Agape—even (maybe especially) in politics!

Imagine reading these verses at the start of every political rally or commercial. (That wouldn’t work, of course, in our religiously diverse country, but imagine for a moment we could do it without implicitly favoring any one faith.) How might it change the tone of our politics? Duke professor E. P. Sanders wrote, “The Corinthians fell short with respect to love of one another, as his discussion of their meetings indicates. There were factions…. Paul rose to the occasion by writing 1 Corinthians 13. If he had written nothing else, his fame would be deserved.” * Scholar N. T. Wright clarified the depth of Paul’s thought. “The description Paul gives in verses 4–7 is not an account of what Hollywood means by ‘love’…. Paul has in mind something which, though like our other loves in some ways, goes as far beyond them as sunlight goes beyond candles or electric light. Look closely for a moment at the type of person he describes in verses 4–7. This passage describes someone doing and being things which in the eyes of the world would be rubbish.” **

• Our “Do Unto Others” campaign offers yard signs, T-shirts, buttons and billboards with the message, “Do Unto Others as you would have them do unto you” (based on Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7:12). In 1 Corinthians 13, the apostle Paul offered another version of the same teaching. N. T. Wright suggested a way weave the principle of agape (self-giving love) into all of life, even politics: “Perhaps the best thing to do with a passage like this is to take it slowly, a line at a time, and to reflect on at least three things: first, ways in which we see this quality in Jesus himself; second, ways in which we see it (or more likely, alas, don’t see it) in ourselves; and third, ways in which, if we were like that, it would work out in practice…. It should always be done in prayer…. this life is within reach of each one of us; because it is the life of Jesus, the life inspired by the spirit, the life which is our birthright within the Messiah’s body.” *** Prayerfully try that this week.