We’ve heard about love in song for so many years: we’ve heard “all you need is love;” “love is the answer;” “love makes the world go ‘round,” & so on. So, what is love, really? We’ve all heard lots of people use the word “love” in various ways: “I love my job;” ”I love my spouse;” even “I love Rice Crispies for breakfast,” and everything in between, above & below it. But on another whole level, LOVE means I’m willing & working for the true good of the OTHER person, because love CAN’T just be about ourselves. Let me illustrate this DEEPER level of love, using the LETTERS of the word “love,” L-O-V-E.
So, we start with “L,” which stands for “Life-Giving.” True lovers are life-givers for others. Today, I’m thinking especially of a life-giving mother. Sue & her husband Derrick raised 4 kids, & Sue writes about the experiences they’ve gone through, when kids were very young and as they grew. Sue believes adults know which seasons are pressure-cookers & which are not. In the non-pressure-cooker seasons, parents AND all the rest of us can ask ourselves 2 questions: 1) “how’s it going for me & us? and “in what ways can I use some help to keep going and growing positively?”
Next in the word love comes the letter “O,” which stands for openness. Openness allows our opinions to be informed by others whom we trust, & allow them to grow close to us, and that includes mentors, teachers, spiritual advisors, spouses, friends, & Jesus, our Risen Shepherd. When Derrick & Sue’s 3rd child named Craig was born, he needed serious heart surgery. They had no warning this was coming, & had no experience to compare it with. Such surprises happen in ALL our lives! That’s when Sue’s writings became dialogues rather than the usual monologues. Other men & women open to sharing what THEY had gone through with their sick children wrote great compassion notes to Derrick & Sue & their family: consoling them: lifting their spirits, helping them to cope. Sue & her family say that being open to these uplifting lifelines SAVED them!
Then, the “V” in the word love stands for VIRTUE. That means you do what you promise, you mean what you say, & you practice what St. Paul says in Romans 10, that is: “to outdo one another in generosity.” &to Sue & Derrick’s surprise, Baby Craig’s illness actually brought Sue’s fam closer together. They realized they ALL depended on each other; they ALL picked up the slack & helped. You yourselves may have seen that Jesus’ obedience to God in love resulted in his triumph & resurrection. Now, Sue’s family would never call what they did together ministries, or service. But as a family group, they BECAME a little church, just like the 2nd Vatican Council envisioned: people gifted in many different ways, intertwined in services that complemented the others; people joined in love, going the extra mile for others, just as Jesus did, & anticipating each other’s needs: that’s virtue!
& last, the “E” in the word love stands for “every day.” We know that loving every day can be very challenging. One of Derrick & Sue’s daughters, Amy, wanted to make the swim team at school. There was only one problem: Amy LOVED to sleep late each morning, but the swim practices were before school & on weekends. When Amy complained to her dad & mom about the “every day swim practices,” they said, “Amy, you know you don’t HAVE to swim; but if you don’t practice every day, you’ll never improve as a swimmer.” Amy did make the swim team, & eventually was a good example the other young swimmers. We know that it’s practice that gets US ALL to the next stage of our development.
We also know we get better at loving others by imitating the 1 who loves VERY well: he is Jesus Christ, risen from death to new life. Jesus made loving others HIS way of life! Over at the rectory, I’ll hear Fr. Alphonsus say: “God is good,” & I’ll respond with the answer: “all the time.” We both smile: then it’s MY turn: I’ll say: “All the Time” & he responds: “God is good.” Why & how that works is no mystery: Jesus says in Matthew’s Gospel, “Seek God’s ways first, God’s reign in you, and you will have all you need.” Let us become life-givers, open to life-giving advice, practicing Christ’s virtues every day, & being healed and made more whole & holy by receiving the Bread of Heavenly Life, the Eucharist. Blessed be God forever. Love, Father Chris
