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Pablo no escribió 1 Corintios 13 para bodas y celebraciones del Día de San Valentín

OpinionNora O. Lozano  |  February 13, 2019

¿Ama a alguien? Si es así, la gente que comercia con el Día de San Valentín sugiere que usted lo demuestre con diamantes, vino caro o chocolates.

Las personas cristianas tendemos a criticar esta excesiva comercialización del amor durante el mes de febrero, porque promueve una idea errónea del amor. Todavía así, la mayoría nos unimos alegremente a la celebración.

¿Qué tipo de amor estamos celebrando? Con demasiada frecuencia, nuestro concepto del amor se queda corto, reducido a una definición cultural que afecta negativamente la calidad de nuestras relaciones, especialmente en la iglesia. En los círculos cristianos, un ejemplo primordial de esta perspectiva reduccionista del amor es una interpretación y aplicación común de 1 Corintios 13. En este pasaje, el apóstol Pablo describe poéticamente al agape, “amor”:

El amor es sufrido, es benigno; el amor no tiene envidia, el amor no es jactancioso, no se envanece; no hace nada indebido, no busca lo suyo, no se irrita, no guarda rencor; no se goza de la injusticia, mas se goza de la verdad. Todo lo sufre, todo lo cree, todo lo espera, todo lo soporta. El amor nunca deja de ser (versículos 4-7).

En las culturas cristianas, este pasaje es favorito para las ceremonias de boda. A veces parece que hemos reservado estas palabras para el novio y la novia, cuya vida en común debe basarse en este tipo de amor.Por supuesto, este desafío es apropiado para el novio y la novia. Pero una lectura más profunda de este pasaje, sugiere que Pablo tenía otras intenciones en mente cuando escribió esta sección de su carta.

Una estrategia útil para acercarse más al significado real de un pasaje es ver su contexto histórico. En este caso, Pablo se dirigía a los hermanos y hermanas en la iglesia en Corinto. Esta iglesia estaba lidiando con asuntos problemáticos, entre ellos la arrogancia, ya que un segmento intentaba descontar al otro al adjudicarse niveles más altos de espiritualidad y conocimiento.

Al observar los capítulos que le rodean, este enfoque de interpretación bíblica también considera el contexto inmediato de un pasaje, en este caso 1 Corintios 12 y 14.En el capítulo 12, Pablo presenta una de las imágenes más hermosas y desafiantes de la iglesia: el cuerpo de Cristo. Según esta imagen, todos los miembros de la iglesia son parte del cuerpo de Cristo. Como todas las personas tenemos cuerpos, podemos relacionarnos fácilmente con esta imagen. Para que un cuerpo sea saludable, necesita vivir en armonía. Por el contrario, un cuerpo que se ataca a sí mismo eventualmente perecerá.

Pablo conecta esta descripción del cuerpo, con una iglesia donde todos sus miembros han recibido diferentes dones para realizar funciones particulares. Estos dones son dados por Dios y el Espíritu Santo, y representan la diversidad del cuerpo de Cristo. Si bien algunos dones pueden ser más visibles que otros, todos son necesarios para que el cuerpo funcione como debe. Además, todos deben cooperar para que el cuerpo prospere y cumpla su misión.

Por lo tanto, en este cuerpo sano, o iglesia, los miembros nunca deben volverse contra sí. Evitando la arrogancia, el interés propio y la competencia, deben vivir en armonía y trabajar en conjunto para lograr la edificación del cuerpo.

En seguida, Pablo desafía a los miembros del cuerpo a seguir “el camino más excelente” del amor. Comienza su discurso elocuente sobre el amor señalando que, si una persona habla en lenguas, ya sea humanas o angélicas, o tiene un conocimiento profundo de todos los misterios, o da todas sus posesiones a la gente pobre, o incluso entrega su cuerpo para ser quemado, pero carece de amor, todas estas acciones no significan nada.

El punto es que no importa cuál de los dones sea el nuestro; si no se usa en amor, no significa nada. Una vez que Pablo establece este trasfondo del amor verdadero en el cuerpo de Cristo, está listo para abordar en el capítulo 14 el orden correcto en el culto de adoración.

Por lo tanto, 1 Corintios 13 es un pasaje sobre el amor dentro de la iglesia. Si eso es así, ¿por qué nos gusta tanto usarlo para las ceremonias de boda? Una razón es que nos permite zafarnos fácilmente. Deje que las personas recién casadas ​​vivan de acuerdo a este estándar alto del amor; en cuanto a mí, prefiero estar libre de este desafío.

Sin embargo, Pablo nos dice repetidamente que, en el cuerpo de Cristo, todos los miembros deben de vivir este amor que es paciente, amable, sincero, esperanzador, duradero y fuerte, y el cual rechaza la envidia, la arrogancia, la rudeza, la irritabilidad, la injusticia y el resentimiento.

Esto significa que debo de aplicar este tipo de amor al diácono, pastor/a, o presidente de la comisión que no me cae bien, o a la hermana o el hermano que me pone mucho gorro, o a quien me ha hecho daño.

Además, al hacer el trabajo de la iglesia debemos preguntarnos: ¿Cómo se vive este tipo de amor en nuestros cultos de adoración? ¿Cómo se vive en nuestras reuniones sociales? ¿Cómo se vive durante las sesiones de negocios? ¿Cómo se vive en nuestros ministerios en la comunidad?

Este tipo de amor es difícil. Pero recuerde que no enfrentamos este desafío en soledad. Como en todas las áreas de la vida cristiana, tenemos quien nos ayude: el Espíritu Santo.

Cuando la Iglesia de Jesucristo encarne este tipo de amor, las congregaciones serán testimonios robustos y poderosos del amor de Jesús. Ese amor excederá y transformará el concepto del “amor” y su mercantilización en nuestra sociedad.


OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
Nora O. Lozano
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