What the World Needs Now
Do we have what it takes to love? If loving God and our neighbor were easy, wouldn’t we be exceptional at it? Wait, maybe you are. I should not presume that you have the difficulties as I have, keeping the commandments Jesus identified as the greatest. I must check myself on this constantly because the ideal feels so out of reach. My love for God is often incomplete and my love for my neighbor is borne out neither consistently nor broadly.
It was not unusual for rabbis through the centuries to point to these phrases from the Law of Moses as the principal holy obligations: Deuteronomy 6:5 - “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might;” and Leviticus 19:18 – “…you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus points them out as of ultimate and equal importance. Love that springs from all one’s heart, soul, and might, is not routine and perfunctory love; it is full-bodied love.
Love of neighbor also challenges me and feels impossible. I find that I selectively pick out with which neighbors I am keen on loving. This, despite promises I make in Holy Baptism. I promise, “I will, with God’s help,” when I renew the covenantal vows of baptism. I vow to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving my neighbor as myself. I also commit to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being. (BCP, p. 305) Often, however, I don’t do these things. Often, I fail to ask for God’s help. It is clear I need to submit to a formation process. That is the only way I will come under the sanctifying, transformative effect of the Holy Spirit.
There is, available to us, divine power and energy called grace, and the Spirit is the Agent of it. The baptismal water poured on my little head in October of 1956 was not the end of it. I was going to need some more help. I need, perpetually, to cooperate with the grace of the Holy Spirit to see transformation manifest in my life. I am profoundly grateful for the regeneration that brought me in Holy Baptism, but I need to live it out every day if I hope effectively to convey the love of Christ. I am happy to take the Collect of the Day for next Sunday upon my lips:
O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
I think it is also important to give single-pointed attention to the presence of God in still, simple, silent prayer, and to do so daily. I really must do this more consistently. I believe the fruit that will come of it matches the verses Fr. Stuart elucidated from Galatians last Sunday: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). We can learn from each other about this kind of Christian prayer. I am giving special attention to it in sessions: Tuesdays at 4:00 p.m., Thursdays at 7:00 a.m., and Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. Let the formation resume.