I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what it means to truly love as God called us to love, and how so many people seem to get the idea of Christianity fundamentally wrong. Or at least they seem to know, if you ask them, but there is a disconnect between what they believe to be true and how they actually live their lives. This week’s reading from Corinthians is a great example of how we might be able to contextualize the kind of life that God is calling us to live when we think about love and loving our neighbours.
Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, talks about love. This reading is often used at weddings to talk about the nature of love between two partners about to embark on a life together; but, if we read the first part of this passage, we can see that Paul is talking about more than just romantic love. He is talking about the love that we are all called to embody and let guide all of our actions.
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians also tells us that if we gain knowledge into the mysteries of the universe, and into the way our world works, but do not have love within us, then we are nothing. I can think of a number of examples of very powerful people who are extremely intelligent and possess a great deal of knowledge, but do not have love at the core of their being.
First, he talks about the way we speak, saying that if we use our voices to speak words of “mortals and of angels”, but do not have these words come from a place of love, then we are essentially just making noise. Think about that for a second: no matter what we say, no matter what our message is when we speak (or type, or text), if we don’t have love within us, then we’re just noisy creatures. That’s not to say that words that don’t come from love don’t have impact; we know that they do. Bullies and trolls say mean stuff all the time and it affects us deeply. Those who talk about love but don’t truly believe what they say end up sounding hollow and fall flat. But, if we really want to follow what God is calling us to do, our words need to come from a place of love. Sometimes that can mean having difficult conversations about important issues like racism, inequity, and climate change. You will still have disagreements, of that there is no doubt. Imagine, though, how hard it is to truly argue if you are coming from a place of love. It’s really hard to argue with someone who is confident in their ability to love unconditionally.
One embodiment of this is a content creator, author, and all around beautiful human being named Jeffrey Marsh (@thejeffreymarsh). Jeffrey is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns and constantly addresses nasty, hateful, and ignorant comments they get from people. They always do so with such love and grace, knowing full well that many of the people spouting anger and hate toward them are missing something in their own lives. Jeffrey chooses to combat fear, misunderstanding, and hate with pure love, and it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen on the internet. Jeffrey is truly living the message of speaking powerful words from a place of love.
Another person who does this is Rain Dove (@raindovemodel). Rain uses all pronouns (he/ she/they) and has no specified gender identity – they choose to live in a fluid space without labels. Rain gets so much hate directed toward their account because they choose to reject the boxes into which we like to put human beings. But like Jeffrey, Rain reacts from a place of love, knowing well that so many of the people who approach them with hate are deeply hurt and struggling. On Rain’s Instagram feed, you can see countless examples of how they have turned a conversation about hate into one of support, love, and guidance. They truly are moved by the Holy Spirit in how they interact with people on this earth.
Both Jeffrey and Rain show us that the words we use matter, but also that the place they are coming from deeply matters. When we use words from a place of love, we can help people heal and come to a better place within themselves.
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians also tells us that if we gain knowledge into the mysteries of the universe, and into the way our world works, but do not have love within us, then we are nothing. I can think of a number of examples of very powerful people who are extremely intelligent and possess a great deal of knowledge, but do not have love at the core of their being. These people seem so soulless and one-dimensional compared to the wise and intelligent leaders who come from a place of love. Archbishop Tutu was a prime example of someone who had a lot of knowledge and wisdom and led from a place of pure love. Nelson Mandela is another example. In our own diocese, The Venerable Val Kerr, Archdeacon for Truth, Reconciliation, and Indigenous Ministry is someone who I can say from experience has not only deep wisdom and understanding, but also a sweeping and deep love for everyone.
Finally, Paul tells us that the way we give to our communities needs to be grounded in love. I received a lovely email from a parishioner this week suggesting some ways that our entire church family can engage in Lent in meaningful ways, including to give up single use plastics, and to purge our homes of all the excess “stuff” that we have. This parishioner was clear, though, that these kinds of acts should be mindful acts that reflect what we want to be as followers of Jesus, not just simple purging for the sake of self-improvement. This is so wise – anything we choose to do that “gives” to our community, whether it’s donations of food, clothing, money, time, or our talents, should come from the core value of love for one another and love of God.
I hope that we can take some time this week to think about how we use our words, our knowledge and wisdom, and the way we give. How often are these choices rooted in love? How often do we react out of other emotions, or out of a sense that we will feel better if we do/say a certain thing? We are human beings, after all, and none of what we do will be perfect—I say ridiculous and hurtful things all the time without thinking–but, we are also blessed with minds that can talk back to our choices. The first step in any kind of change is awareness. So my challenge to you for this week is just to notice how you speak and act and where those words and actions come from. From there, we can try and make some powerful changes toward being grounded and centred in love.
