The
Rev’d Stephen E. Stults
St. Paul’s Anglican Church
St. Paul’s Anglican Church
The First
Sunday after Trinity
June 14,
2013
Let me pose a question: besides money,
what is the most sought-after commodity in the world? Is it not love? Do not men and women seek
love in all its forms? Not merely
romantic love (eros) can be considered here. Do not people seek the other forms
of love as well? Do we not all want agape
(love that seeks the welfare of the other person),
and philios (love of fellowship), and caritas (Christian love of humankind; charity). Among people of good
will, we can probably all agree that most humans need and seek love in one or
all its forms.
Our Epistle for
today is a wonderful treatment of love.
In it, John the beloved apostle uses the verbs “Beloved (agapetoi), let us
love (agapomen) one
another” (v. 7a). These words, agapetoi and agapomen,
are variants of the verb agape, which is the kind of love that
demonstrates concern for the welfare of the other person.”[1]
Yet, how imperfectly
do we seek it! In the past several
weeks, we have seen the pursuit of justice (agape and philios) over the mistreatment
and subsequent death of a police prisoner. The massive protests stemming from
this incident give testimony to that.
Then, we witnessed the complete repudiation of love by rioters and looters.
We have seen the complete antithesis of the love sought after. Some with
sinister agendas have completely invalidated the aims of the peaceful protesters.
They have substituted hate for love, and violence for peace. It is sad and
tragic so noble a cause can be perverted and twisted to such a degree.
Although we could
spend the rest of the year seeking to understand the various forms of love,
even imperfectly, let us focus on this: “He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God,
for God is love” (v.
8 of our Epistle selection). This verse states the other side of the
coin––the obverse of verse 7, which
said: ”Beloved, let
us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of
God, and knoweth God.”
While the person who loves “is born of
God and knows God,” the person who doesn’t love doesn’t know God and has no
deep and abiding relationship with God. Love, then, is the acid test of
discipleship. This is true because “God is love.” How can we claim to
have a deep and abiding relationship with God if we fail to manifest this most
important characteristic of God––agape love?”[2]
The fact is, we cannot. It is
impossible to perfectly love God, while hating one’s brother. The two are
mutually opposite. Consider this: (1 John 4:20) “If a man say, I love God, and
hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he
hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” Yet,
it could be said that we all accomplish this imperfectly as well. Somehow, most
of us manage to have some love for God, while harboring ill will in some
fashion towards our fellow man. We claim to love God, and we worship Him, yet we
still judge, or criticize, or even hate others. In so doing, our walk with God
is imperfect. Why? It is hindered by the limitations of our own human natures.
Man is a curious mix of righteousness and blasphemy, of chastity and lust, and
of restraint versus license. He can
exhibit the most elevated behavior, then suddenly return to the slime.
This being the case, how can one expect
to achieve a high level of consistent godliness? Is it even possible? Given that no one, absolutely no one, is one
hundred per cent consistent, it seems an impossibility. And so it is. It is
impossible on our own power. Absent the
Spirit of God in our hearts, we will fail immensely more times, if we even try.
Alternatively, given the spirit of grace and God’s love in our hearts, we will
succeed more than we will fail.
Note this: we love God because He first
loved us. St. Thomas Aquinas called this
“prevenient grace”, or the overwhelming source of love that draws man to
God. While Sigmund Freud may have termed
man’s desire for God as need for a “Father figure”, it goes much deeper than
that. Man’s nature, despite its fallen-ness, desires to have communion with God.
Some theologians, such as St. Augustine of Hippo, have termed this the imago
dei, or literally the image of God on our soul. Even marred by sin, something in us calls out
to God.
Something deep in Man impels him to his
Creator, due to God’s desire for man to love Him, as He loves Man.
This is a mystery too profound for
us. Is it any wonder that many cannot
accept it? How can there be Someone who only wants your love? How can there
exist a Being that is only interested in your welfare and cares about you more
than you care about yourself? How is it
even possible?
It can only exist in the mystery and
majesty that is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.
Let it be summed up in this: (1 John 4:16) “And we have known and believed
the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love
dwelleth in God, and God in him.”
Beloved, let us know and believe that
God is love. Let us cherish this fact in
our hearts, now and forever.
AMEN.
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