Love is the 'Reason for the Season'

On the fourth Sunday in Advent, the last candle on the advent wreath will be lit in our homes and our churches. One of the popular carols is "A Candle is Burning", words by Sandra Dean.

A candle is burning, a candle of LOVE,

A candle to point us to heaven above

A baby for Christmas, a wonderful birth

For Jesus is bringing God's love to our earth.

Jesus, for Christians, epitomizes LOVE. We also hear in the writings of the Bible that God is LOVE. "God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them." 1 John 4:16(b) The word used the most in the New Testament that we translate as love is the Greek word agape. Wikipedia has this to say "Agápe (ἀγάπη agápē) means "love: esp. brotherly love, charity; the love of God for man and of man for God."...This type of love was further explained by Thomas Aquinas as "to will the good of another."

"To say that I am made in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for my existence, for God is love. Love is my true identity. Selflessness is my true self. Love is my true character. Love is my name.” ― Thomas Merton

How do I show this kind of love in my life, this love that wills the good of another? One thing I do know for sure is that it isn't that love I feel when I see a kitten or puppy or even a human baby. It isn't the warm glow of romantic love, nor is it something I 'love' to do or 'love to eat'. In fact it often turns out to be just the opposite!

I experience this kind of love when someone does something for me at a cost to themselves, without needing or even expecting any thanks. It can be something as simple as making sure the snow is cleared out of the lane way so that I can get my car out easily. Or it can be the medical aid workers going to West Africa to treat the Ebola victims at the risk of their own lives. Both of these show love.

If I believe, as Thomas Merton says, 'love is the reason for my existence', then it should go without saying that I will not do, or support, any action that harms another human being whatever the provocation. But what about the time I refuse to pick up the phone because I don't want to deal with the person whose name I see on call display? Is that love? Or when I speak sharply to the waitress who continues to muddle up my order in a restaurant? Or when I ignore the outstretched hand of a street person?

Love comes in many different guises and on many different levels. I am reminded once again of an onion, where you peel off one layer only to find another layer underneath. The message for me in that image is that I have to peel off the layer; no one else can do to for me. Love comes through trial and error, through learning, through effort. It does not appear full-blown.

How have you expressed love in your life this Advent Season?

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