Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up….Anyone who loves God is known by God. (1 Corinthians 1b, 3)

Today's reflection is by Kari Jo Verhulst, Lutheran Chaplain at MIT and Pastor at University Lutheran Church

One of the humbling joys of being a chaplain at MIT is navigating the literal and metaphorical passageways of the place; the hidden tunnels beneath the Infinite Corridor, and conversations where classes and courses are numbered instead of named. (E.g., “What are you studying?” “I’m Course 6.”)

Insider knowledge is useful, and every subculture has it. It helps conversation move swiftly to a satisfyingly deep level of discovery, without having to pause to define terms along the way. That ready understanding is what’s so delightful about studying something you adore with others who share your passion. But it can also “puff us up” so we confuse knowledge with worthiness, including our own.

This is what was happening in the little Corinthian community Paul addresses in his letter. Barely born, this church has already broken into factions, and those who are newest to the group are being sidelined by those who “know” more. Paul leans toward the weak, and turns the community’s value system on its head: love, not knowledge, is what matters most. This theme comes to its stirring climax in the love song of chapter 13, which lays bare the pointlessness of all knowledge, skill, and power in the absence of love. For it is the love of the God who knows us better than we know ourselves that liberates us from the need to prove ourselves worthy, and which returns us to our rightful place in the universe—as one beloved sinner/saint among many.