The Greatest

Hey, Y'all,

First of all, happy new year (albeit a bit belatedly :-) and hello from Palo Alto; I'm here (along with an actual herd of loved ones) for my prima Anya's wedding. In doing the myriad introductions one does at these things I came to the realization that there are at least 4 Angelas (of which the bride is one) among my cousins, hence the genesis of the differentiating nicknames Anya, Guidis, Papia, Joha (man, hope I'm not forgetting anyone, these Ortiz women are no joke--for sure they'll get me if I did :-) 'Course then there are all of us non-Angelas who (as I suspect is the case in many families) also have nicknames, engendered and used in affection. Doing a quick head count there were at least 50 of us from my cousin's side of the family at the rehearsal dinner last night (which BTW I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Alex'--the VERY fortunate :-) groom's--parents very generously invited everyone to--awesome :-)

Got me thinking: we just got done spending a few days with great friends several hours away before heading up here for the wedding. Why did we do that? What motive would bring us all here, across the many miles, taking planes, trains, and automobiles, and of course time away from home and work? And it hit me: love. Not that mushy stuff that can be a bit flighty; I mean that deep, inexorable affection that binds us together, indifferent to the years and miles--and which gets new life (literally) breathed into it at milestone events like this. I mean of course my Tios and Primos are here, but I also met a couple of new Primos--there are 4 new kids among the cousins--and incredibly, as we all know but would do well to ponder, the love is not diluted, it's multiplied! What a riot of laughter and paparazzi-shaming flashes and, well, love. Made me think of Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 13 in a whole new light: "Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love." I think I understand it differently today than I did yesterday; the whole passage is worth re-examining:

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

It's easy to forget, as we scramble about doing the things we "have" to do, that there are really only a few important things in life, and a very few truly eternal ones--but the greatest of these is love.

You've been prayed for today...