“True love is not a feeling by which we are overwhelmed. It is a committed, thoughtful decision.” -Dr. M. Scott Peck
Abou ben Adhem and Love of Neighbor
English poet Leigh Hunt tells a story about a man named Abou ben Adhem. Abou woke up one night to the vision of an angel writing in a book. He asked the angel what he was writing and the angel said, “the name of those who love the lord.” “Is my name among them?” asked Ben Adhem. The angel shook his head, “Sadly not so.” “Then,” Ben Adhem replied, write my name as one who loves his fellow men. The angel did so and vanished. The next night the angel reappeared and showed the names of those who love God, and Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest.
The point of course is that love of God and love of our brothers and sisters is inseparable. We cannot have one without the other.
The “Ten Commandments” recorded in scripture can be viewed in this way. The first three commandments, prohibition against idolatry, honoring the Name of the Lord, and keeping holy the sabbath, are all about how we relate to God. The remaining commandments, honoring our parents, prohibition against adultery, killing, stealing, lying, etc., is all about how we relate to each other.
It has been said that if we truly live God’s first commandment, that we will put no other God before Him but worship Him alone, then all the other nine commandments take care of themselves.
This is why, when challenged by the Pharisees to name the greatest Commandment, Jesus responds:
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
There are those who try to separate love of God from love of fellow human beings. Jesus shows us today that love of God and love of neighbor are two sides of the same coin.
C.S. Lewis
Author C.S. Lewis had a great deal to say about the topic of love. Two quotes in particular tell us so much about Christian love.
The first from his book, “Mere Christianity.”
“Do not waste your time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor, act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less.”
And then this from “Four Loves.”
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin or your selfishness. But in that casket–safe, dark, motionless, airless–it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable…The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love, is Hell.”
An Apocryphal Story
In 1508 artist Albrecht Durer created a study for a larger painting of an apostle. The study was a pen and ink drawing of two hands held together in prayer. Although it was just a study, this drawing has captivated the public imagination to such an extent that an apocryphal story has grown up around it. And while the story does not have the benefit of having actually occurred, it is nonetheless a powerful story of love for another person. Like the parables of Jesus, It is a true story that may or may not have happened.
According to the story, Durer and his older brother came from a large impoverished family. Both of the brothers dreamed of being an artist but there was no money to allow them to pursue that vocation. And so the two brothers came to an agreement, the older brother would go to work in the mines in order to pay for education of the younger. Then, when his training was completed the brothers would switch places and the younger, Albrecht, would work to support is older brother’s artistic education.
After several years Albrecht returned home, an accomplished artist, to fulfill his end if the bargain. But over the years the older brother’s hands had become so scarred, gnarled, and arthritic from the heavy labor that he could no longer hold a brush or a pen for the delicate work required of an artist. In gratitude for his brother’s sacrifice, Albrecht executed this drawing of his older brother’s hands held in prayer.
Sacrificial love is love made by a conscious decision. It does not rely on emotion. A person makes a decision to love whether the feeling is there or not. It is immensely powerful and transformative.
“True love is not a feeling by which we are overwhelmed. It is a committed, thoughtful decision.” -Dr. M. Scott Peck
Jesus showed us just what love is, love is sacrifice. The person who loves much, sacrifices much. This is how we are made in the image and likeness of God.
There was a time when Christians were distinguished by their love. Imagine a world when once again our love for God was reflected in our love for each other. When once again it was said of us “Look at those Christians, see how they love one another.”
Pax Vobiscum
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time