately, the United States have suffered from attacks and tragedies. We’ve had moviegoers and children killed in shootings, bombs have blown away the finish lines of marathons, materials meant to provide food and resources have erupted and wiped homes and lives from existence. Fear and anger should be what thrive in the chaos; death and horror should reign over these terrible moments.

Yet in each case bystanders and lucky witnesses have flocked to help those in need. The uninjured risked their status as such to save their fallen compatriots.

1 Corinthians 13:7, in reference to love, “It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Love endures all things.

Love endures bombings. Love endures murder. Love endures fear and violence and hate and tragedy. The heart says so, my brain hopes so, and the Bible backs what my heart says.

That’s why this section is my favorite, because it resonates within me on so many levels. I’ve felt love firsthand during my bout with Stinky Pete (and you were thinking I wasn’t going to mention him in this one) as my parents gave so much of their time and energy into my recovery and in the pouring in of support from so many people who I knew.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5, “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury.”

I’ve cuddled love and said goodbye one last time before the end, and I’ve cuddled two little balls of brand new love mere hours after they’ve made an ungodly mess on the floor, which I then had to clean.

I’ve seen love on the news, where victims disregard their own relative safety to help total strangers, family, and friends alike. I’ve seen people fight to free love from the legal shackles that constrain it. I’ve seen love on my Facebook feed, in shared photos of missing pets and children, spreading word around a large area with the tiniest of efforts.

Love. Love, love, love, love love, love love love, love love.

Love is everywhere. Love is life. Love is God.

God is love.

“Love is patient, love is kind.” – Mary Lambert, in Macklemore’s song Same Love.

Which brings me to the least important, and final, reason I love this passage so much: one of my favorite rappers quotes it in one of my favorite songs of his. So of course I’m going to love this passage, it’s about life. It’s about the driving force behind any goodness in the world.

It’s about love.