The Resolve of Love
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 -- Week of 2 Easter, Year One
Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1109
Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 958)
Psalms 5, 6 (morning) 10, 11 (evening)
Daniel 2:1-16
1 John 2:1-11
John 17:12-19
"Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling." 1 John 2:10
It is not a bad practice to challenge oneself each day -- Today I resolve to love each person you bring into my path. In the most poignant moments of the scriptures, it all boils down to love. Jesus summarizes the entire law in the commandment to love God, neighbor and self. At the end of John's gospel, he gives his friends the new commandment, "Love one another." Love is the light that incarnates God's Spirit perpetually.
In the great prayer of Jesus on the night of his betrayal which we read from today in John's gospel, Jesus connects the word of love that Jesus has given to us with joy. "I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves." How might joy be fully manifest if I were to live just this one day completely focused on loving each person God brings into my path?
Instead of being motivated by anxieties, pressures, and to-do lists, what if our grounding motivation were as simple as walking in love. Anxieties can melt in the focus on the present opportunity that love presents. Pressures can be redirected toward God if our motivation is solely about love rather than whatever fear creates pressure. As St. Paul said, "Perfect love casts out fear." And to-do lists could be prioritized by the urgency and standards of love. What is the next best thing I can do for love's sake.
During the century of the Black Death of plague, a century rent by war, violence and church scandal, Dame Julian of Norwich wrote of the revelations that God gave to her. "Wouldst thou learn the Lord's meaning in this thing? Learn it well. Love was his meaning. Who showed it thee? Love. What showed he thee? Love. Wherefore showed it he? For Love. Hold thee therein and thou shalt learn and know more in the same. Thus it was I learned that Love was our Lord's meaning."
Love is the easy yoke that makes our burdens light. There is something restful in having a single minded focus. Dame Julian heard that burdenless word from God, telling her, "I can make all things well; I will make all things well; I shall make all things well; and thou canst see for thyself that all manner of things shall be well." It is the resurrection message of Jesus. Love triumphs over all. Love will triumph over all. Therefore, walk in love.
Lowell
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Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts
About Morning Reflections
Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.
Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html
The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.
Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org
Our Rule of Life
Lowell Grisham, Rector
Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts
About Morning Reflections
Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.
Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html
The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.
Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org
Our Rule of Life
We aspire to...
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.
Lowell Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas
posted by Lowell @ 7:23 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Lowell-
Today's reflection really hit home with me. I have been thinking and praying a lot lately about how much of my daily life is motivated by fear and anxiety, particularly fear and anxiety about social and academic evaluation. I have come to the conclusion that my greatest fault as a person is that I so very often let my fears destroy opportunities to receive and give joy and love. Thus, your words today about having love as a singular motivation are quite relevant in my life. However, I am confused about I could implement this in my current situation. I certainly understand how one could use love as his motivation if his daily activities involved ministering to or serving others. But my days are filled with going to class, studying, and doing research. How am I to be motivated to listen to a lecture out of love? How am I to see writing a paper as an act of love? For that matter, how is anyone who does not have a service oriented job prioritize his to do list by love? Perhaps I am missing some key element here.
Thank you very much for writing this reflection. I am confused by it, but as a professor of mine once said, "If you walk out of my class confused, then I have done my job because confusion means you are thinking." And to that I would add, I am praying.
Thank you!
I was working on a post on Christian Maintenance for tomorrow and watched it morph into a post on Love. God's love will not let you go, but once you have experienced it you find that it requires work on our part to maintain. The pride of self gets in the way of Love time and time again.
Anon, let Love do its own thing in its own time, pray, be in Christian fellowship, read scripture and Christian writings, and maybe even those troublesome to-do lists will yield to the power of Love.
Anonymous,
It is that time of the semester, isn't it. The pressure can feel immense.
Is there a way to approach your academic life as a passionate calling to learning? Can you love the adventure of learning?
As you approach a lecture, someone who has devoted hours and maybe years to knowledge and truth is offering you the gift of their experience and insight -- a glimpse into truth. What they may have gained through great sacrifice they are sharing with you. Can it be an adventurous privilege to receive their lecture as a gift that makes you a wiser, more whole person.
As you approach a paper, you have the opportunity of claim some portion of knowledge and truth as your own. Can you write with a sense of love? You are being creative -- a divine activity, for God is the ultimate creator. You are participating in the Word. Can you love the opportunity to receive and to give the Word of truth through the activity of writing a paper?
And when you are doing research, you are looking into the face of God. God has created all that is, and all of creation reflects God's glory and God's being. To do research is to seek to uncover a portion of the revelation of God. It is a search for new truth, and God is perfect truth. What more loving calling could there be than to search for Reality, to search for new glimpses of God? To do research can be a calling of adventurous love.
And these service jobs, or things that look so loving and holy from a distance, such as being a priest -- we've got the same pressures, fears, and anxieties as any other job. Priests and service people are also prone to depression and destructive behavior.
It's mostly an internal thing. Can you do everything from the motivation and perspective of love? If so, as Brother Lawrence showed us, even the job of washing dishes all day can be transcendent.
Thanks for your wonderful post, Anon. And best wishes with finals and papers.
Lowell
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