My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen. – 1 Corinthians 16:24

Today's Scripture Reading (February 23, 2021): 1 Corinthians 16

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel argued that "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." Wiesel should know. He had a front-row seat to one of the most hateful, ugly, and heretical movements of history, a movement that caused the deaths of around six million Jews. And yet, at least for Elie Wiesel, it was indifference that was the real enemy. Maybe this was because he was a witness of what must have seemed, at times, like an indifferent world that allowed the Nazi's to kill so many of his countrymen and women during the Second World War.

Paul is closing his letter to the Corinthians. The word "Amen," placed at the very end of the letter, is actually uncertain because it does not appear in all of the manuscripts. It is quite possible that the "Amen' was added later. If that is true, and even if the last word is Amen, it is essential to note that Paul's last substantial word to the Corinthians was to say the name of Jesus. It matches the rest of the letter because Jesus is mentioned throughout the Epistle.

But here, the name of Jesus is invoked in the name of love. Paul's last statement was an assurance to the Corinthian church that the Apostle loves them in Jesus. The letter has been, at times, a stern rebuke of the Corinthian's sin. It is a treatise against division. There is very little that is redeeming in Corinth. But Paul wants the Corinthians to know that he loves them despite the rebuke present in the letter. He is in their corner supporting them, and he always will be. It is in love that the entire letter, both the encouragements and the rebuke, is written.

If Paul were indifferent, if he had given up on the church, or was finished with them, he would never have bothered to write the letter. But Paul loved them, and because of that, they were worthy of his rebuke.

It is the love of a parent for his or her children. The author of Hebrews states it like this.

Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:9-11).  

Paul loved the Corinthians like a parent. And his words had been given to warn them (1 Corinthians 4:14) and, sometimes, to shame them (1 Corinthians 6:5). But either way, the words were given to the Corinthians because Paul loved them in Christ Jesus.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Galatians 1