agape

More Than A Feeling

/ JJS / 3 Comments

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Today’s readings:
Psalms 33; 146, Isaiah 5:18-25, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28, Luke 21:29-38

Yesterday we looked at the relationship between God and humanity as a love story cycling from estrangement to reunion. Today’s reading from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians also addresses love, but more how to express the practical sort of love we are called to implement in our community. This type of love, also known as agape or charitable love, is not about affection, but about action. When Paul advises his audience not to repay evil with evil but to do kindness always, note he does not add “and you have to like each other while you do it.” One of the attributes of Christian love is that we strive do right by others no matter how we feel in the moment.

Our pop psychology culture emphasizes the preeminence of feelings. Reality shows and bad therapy model a brand of emotional purging that may be cathartic for us, but which may also leave many floundering in our emotional wake. Rising above our emotions may even earn us the title of “hypocrite.” We should be careful not to buy into the notion that our emotions define us or should define our actions. Good therapists and wise spiritual leaders teach us there is a deeper self that lies beneath our emotions. When Paul asks us to repay evil with kindness (and he asks us this because Jesus asked first), he is encouraging us to engage that deeper, truer self. The love of God that is the foundation of the deeper self may sometimes be experienced through emotions, but it precedes and follows any emotional expression, and it never promotes the self at the expense of others.

We act in love toward others because they are beloved of God, not because we are fond of them, or because charitable actions “feel” good. However, we can reap spiritual benefits from these actions, especially if our actions are loving when our gut is not. In a culture that encourages us to let feelings guide our choices, it’s easy to forget that our choices also mold our feelings. Acting in love transforms us into loving people who reflect the love of God. What more could we aspire to?

Comfort: You are stronger than a collection of feelings.

Challenge: Read some books or articles on managing emotions.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for giving me the ability to be better than I feel I am. Amen.

Discussion: What emotions do you have the most trouble controlling?

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24/7 Church

/ JJS / Leave a comment

calendar-1192688-1599x1227Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 34; 146, Genesis 49:29-50:14, 1 Corinthians 11:2-34, Mark 8:1-10

First century Christians had a different experience of church than altars, organs, choirs, and pews. For safety and other reasons, they gathered in private homes and spaces. Before celebrating The Lord’s Supper, they often had a full meal called a love (agape) feast. Everyone brought food and wine according to their means, and the bread for the Lord’s Supper was taken from the remnants of the earlier meal. The potluck may be one of the earliest Christian traditions.

Paul was disturbed by what he heard was happening at these gatherings in Corinth. Some wealthier members brought a lot of food, but didn’t share it with those who could bring little or nothing. Others were drunk by the time the real purpose of the gathering – celebrating the Lord’s Supper as a community in Christ – could begin. Paul told them whatever these people were celebrating, it certainly wasn’t the Lord’s Supper, because they were in no way honoring the Lord with their mindset or behavior.

Today the agape meal is a far less common form of church gathering, but we are vulnerable to the same types of problems. Participating in communion and worship while we are indifferent to the needs of our neighbors undermines the message of Christ. We may not be drinking wine during Sunday services, but if while we are gathered we indulge our excesses of gossip, vanity, and judgment we are no more focused on Christ than the drunk Corinthians were.

Church is the body we live in constantly. We can’t neglect or abuse the body and expect it to remain healthy. The Sabbath is meant to be a day of rest and worship. Waiting to exercise our faith one day a week is doing exactly the reverse – like sitting on the couch all day Monday through Saturday then trying to run sprints on Sundays – not only aren’t we prepared, we’re doing the body more harm than good. Our week should prepare us for Sunday as much as Sunday prepares us for the week.

Comfort: Jesus is with you all week long.

Challenge: Try to approach every person and situation as if it is a test of your faithfulness. It is.

Prayer: Merciful God, make me ever-mindful of your presence, grace, and will. May my every act be one of worship and gratitude. Amen.

Discussion: When are you on your “best behavior?” When are you not? Why not?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Love Generously

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Readings: Psalms 18:1-20; 147:12-20, Amos 9:1-10, Revelation 2:8-17, Matthew 23:13-26

Have you ever wondered why gold is such a valuable currency? It boils down to a few reasons: it doesn’t corrode or react easily with other substances; it’s rare but not too rare; it melts at a high enough temperature to be stable but not so high as to be unworkable; and it is an easily identifiable color. Most importantly, it is valuable because we agree it is.

When Jesus chastises the temple officials by calling them “blind guides” because they teach the faith without comprehending it, he says they value oaths made on the gold in the temple more than oaths made on the temple itself. He asks: “[W]hich is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred?” (Matt 23:17). Knowingly or not, these leaders had agreed on what they valued most, and they chose poorly.

Our time and energy are our most precious currency, each minute a coin we choose to spend in some way. What have we agreed deserves our investment? The treasures we gather up in life are only valuable if they are made sacred by the love and faith surrounding them. If our money doesn’t go toward helping those in need, if our home is not open to those seeking shelter, if our larders are locked away from the hungry … of what value are they? If their only value is in the having, then we are like dragons afraid to leave our cave because the world might sneak in and steal our hoard. Gold is nothing but a heavy, beautiful shackle until we bring our treasure to the temple where it can be converted to the limitless currency of love. We must spend it to make more.

True agape love does not corrode and is not eroded by circumstance. It is rare, but not so rare we can’t mine it within ourselves. It is malleable enough to suit many needs, but stable enough to be reliable. People know it when they see it. Perhaps the whole world does not agree on its value, but within the temple of Christ’s body,  it ransoms the world.

Comfort: Our treasure is not measured by what we keep, but by what we give away.

Challenge: If you don’t already do so, consider pledging a small monthly amount to a charity of your choice (other than or in addition to your church).

Prayer: Loving God, I commit my treasures to your service. Amen.

Discussion: What types of investment do you consider to be wise ones?

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Love Obediently

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Readings: Psalms 33; 146,  Amos 7:10-17,  Revelation 1:9-16,  Matthew 22:34-46

When a Pharisee lawyer asks Jesus which is the greatest commandment, he replies:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. and a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

– Matthew 23:37-39

This famous passage is one of the most direct answers Jesus provides. These two commandments are simple, yet they lack specificity. Exactly how are we supposed to love our God and our neighbors? Or for that matter, ourselves? Is God commanding us to feel a certain way, and if so … is that even something we can control?

We like to say that nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37), but we can also be assured God does not ask us to do the impossible. In the case of these commandments, “love” is not expressed in feelings; rather it is demonstrated in attitudes and an actions. Loving a creator we can’t see or hear may be challenging, but we can maintain attitudes of praise, gratitude, and a healthy kind of fear.

Regarding neighbors, we can love someone in a Christian sense without feeling any affection for them at all. We demonstrate it by respecting all persons as beloved creatures of God, offering charity when needed in a manner that respects the dignity of the recipient, and doing the hard work of forgiving offense. Some people will say being nice to someone we don’t like – maybe the opinionated brother-in-law who sucks all the air out of the room on Christmas Eve – is a form of hypocrisy, but that’s only true if we speak of or do ill to them when they aren’t around. The agape love Jesus calls us to is indifferent to our actual feelings. Otherwise, it’s not sacrificial at all. We’re allowed not to like someone. We are called to love them anyway.

And the “ourselves” part? It is perfectly fine to have boundaries and expectations that we will also be respected. Sacrificial love is about the betterment of others, not the abasement of ourselves. Sometimes we suffer because we love, but we don’t love because we suffer. To love is to approach the world and its inhabitants as though God has entrusted their care personally to us … because God has.

Comfort: Our loving actions can heal our unloving hearts.

Challenge: Pay attention to whether your emotions are dictating your actions, or vice versa.

Prayer: Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you. (Psalm 33:22)

Discussion: Do you feel you can love someone without liking them?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!