Word to the Wise
Tuesday, January 7, 2014 -
[1 John 4:7-10 and Mark 6:34-44]Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through him. [1 John]
[Jan. 7 St. Raymond of Penyafort, O.P.]
The phrase, "God is love," is one that appears a lot in traditional piety, even in the form of framed cross-stitching on the wall. It is a comforting phrase but it loses its complete meaning when separated from the sentences that follow it! God's love was and is expressed in the person of Jesus, his only-begotten Son, who died for us! In other words, God "put skin on" God's love! This truth is one we sometimes see stretched out in a banner at televised athletic events: John 3:16, "God so loved the world that he sent his only-begotten son...." The question then arises from the opening words of today's first scripture - "Let us love one another..." - as to how WE "put skin on" love? Perhaps we might find another hint in the Gospel of John at 15:13 in the "farewell address," when Jesus says, "Greater love than this no one has than that they give their life for a friend."
Love, then, is no abstract "warm-fuzzy" that demands nothing other enjoyment! It means sacrifice and forgiveness expressed in visible actions as well as words. If contemplating crucifixion is too difficult for us, we might consider Jesus' washing of the feet of the disciples! [John 13]. In our secular individualistic and consumer-oriented society, the notion of love has been over-sexualized and the entire meaning of God's love is lost. The liturgical season of Christmas/Epiphany offers us an important opportunity to re-focus our understanding and our actions of love! AMEN