Day 1: Love Is Patient

W

e begin a 14-day run-up to celebrate February 14 Valentine's Day where, on each day, we will meditate on a line about love from the famous 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Today we begin with, "Love is patient." If we refer back to the original Greek letter of St Paul to the community of Corinth, the Apostle used the word άγάπη (agapē) to refer to true love. In both Old and New Testament agape or divine love is imaged in so many ways, e.g., the love of a father for his child, of a mother for the child of her womb, sacrificial love of a husband for his wife, etc. In Strong's Greek concordance it means "Affection or benevolence; specially a love-feast" (Strong's Greek 26). Apart from agape, the Bible also speaks of eros or sexual love and intimacy between two lovers as shown in the Song of Songs. These love songs were accepted to be part of the biblical canon, both Jewish and Christian, and even enjoy such regard as the greatest and most beautiful of its class (as in Holy of Holies). Both agape and eros are like two sides of the same coin. In the Encyclical of Pope Benedict  XVI "Deus Caritas Est"—God Is Love, he reflects on God's agape that is also God's eros for human beings. The two are so intertwined and must remain so if we want to have a healthy and balanced view of our knowledge of God as love.

Benedict XVI writes,

"We have seen that God's eros for man is also totally agape. This is not only because it is bestowed in a completely gratuitous manner, without any previous merit, but also because it is love which forgives. Hosea above all shows us that this agape dimension of God's love for man goes far beyond the aspect of gratuity. Israel has committed “adultery” and has broken the covenant; God should judge and repudiate her. It is precisely at this point that God is revealed to be God and not man: “How can I give you up, O Ephraim! How can I hand you over, O Israel! ... My heart recoils within me, my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger, I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst” (Hos 11:8-9). God's passionate love for his people—for humanity—is at the same time a forgiving love. It is so great that it turns God against himself, his love against his justice. Here Christians can see a dim prefigurement of the mystery of the Cross: so great is God's love for man that by becoming man he follows him even into death, and so reconciles justice and love" (Deus Caritas Est 10).

Patient love or long-suffering love is often used to describe God. In Greek, 'patient' is μακροθυμεῖ (makrothymei) meaning "to be long-spirited, i.e. forbearing or patient" (Strong's Greek 3114). This kind of patient love literally means showing passion that is under control (Acts 26:3) for the sake of enduring one's love for the beloved. It bears with offenses and is long-tempered or not quick to repay or punish the one who offends. "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). Fr JM Manzano SJ