The Greatest of These is Love
In his first letter to the Corinthians St Paul has left us some of the most beautiful words ever written.about love.
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The Greatest of These is Love
‘Though my gifts may be great or small If I don’t have love, I’ve nothing at all They’re so many gifts that come from above And the greatest of these is love Love is ever patient, ever kind Jealousy is never on Love's mind Love is never forceful never loud Love is never boastful never proud Chorus And when all that there is is in the past There are just three gifts that will last There is faith, there is hope and there is love And the greatest of these is love Love does not demand its own way Love rejoices when truth wins the day If you love someone you don’t count the cost Though all may appear to be lost Chorus Bridge When I was a child I talked like a child Now I’ve left my childish ways behind And though I no longer think like a child There are oh so many ways I don’t understand But someday I will see his face And I’ll understand the way he understands There is faith, there is hope and there is love And the greatest of these is love Chorus |
1 Corinthians 13
New International Bible 1If I speak in the tonguesa of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,b but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Recording Notes
Recorded at Contact Studios, Tallaght, Dublin 24. Vocalist and Guitarist Tony Bardon. Backing Vocalists Mary Cleary and Danai Kelleher.. Recording Engineer and Instrumentalist Gerry Horan. |
Commentary
The song is based on the premise that everything is Love, comes from love and ultimately will be reunited with love either in this life or in the next.
All the gifts we have in this life come from the divine source of love but there are three gifts which supersede all others. These are faith hope and love.
This is not the conditional love that we see all around us every day and that is reflected in our novels and our television dramas. It is divine unconditional love.
If we believe that this love is our source and our destination. If we have faith that this love is our source and destination, then we have a very important gift because it gives us the hope to carry on when everything appears to be against us. So, faith and hope are very important gifts but the most important is love itself.
So even though everything else is the lost, our possessions, our attachments, our relationship our status if we have faith, hope, and love then we can survive all of the adversity that this life can throw at us.
The opening verse of the song points out that we are all recipients of the many gifts in this life great and small but if we don’t have the gift of unconditional love then we may as well have nothing. The song points out that these gifts come from our creator
The song goes on to describe the qualities of unconditional love. It is patient, it is kind is not jealous it is never forceful, never loud, never boastful never proud.
These are the qualities of the divine spirit which is living in all of us. They can be contrasted with the attitudes of our egoic self which has a habit of taking us over
The chorus points out that if everything else was gone ie was in the past. There would be still three gifts that would survive. Faith hope and love and the greatest of these is love
The next verse goes on to describe other attributes of unconditional love, not demanding one’s own way, a huge emphasis on the truth and not counting the cost when everything appears to be lost. Traditionally, goodness beauty and truth are deemed to be attributes which reflect unconditional or divine love and to these can be added freedom equality and fraternity
While these are not mentioned in the song or in the bible passage the examples that are given reflect these values.
The bridge talks about our human development. When I was a child, I talk like child et cetera. It is obvious that now that I am an adult, I no longer think like a child.
But there is a further level of development, spiritual development. And while I may be fully developed as a human I may not be fully developed spiritually and as a result I do not understand things the way that God understands things. In my unenlightened state it is like looking into a mirror in in a darkened room, I cannot see things clearly.
But someday, perhaps in this world but definitely in the next, I will see his face, I will be in his presence. Then I will see things the way he sees them and understand them the way he understands them. Then I will fully understand the true nature of faith hope and love.
This passage in the Bible is one of the most often quoted and one that is most often read at weddings. When people are getting married, they are idealistic and have huge expectations as to the nature and progress of their love. They feel this love for one another, and they are ready to commit to unconditional love. This passage resonates with the feelings and the commitments that they are prepared to make for one another. In time they will find it difficult to live up to this ideal, but it is good to have it when you’re starting out and also it is a good model to recommit to.
This passage is also popular works at funerals. When we are at funerals, we tend to remember the best of the deceased and at their best they often reflect the unconditional love which is described in the passage. It also works for a baptism, because again people are celebrating the commencement of a new journey of a new life and the ideals of this passage can resonate with new parents.
Sometimes people of strong faith, gather for a religious ceremony, when important anniversaries are taking place such as a 40th or 50th wedding anniversary or an important birthday. Again, the values of this passage are a reminder of what is really important in life in an age where possessions, attachments, status etc. appear to have taken over.
All the gifts we have in this life come from the divine source of love but there are three gifts which supersede all others. These are faith hope and love.
This is not the conditional love that we see all around us every day and that is reflected in our novels and our television dramas. It is divine unconditional love.
If we believe that this love is our source and our destination. If we have faith that this love is our source and destination, then we have a very important gift because it gives us the hope to carry on when everything appears to be against us. So, faith and hope are very important gifts but the most important is love itself.
So even though everything else is the lost, our possessions, our attachments, our relationship our status if we have faith, hope, and love then we can survive all of the adversity that this life can throw at us.
The opening verse of the song points out that we are all recipients of the many gifts in this life great and small but if we don’t have the gift of unconditional love then we may as well have nothing. The song points out that these gifts come from our creator
The song goes on to describe the qualities of unconditional love. It is patient, it is kind is not jealous it is never forceful, never loud, never boastful never proud.
These are the qualities of the divine spirit which is living in all of us. They can be contrasted with the attitudes of our egoic self which has a habit of taking us over
The chorus points out that if everything else was gone ie was in the past. There would be still three gifts that would survive. Faith hope and love and the greatest of these is love
The next verse goes on to describe other attributes of unconditional love, not demanding one’s own way, a huge emphasis on the truth and not counting the cost when everything appears to be lost. Traditionally, goodness beauty and truth are deemed to be attributes which reflect unconditional or divine love and to these can be added freedom equality and fraternity
While these are not mentioned in the song or in the bible passage the examples that are given reflect these values.
The bridge talks about our human development. When I was a child, I talk like child et cetera. It is obvious that now that I am an adult, I no longer think like a child.
But there is a further level of development, spiritual development. And while I may be fully developed as a human I may not be fully developed spiritually and as a result I do not understand things the way that God understands things. In my unenlightened state it is like looking into a mirror in in a darkened room, I cannot see things clearly.
But someday, perhaps in this world but definitely in the next, I will see his face, I will be in his presence. Then I will see things the way he sees them and understand them the way he understands them. Then I will fully understand the true nature of faith hope and love.
This passage in the Bible is one of the most often quoted and one that is most often read at weddings. When people are getting married, they are idealistic and have huge expectations as to the nature and progress of their love. They feel this love for one another, and they are ready to commit to unconditional love. This passage resonates with the feelings and the commitments that they are prepared to make for one another. In time they will find it difficult to live up to this ideal, but it is good to have it when you’re starting out and also it is a good model to recommit to.
This passage is also popular works at funerals. When we are at funerals, we tend to remember the best of the deceased and at their best they often reflect the unconditional love which is described in the passage. It also works for a baptism, because again people are celebrating the commencement of a new journey of a new life and the ideals of this passage can resonate with new parents.
Sometimes people of strong faith, gather for a religious ceremony, when important anniversaries are taking place such as a 40th or 50th wedding anniversary or an important birthday. Again, the values of this passage are a reminder of what is really important in life in an age where possessions, attachments, status etc. appear to have taken over.