First Reading - 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
Gospel - Luke 7:31-35
St. Paul gives us one of the most beautiful descriptions of Christian love: “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude.”
For Paul, love is not simply a feeling. It is a way of living. We can have great knowledge, faith, talents and even make great sacrifices, but without love, all these things lose their true value. What matters before God is not only what we do, but the love with which we do it.
This is also connected with the Gospel. Jesus speaks about the people of his generation who are never satisfied. They complain about John because he fasts, and they complain about Jesus because he eats and drinks. Whatever is offered to them, they find a reason to reject it.
The problem was not John or Jesus. The problem was the attitude of the people. They had already decided what they wanted, and therefore they were unable to recognize God's work in front of them.
This can happen to us too. Sometimes we become so focused on judging people that we fail to recognize the good in them. We expect others to behave according to our expectations, and when they are different, we criticize or reject them.
Love teaches us to look differently. Love is patient. Love does not immediately judge. Love gives another person space to be different. Love tries to understand before condemning.
St. Paul says that love “does not insist on its own way.” This is particularly challenging for us. We often want things to happen according to our plans, our opinions and our expectations. But Christian love teaches us to make space for others.
The Gospel therefore challenges us to examine our hearts. Are we constantly finding faults in others? Are we difficult to please? Have we already made judgments about someone and therefore become unable to see the good that God may be doing through that person?
Today's readings invite us to choose the way of love. Not merely to speak about love, but to practice it in our daily relationships: by being patient with someone, forgiving someone, listening to someone, encouraging someone and accepting someone who is different from us.
At the end, St. Paul says, “Faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
May we ask God for the grace to grow in this love, so that our faith may not remain only in words, but become visible in the way we treat one another.
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