Today’s Column is Brought to You by the Gift of Love Fourth Sunday after Epiphany February 3, 2013 1 Corinthians 13.1-13

            C. S. Lewis, in his book The Four Loves, quips, “William Morris wrote a poem called ‘Love is Enough’ and someone reviewed it briefly in the words, ‘It isn’t.’” Lewis goes on to argue that while the natural emotions of affection or friendship or romance cannot make us whole, the uniquely Christian love of agape can.

            Paul agrees. He seems to believe that this kind of love is enough to carry the contentious Corinthians from worship as performance (chapter 12) to worship as prophecy (Chapter 14), from worship as showing off self to worship as sounding forth salvation.

To bridge this gap, Paul composes himself an encomium right on the spot.

An encomium was a set poetic form consisting of five parts. Writing them was a standard exercise in the formal education of the ancient world, a kind of Greco-Roman “What I Did on my Summer Vacation.” Paul probably had to dash them off on a regular basis as a kid. Of the five classic elements Paul skips one so that we have: Prologue (v.1-3), Acts (v.4-7), Comparison (v.8-12) and Epilogue (v.13).

But there is another great work of literature which nicely sums up what the apostle does here: “The Alligator King” from Sesame Street. The tale begins,

Said the Alligator King to his seven sons,


I'm feelin' mighty down.


Whichever of you can cheer me up


Will get to wear my crown.

Six sons in succession approach and offer their royal father rich gifts – each of which somehow manages to harm the old monarch, the last one leaving him face-down on the throne room floor.

The seventh son of the Alligator King


Was a thoughtful little whelp.


He said, "Daddy, appears to me


That you could use a little help."



Said the Alligator King to his seventh son,


"My son, you win the crown.


You didn't bring me diamonds or rubies, but


You helped me up when I was down.

That pretty much does it. The Corinthians competed to bring the fanciest spiritual gifts to electrify the Sunday services, while Jesus seems to indicate that we meet God in the fallen sparrow (or alligator, whatever), and that the smallest act of love outshines the biggest show of power. This is the kind of love, to return to Lewis, “that enables (us) to love what is not naturally loveable; lepers, criminals, enemies, morons, the sulky, the superior and the sneering.”

            Our Father has promised us a crown, and there’s no competition because he seems to dish them out by the double-dozen (Rev 4.4). Just remember that the crown-winning gift is the ability to see God in the least of these, and help the Lord up when he was down.

See Ya Later, Alligator!

Doug