Advent
November 22, 2021
Scripture Reading:
Jeremiah 33:14-16
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
An abundant life to the prophets is coupled with justice and righteousness, not wealth and power. Life as Jesus modeled it was one of loving and caring for others. Jesus also indicated that we could not love others unless we love ourselves. What does that mean? The word love is tossed about loosely in our culture. We often use the word love to describe what makes us happy. I just love that dress, song, ice cream. But what does loving oneself mean, and how do we apply that same behavior when dealing with others?
The Greek language identifies at least four words to describe what English melds together into the word love. C. S. Lewis describes these in his book The Four Loves as Affection (storge), Friendship (philia), Romantic (eros), Charity (agape).
The most familiar type of love, affection, may stand alone but often complements each of the other three. It’s the familiarity of “the people with whom you are thrown together in the family, the college, the mess, the ship, the religious house,” says Lewis*.
Lewis describes Friendship as the love dismissed. “Friendship must be about something,” Lewis says, “even if it were only an enthusiasm for dominoes or white mice. Those who have nothing can share nothing; those who are going nowhere can have no fellow-travelers.”
Romantic love is challenged by passion and, while significant in itself, can be considered lost if passion is not always present.
Charity is our chief aim, the unconditional love of the Father given to us through his Son. Affection, Friendship, and romantic love are each the training ground for charity to grow. . . we are made to love, and we are in want of it. As the parable says, if we play it safe, we are not living out the Gospel, but burying the coin in the safe ground.
God calls us to radical love, which may mean one ends up on a cross, but it always means that God is the author of life, which is written in the language of love and nothing is greater than God’s love. So we might want to identify the areas we have affection for ourselves–never dismiss friendships, letting romantic love blossom with and without passion, and cherishing the charity of God loving us no matter what. Once we accept these attributes, we need to share them with one another and all others.
Prayer: Lord, open our hearts to loving ourselves so we can love one another. Amen.
All descriptors of the four loves are taken from https://www.cslewis.com/four-types-of-love/
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.