Jer. 1:4-5, 17-19; Ps. 71:1-6, 15, 17; 1 Cor. 12:31—13:13; Lk. 4:21-30
Love is it! It is “a still more excellent way” to truth, knowledge, prophesy, and all the mysteries of the greatest spiritual gifts. “If I give everything I own and if I hand my body over so that I may boast” that is pride not love, and “I gain nothing”. Love is it, “when the perfect comes”. If all is lost and all that remains is love, we will live on with our faith and hope in something greater than ourselves and renew the spirit. If we have everything of our desires but do not have love we will surely live with death at our side.
Love it is! It “bring(s) glad tidings to the poor to proclaim liberty to the captives.” When Jesus enters the synagogue and reads from the book of Isaiah the Jews understood this reading as speaking of them as the “suffering servant of God” receiving liberty during the Exile and were poor, captive by the Babylonians, and even blind in need of healing. Jesus changes their meaning of this prophesy to indicate the “poor” who had “no grace” lacking in union with God, “captive” to sin and not the Roman empire, and blind from the “truth” and without the light of God.
We are all poor that is lacking the fullness of love and held captive by our sins. The question is often asked, “Do you see the cup half full or half empty?” To see the cup half empty is to deny the love of God that is present and can lead to despair and “why try for more”. To see the cup half full can lead to hopefulness but can also lead to complacency as “good enough” and “why try for more”. Either way there is risk of settling for less that God’s plan for us. Love calls for more from each other and of each other in relationship. There is something greater here than this. God’s love is greater than our circumstances, greater than our comforts, greater than our struggles, greater than us. Love is it and God is love. Deal with it and be set free. Until then we continue to live the proverb, “Physician, cure yourself.”
When Jesus quoted the proverb “Physician, cure yourself”, he pointed to the day when those of little faith would see him on the cross and question how he could cure others but he could not come off the cross. He also pointed to them though they “were amazed at his gracious words” they quickly became “filled with fury” and drove him out because the reflection he gave of them was of little faith and doubt for lack of love. Without love there is this doubt, fear, jealousy, and anger directed at Jesus as they became “fully known” by the revelation of Jesus. We become fully known by the measure of our love recognized as a son or daughter of God or a child of the world.
At present we not only know partially but are partially known in the darkness of our sins. The day is coming when we “shall know fully” and we will be “fully known” in judgment coming “face to face” with the light of truth something to be grasped. Our mercy will be fully known by our love for what we have done and failed to do. Are we ready for the light of truth to shine on us and fully reveal our lives before God? If not, what are we doing about it? Love is it and now is the time for greater love in our world, the love of charity, the love of mercy, the love of sacrifice, the love of God. Love and be set free! God is always ready to give of his love, are we ready to receive?
Love is it! It never fails to reveal to us the goodness, beauty, truth and unity of God. If “we see indistinctly, as in a mirror” our vision is clouded with our own interests leading to our impatience, rudeness, quick-tempered reactions, and jealousy. Love is not about us but of the other who we love. When we were but a child, it was about us thinking as a child what we wanted and reasoning as a child our privileged entitlement talking as a child asking “why not?” This is the culture of death of our times to remain as a child sacrificing the other for our own self interests in abortion, euthanasia, genetic programming, embryonic stem cell research, and denial of procreation. For the world it is all about “us” and what about God? God is being denied because God is about the “other” in our lives. God is the “other” that makes all things possible.
The culture of death even proposes that we remain as a child and allow governance to determine our sustenance even now by proposing that some get paid to stay at home. If we accept these “childish things” we surrender to remain a child to those in power and not a child of God who calls us to go forth with a greater purpose than ourselves. Love is it and it comes with sacrifice. If there is sacrifice love is present strengthening our perseverance with faith and hope in something greater.
The author Gary Chapman became well known for his book on the “5 Love Languages”. They include “words of affirmation, physical touch, quality time, acts of service, and receiving gifts”. This interpretation of love is identified by the behavioral aspect of demonstrating love. The Greeks identify up to twelve types of love more than behavioral but in the essence of love. C.S. Lewis describes four of these types in Agape, Eros, Philia, and Storge from a Christian perspective.
Agape being the unconditional “God” love regardless of circumstances is selfless in charity centered on the other in its perfection to give rather than to receive. Eros for Lewis is the sense of “being in love” not as an emotion but as rational being in a bond of love as in matrimony each giving of oneself to the other. It may also be Eros of passion whereby we gaze upon God his majesty and he gazes upon us his creation. Do we have passion for our God or is he simply treated as an acquaintance?
Philia being the “friendship” coming from shared values, interests, and activities that create a freely chosen bond as Christ called his disciples “friends” to be of one mind, heart, and soul. Storge is the “dependency-based love” of a child to their parent with the need for affection to thrive and without which it would withdraw and die. It is both need-based and gift-giving. In God the Father we recognize our need for God and his gift giving graces to overcome sin and thrive in holiness.
There are three other types of love identified by the Greeks to include for the perfect number of seven. These are Ludus, Philautia, and Pragma. Ludus is translated as “play” the natural desire seen in all species of animals. In the child play is the beginning of exploration at the wonderment of life and as we age play is keeping a sense of humor that lifts our spirit in the comedy of life to be challenging without fear of harm. What a beautiful thing, we begin with play and we return to play as we see that God is it. Play is an expression of love that is why sports play can be very unifying in spirit.
Philautia is “self-love” the love of self-respect for our own dignity created in the image of God guarding our mind, heart, soul, and body from the danger of the evil one prowling about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Self-love avoids the near temptation and consequence of sin that damage our soul and relationship to God.
The last is Pragma the love of commitment as God’s covenant love for his people. It is beyond any mere legalistic agreement. It is the love coming from a sacramental bond of love in each of the seven sacraments. It is God’s love committed for our salvation as he has ordained it and we freely receive and by our fiat we enter into it. Let us always and in every moment say “yes, Lord” to this invitation.
What do all these various forms of love have in common? They all are based on relationship for even “self-love” requires of us to have self-awareness of the other to have meaning otherwise it is simply narcissistic sickness. Relationship gives meaning to existence and purpose for being in Pragma that is in a committed love willing to sacrifice in the image of Christ our savior. Love is it with the many faces of love but the same source of love which is God himself.
There is a story of a child who went to his mother and asked “If God is real, why don’t we see him?” The mother quickly said “Go ask your dad.” The child went to his dad and asked “Dad, if God is real why don’t we see him?” The dad quickly said, “Go ask your mom.” The child felt ignored and began to question “Is God real?” That weekend, his grandfather took him fishing out on his boat. As they sat quietly waiting for the “bite” the boy turned and asked one more time “Grandpa, if God is real why don’t we see him?” The grandpa sat quietly looking at the water and said nothing. The body felt again ignored and discouraged wondering if there was a God. Then the grandpa turned to him and said, “Son, at my age God is all I see.” It is time for us to think, see, and be the adult who can see God and share the love that is God.
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