This weekend, the readings are meant to tutor us on love –God’s definition of love, not our limited and potentially ambiguous English meaning. We use the word loosely: we love our spouses, children, dog, ice cream, Netflix series…. The loose definition can distort our understanding that God IS love and how perfectly God loves us. Greek offers better distinctions and much of Scripture was written in Greek, so learning which word the author used helps us understand God’s message.
“Eros” means desire: not just sexual desire, but all forms – food, drink, beauty, pleasure, power, health, wealth, and victory. “Storge” is spontaneous natural affection, like the love we feel for puppies and cozy sweaters. “Philia” is friendship, hence Philadelphia means “City of Brotherly Love.” “Agape” is self-giving, sacrificial love. This is the form of love that is God: God loves us with agape and his existence is pure agape.
I read an interesting commentary on this weekend’s Gospel. Peter Kreeft noticed that Jesus uses “agape” for love nine times in that short reading. He uses the word “commandment” five times. Kreeft observed that it is not instinctive for us to accept those two words together. Love is positive to us; commandment is negative. We may see them in contrast, but clearly Jesus connects them. What can we learn from that? Kreeft explains: “We think we can love God even when we do not obey him, and we think that we can obey him even when we do not love him. But Jesus does not think that way. We have to change our concept of love from a feeling to a choice, a choice to obey, a choice of the will. Second, we have to change our concept of the motive for our obedience to his commandments from a kind of reluctant duty, like a soldier obeying orders to clean the latrines, to a kind of eager hope, like a doctor in a life-saving operation on the body of a patient that he loves. Those two changes bring obedience and love together.”
In Discipleship, one of our five Characteristics of an Intentional Disciple is “Person of Christian Joy and Peace.” Joy and peace are the fruits of accepting God’s agape, honoring his commandments, and expressing our own agape back to God and our fellow man. It is not about feelings; it is about choice.
Scripture: Read. John 15:9-17. What stands out?
Call to Action: Don’t wait for feelings; if you desire joy and peace, make the choice to eagerly love and obey God.
