Eastertide
May 13, 2023
Scripture Reading: John 14:15-21
‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’
Jesus’s prime directive was the Commandment to love God and our neighbors as we love ourselves*. In the story of the Good Samaritan, he reminds us that all people are our neighbors**. That is a bitter pill for us to swallow.
What is love? Thomas Aquinas defines love as “the choice to will the good of the other.” Greek words translated as love in the New Testament include:
AGAPE– Although common in both the Septuagint and the New Testament, the word rarely occurs in existing secular Greek manuscripts of the period. Like its synonym philia, it designates love between persons (John 13:35), or people for God (1 John 2:15), of God for humanity (Rom. 5:8), and of God for Christ (John 17:26).
Whereas phila emphasizes the idea of love arising from personal relationships, agape is founded upon deep appreciation and high regard. It is perhaps for this reason that agape is the love which God commands. There is a difference between liking and loving. Agape love requires wanting the best for another, all others, and treating all with high regard. We should have high regard for everyone. We choose those with whom we share phleo.
PHILEO– signifies friendship, fondness, affection, delight, and personal attachment. This word is on a feeling – a heart of love – whereas agape is a matter of benevolence, duty, and commitment. We are commanded to have agape love (Matt. 5:44) but not phileo love because feelings cannot be commanded.
PHILADELPHIA—Sibling love***.
I was surprised to learn that a fourth Greek word for love, Eros—erotic love, does not appear in the New Testament. We who call ourselves Christians have certainly invested much energy in defining it and overseeing it, particularly regarding others.
How do we practice Agape Love in our daily lives?
Prayer: Lord, give us the courage to see all people through your eyes and love them with deep appreciation and high regard as you expect us to. Amen.
*See Mark 12:30-31, Matthew 22:36-40
**See Luke 10:25-37
***For information source see https://www.dictionary.com/e/greek-words-for-love/#:~:text=Agape%20is%20a%20major%20term,love%20humanity%20has%20for%20God.
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.