Tag: love

Called To a Way of Being – Fourth Sunday of Advent (Romans 1:1-7)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the gentiles for the sake of his name, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (New Revised Standard Version)

To be a Christian is to be a servant of Jesus, called to a specific way of being in the world, and set apart for the gospel of God.

Concerning this gospel, this good news, it is all about God the Son, Jesus Christ, who is also fully human. Jesus is the singular person – both God and human at the same time, all the time. His human credentials are linked to the genealogy of the ancient King David, who was promised by God that one of his descendants would sit on throne forever. And as for Christ’s divinity, it was confirmed and established through his resurrection from death.

It is through Christ that we are called to belong to him; we have received the grace to be called children of God; and we are called to holiness for God. We all, therefore, have a calling. Every one of us is important. All of us receive the grace of God to fulfill that calling in this world.

In our contemporary society, we put a lot of stock into what we do, to the point of identifying ourselves primarily by our job titles and positions. But in God’s society, our primary identification is that we belong to God, and specifically to Jesus Christ.

Belonging to Christ means we are to have a certain way of being – not just doing – on this earth. We are first and foremost human beings, and not human doings. What we do is to flow from our being, and not the other way around. We do not gain identity through actions and accomplishments.

Our way of being has a lot to do with the Advent season. Christ’s coming into this world as a vulnerable baby was a deliberate way of being for Jesus in this world. He would go through all the human travails and trials that we do. He would know both joy and suffering, and would know them as coming together into one:

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2, NIV)

It’s normal for us to wonder about the nature of our own personal sufferings. Its hard for us to make sense out of all the nonsensical things in this world, especially when it pertains to us personally.

Indeed, it is hard for us to accept the reality that humble suffering is not only a part of living in this world, but is also an important part of being a Christian who belongs to Jesus.

Whenever we lose something or someone important to us, we struggle with why. We may wonder where God was. We might think there is something wrong with us, as if God is punishing us for some unknown sin we’ve done in the past.

But we would be barking up the wrong tree. Methinks we wrestle so much with adversity and hardship because of our predilection for doing instead of being.

Perhaps our life situations are more about our way of being in this world, rather than what we do on this earth.

Maybe my life is meant primarily to be about being a person who is always loving, kind, compassionate, just, good, righteous, and holy – a saint, set apart as one who belongs to God.

Maybe it has a lot less to do with our vocations and only seeing things through what I’m able to do, or not do.

It could be that I am meant to see God’s grace operating through me by means of love, not hate; kindness, not meanness; compassion and comfort, not indifference and annoyance; justice, not injustice; goodness, not bad attitudes; and holiness, not unrighteousness.

It is quite possible that today (and every day) my Christian life has been about, is about, and will continue to be about my suffering for the sake of Jesus, who suffered for me.

“Why be disturbed of things that do not succeed according to your plans and desires? Who gets everything according to his likes? Neither I, nor you, nor anyone else on this earth. No one in this world is without some trial or illness or affliction, not even a king or a pope. Who, then, has it the best? The one who is willing to suffer for God’s sake.” Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

The believers in the Roman Church, for whom the Apostle Paul wrote his letter, were focused primarily on what they had and what they did as Jews and as Gentiles. Because of their understanding of identity, they kept wrangling with each other and looking down on one another – namely, because they failed to each other as belonging equally to God as the one people of God. Jews were too hung up on how they kept the Law for centuries without any Gentiles. And Gentiles were too myopic to see that they were not replacing Jews out of some superior activity.

To love one another, and to simply love, is to suffer. Apart from love there is no suffering. Without love, there is no peace, no grace; and there is no belonging to God and having a way of being in the world which pleases God.

Furthermore, one can never have possessions or wealth without a great deal of anxiety and apprehension. Our happiness does not consist in temporal things, but in the permanence of relationships, because relationships are the only things we take with us in the end.

In the spirit and practice of the Lord Jesus whom the Christian serves, we must pass through the fire before we arrive at redemption and be at peace with God and humanity.

To reach the joy of Christmas, we must endure the weeks of Advent, of anticipating the hope to come, of waiting to see the Christ child who humbly comes into the world for us and for our salvation. And that means we may likely have to endure any current adverse and hard circumstances.

We are called – not for selfish gain, and not to look down on others who are different – but for a way of being in this world which emulates the Lord whom we serve, Jesus Christ our Savior.

Shepherd of Israel: May Jesus, Emmanuel and son of Mary, be more than just a dream in our hearts. With the apostles, prophets, and saints, save us, restore us, and lead us in the way of grace and peace, so that we may bear your promise into the world. Amen.

Love Never Fails

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

“When we ask whether someone is a good man, we are not asking what he believes, or hopes, but what he loves.” St. Augustine

I believe there are few things in life which have sustainability and permanence, things which make the world go ‘round. Love is one of them; maybe even the greatest of them.

Love Language

And yet, in the English language, we really only have one word for “love.” That strikes me as curious and interesting.

I enjoy language and languages, as well as the use and smithing of words. One observation I’ve made about language is that any particular society, culture, or nation has several words for whatever is important or valuable to them.

For example, Indonesia has seven different words for the one English word “rice.” Since rice is so vital to the life of the people, it makes sense that they have several words to bring out all of the various nuances of “rice.”

By contrast, the West simply places adjectives in front of “rice” when needed (i.e. white or brown or jasmine). So, what does it say about us, about me and my fellow Americans, when we have only one word for “love?”

We certainly have plenty of words for “money.” It does little good to even use the word “money” unless one is speaking in very general terms. Americans make liberal use of words like “stocks and bonds,” “cash,” “checking and savings accounts,” etc. We even have several words for institutions which handle money: banks, savings and loans, credit unions, and mutual organizations.

Indeed, what does it say about us that we have a plethora of words for money? What’s more, in contrast to our one word for “love,” what does this tell us about Western society in general?

No wonder that American society has a love problem. Even when we borrow words for love from other languages, we seem to transform it into something else.

The Greek word “phileo” is engrafted into many of our English words such as philosophy (love of wisdom); philanthropy (love of humanity); or Philadelphia (brotherly love).

Often the last thing on our minds about the city of Philadelphia is an association with love; philanthropy is widely understood as being generous with one’s money (there it is again!); and few people think of love when describing philosophy.

Please know that it’s not my purpose to rant about American culture. I just want us to think about how we tend to use the word, and the implications of that use.

Oftentimes, I find that my own understanding of the word tends to be in contrast with so many other uses of “love.”

St. Augustine and Love

I admit to being influenced most heavily by St. Augustine and Holy Scripture. Augustine was enamored with love. That’s likely because he knew what it felt like to be on the outside of God’s redeeming love in Christ. For Augustine, love explains everything. Love is to be our true nature, and the proper direction of everything we say and do in this world, insisted Augustine.

Augustine, of course, derived his understanding from Jesus – especially from the New Testament Gospels:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Matthew 22:37-39, NIV

Unless there is love, we go nowhere – which is precisely what seems to be happening in our world today. Apart from love, there are no social problems which can be alleviated; no wars which will stop; and no rights and respect extended to particular people. Without love, peace and happiness are nothing but a pipe dream.

It is imperative that we have a robust understanding and practice of love. If we don’t, I believe that we are ruined, no matter how savvy or powerful we are.

Designed For Love

People are designed for love; it is our very purpose. And if we go against our basic inherent design, it will be like disrespecting gravity itself by walking off the roof of the house in the wrongheaded belief that I won’t get hurt.

Fullness of life (and fullness of any religious practice) comes only through love. In Christianity, it is clearly understood that God is Love with a capital “L.” Thus, we were created in love, stamped with the image of God’s love, and expected to love one another.

Love is so ubiquitous throughout the Bible that listening to a biblical sermon on love every day for the rest of your life would not exhaust love’s height, depth, breadth, and width within Scripture.

It is an understatement to say that love is the goal of religion, the purpose for being, and the best expression of human community.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:6, NIV)

For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14, NIV)

Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10)

Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8, NIV)

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight… (Philippians 1:9, NIV)

The thing about love is that it can either get choked-out, or it can flourish. Love gets suppressed by attaching ourselves to things rather than people. This is a gross misuse of our capacity for love. A radical detachment from stuff may be necessary in order to gain relational connection.

On the other hand, by learning to direct our love toward God and neighbor (and, by the way, our neighbor is everyone we encounter) we begin to discover the peace of being in sync with the way the universe is wired.

We need salvation from our own worldly self. For it is this false self which the devil can so easily deceive and woo us from attachments to God and neighbor. In other words, we must be saved from ourselves, because left to ourselves, there is no hope for us.

To be lost is to be fooled by my own ego that the false self is the true self. To live and love in God is the essence of the true self.

That means humility, gentleness, peaceful relations, mercy, and purity characterize us. If it doesn’t, we’ve been fooling ourselves by believing that peace can only be achieved through unconditional winning; and that I am not responsible for my neighbor’s welfare and well-being.

Here’s a little test of where you might be in your false self/true self, and in your actual ability to love: The more importance you attach to your own ideas, your own abilities, and your own work, the more you will find yourself building up the very idea of you. This inevitably comes out by condemning other people and becoming judgmental of most things they do. If we are continually critical of others, we have lost sight of love.

The true self, however, recognizes and remembers that I am made in the image and likeness of God; that God is my very reason for existence; and that, therefore, love is my true identity because God is Love.

That’s right. Love is your genuine true character, deep down. The late Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, got it right when he said:

“If I do anything or think anything or say anything or know anything that is not purely for the love of God, it cannot give me peace, or rest, or fulfillment, or joy.” Thomas Merton, Seeds of Contemplation

This is one reason why it’s so important to love my neighbor. Since God’s love is truly within me, hardwired into my very existence, this love can come to you and me from any person, any direction, any time.

Love comes not only directly from God, but also indirectly by means of the jewel of love placed within the other person I am encountering.

For it is only in love that we at last can become real. If we feel unworthy of love, we will probably feel that other persons are not worthy of it either. This is where hate is born, and why it manifests itself so hideously in a politics of hate where large groups of people are simply labeled as “monsters” or “evil.”

But that’s really only a projection of how the person feels about themselves. And the only way out of it for the hateful person is to know that they are loved – irrespective of one’s worth.

If and when we become out of sorts, it is best to come back to love. Which means returning to my first and original love, God; and to the love that I actually have for the people in my family and my life.

Maybe it’s high time we start inventing all sorts of new words for love in the English language. Because, after all is said and done, Love never fails.

The Fruit of the Spirit

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23, CEB)

It takes little effort to have a bad attitude; to slip a bit of gossip into the day; or to go along with the crowd in a divisive conversation. However, it takes a good deal of humility, energy, and commitment in order to live into the fruit of the Spirit.

On the one hand, the believer in Jesus Christ has been graciously given such fruit; we possess it by means of the Spirit. On the other hand, it feels as if we still need this fruit to be given to us, because our daily experience of it is such a struggle.

For me, experiencing the fruit of the Spirit is a bit like buying something from Ikea; I have it, but it needs to be put together. And I’m not so good at making sense of the directions and actually getting the thing in working condition.

Yes, there will be some frustration tapping into our spiritual reservoir and accessing the fruit provided for us. Yet, it’s totally worth it. In fact, the nine elements of spiritual fruit mentioned in the New Testament book of Galatians are experiences people really want to have – whether they are Christian, or not.

One of the reasons folks may become overwhelmed with the Spirit’s fruit is that they look at those nine words as nine different “fruits.” However, the grammar of the text is clearly not plural but singular. In other words, the “fruit” of the Spirit is one packaged piece.

It may be tempting to relieve ourselves of any responsibility or accountability with this fruit by saying, “I’m good at being kind and good, but I really have problems with patience and self-control.”

But the text doesn’t allow for such thinking. To not possess any one of the nine words is to not have the entire nine. The Holy Spirit of God is not divided; when the Spirit gives, it’s the whole kit-and-caboodle.

After all, the believer in Jesus seeks to be a person of integrity and wholeness, being aligned fully in all aspects of life around the person and work of Christ. Any fragmentation belies the reality that one, no matter how apparently peaceful or gentle, is attempting to manifest spiritual fruit on one’s own power.

There is a big difference  between trying to control the process of Christian sanctification (becoming holy) and exercising self-control. And there is an even wider chasm between accessing and using the accepted spiritual fruit, and trying to go on a self-improvement project that is disconnected from God’s given grace.

In truth, believers already have everything they need for life and godliness in this present evil age (2 Peter 1:3). The seed has been firmly planted within the soul. We possess the fruit. Yet, that fruit must grow and mature before it is ripe enough to eat. There is still the work of cultivating and nurturing to do, so that we might flower and flourish.

We only need the essential conditions to grow. Any seed – no matter what kind – will grow and produce a harvest if it has the proper amounts of sun, rain, and good soil. Then, we never need to wonder what will happen; the seed will grow.

As spiritual farmers, we need to be daily working in the field our soul, keeping the weeds and the critters out, so that there is no obstacle or impediment to the growth and maturity of our precious fruit.

If we need to build a fence, we build it. If we must buy or borrow a hoe, we do it. Whatever needs to happen to guard what we possess, we are committed to doing it.

None of us ever produces a seed. Not even in this modern age of genetically modified seeds can we do this. The scientist only manipulates what is already there; he cannot create a seed ex nihilo.

So, we have this tremendous spiritual fruit, graciously given to us by means of God’s Spirit. Perhaps the million dollar question is:

How do I access this grace? How can I realize the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in my life?

We have no further to look than to the very words of the Lord Jesus himself:

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. (John 12:24-26, NIV)

We must die to ourselves. There is no other way. Christ demonstrated the way by dying and being placed in the earth. Only then could he rise from death. And only then could his disciples have their faith come to fruition, spreading gospel seed throughout the world.

For one cannot have a resurrection unless there is first a crucifixion. There must be suffering before glory.

That, my friend, is the cost of discipleship. It’s the cost of realizing the spiritual fruit that you and I long for in our lives. This is the struggle we must go through to experience the life that is truly life.

Heavenly Father, in you I live and move and have my being. I humbly pray You so to guide and govern me by your Holy Spirit, that in all cares and occupations of my life I may not forget You, but remember I am ever walking in Your sight, exhibiting Your fruit; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

Keep Wisdom Close (Proverbs 7:1-4)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
By Carole Hénaff

My child, keep my words
    and store up my commandments with you;
keep my commandments and live;
    keep my teachings as the apple of your eye;
bind them on your fingers;
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
    and call insight your intimate friend. (New Revised Standard Version)

Out of all the words I hear come out of people’s mouths in a day, I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say something like “Wisdom is my sister.” Indeed, I would argue that wisdom is in short supply these days.

The thing about wisdom is that many people – if they consider wisdom at all – tend to overemphasize one aspect of it over another. For wisdom to truly be wisdom, there must be both a solid body of knowledge and a practical understanding of how to implement learned information into one’s lived daily experience.

The concept of wisdom is truncated whenever one only focuses on book learning and information; or if one solely homes in on individual practice without any instruction.

A truly wise person has a teachable spirit about them, while at the same time, is willing to take the time necessary for action, and reflection on those actions, doing them again and again with learned and helpful information.

If someone tells you something, without any solid evidence to back up their statements, then you are likely hearing a bunch of foolishness, and not wisdom. What’s more, if they are all words and no action, there’s probably nothing worth listening to.

Without a robust evidence-based understanding of a subject, we become vulnerable to every Tom, Dick, and Harry who comes along and makes claims we’d like to hear. Even if it’s a blatant lie, apart from wisdom, we may suck up the bogus information like the bottom of a chocolate shake.

The presence of wisdom is an invitation for all simpletons to come, learn, and get rid of the simplistic ignorance of small personal opinions. Wisdom gives us a rudder to steer the ship of our life; and a map to provide us with direction.

If we eat at wisdom’s table, we shall fill ourselves with abundant life and satisfaction. Then, we will be able to overlook the baloney sandwich of stupidity for the T-bone steak of knowledge.

Wisdom is very much needed in times of temptation. Therefore, the more we are attentive to attaining a sage life, the more we will be able to withstand temptation’s onslaught when it comes to us.

The Teacher of Proverbs makes it clear that none of this is optional nor some sort of suggested teaching. Our Old Testament lesson for today is adamant that we pay attention to these admonitions. The verb “keep” is an inescapable exhortation.

Keeping the Teacher’s commands near to us, as if they were a close relative, is imperative to successful daily living.

Becoming proficient in the ways of the soul is important because the soul thrives on wisdom. Wisdom is soul food. This means we will attend to the small things which keeps our soul engaged and fed.

Carrying out our ordinary activities with mindfulness and a desire to learn is an artful practice which puts us in a position to soak up the wisdom around us.

The emptiness that so many people complain of comes, in part, from ignoring the small things. It puts wisdom way off of our radar. In other words, things like loneliness, boredom, and dissatisfaction come from ignoring one’s soul. The consequence is that wisdom is kept at a distance, and foolishness is allowed to come in and have run of the house.

What’s more, a life out of balance between introverted reading and extroverted activity puts us off kilter, not knowing what direction we ought to go. In this state, we’ll likely never find God’s will in any given situation.

We know we are growing in wisdom whenever loving another becomes more fulfilling than understanding that person.

If we seek wisdom so that we can be free of complexity, confusion, and all mystery, then we’ll never attain it. Instead, we’ll be the wise guy in the room and not the wise sage. Love will be off our radar, and so, wisdom shall be out of reach.

Developing wisdom is no easy endeavor; it’s hard, and requires steadfast commitment. The difficulty of it typically lies in implementing wise choices. That’s because we will inevitably come to a point where discernment tells us that we must let go of something.

And that something we need to let go is our own petty world that we have created. Only when we have made room can we accept a new world order which revolves around wisdom and doing what we can for the common good of all creation.

O God of love, you are the true sun of the world, evermore risen and never going down: We pray you to shine in our hearts and drive away the darkness of sin and the mist of error. We pray that we may, this day and all our lives long, walk without stumbling in the way you have prepared for us, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God in glory everlasting. Amen.