Have you ever experienced the peace of heart and mind that follows when you choose love? You know, when you reach out to another with love in your heart without any expectation that they return your love. I assume you have at some point. This type of love is deeply gratifying. However, sometimes it is very hard to love so freely because after all, we carry within ourselves an inherent tendency towards sin. Sometimes we just can’t love that freely.
Divine Love
Yet, we are immersed in a field of divine love. This field is the source of all healing, all goodness, and all life. This field is God’s universe, a universe that holds us together. God’s love is the milieu in which we live, yet, we are also inclined towards sin – a movement away from love. It seems a no brainer, when we choose love all the peace and happiness our heart’s desire will follow. When we choose sin pain will follow. So why do we choose against love and life by choosing sin?
The Flesh
One word provides the answer – flesh. We live in the world of the flesh, and given this we are bound to its laws. Unlike Jesus and his mother Mary, who were born without the stain of original sin, we are born with certain inclinations to sin. These inclinations set into motion the separation that exists between God and the creation created in his image – human beings.
Our first parents committed sin while living in Paradise, sin that was born out of their childlike innocence and a desire to more fully understand God’s universe. All they knew was perfect love, so how could they have understood the ramifications of choosing the forbidden fruit? Their humanity, with its human wisdom, limited their awareness of such treason against God. Yet, it was wisdom they sought when they partook of the fruit.
Human Limitations
As John the Baptist spoke – “He must increase, but I must decrease.” , we must also decrease so that Christ can increase in us. Only then will we experience freedom from sin and flesh. This is not to say that our flesh is inherently evil, after all, it can be used for Christ. However, our flesh, our humanity, is inclined towards pride, judgement, and vanity. If it were not then there would be no struggle on earth, humanity would already experience the fullness of love God offers.
Every time we choose love we work with the flow of God – the divine milieu we live in. This divine milieu is all around us. Think for a moment about the air you breathe. Air is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. You cannot point to where air “is”. Yet, air fills every part of the world you exist in. Inside every one of your cells air nourishes and gives life. Yet, you cannot readily contain air. Have you ever tried to put “air” in a jar so you could point to the jar and say “there is air”? Its only container is earth – the planet God created for us to live in. God’s love is limitless in our lives – more limitless than the air that surrounds and nourishes us.
Choosing Love
Recently I watched the mini series titled Jesus of Nazareth directed by Franco Zeffirelli. This series is basically a portrait of the life of Jesus through the lens of the Gospel of Luke. It was beautifully done and it stirred my heart many times. I highly recommend watching it. As a side note I will share with you that this series portrayed Mary of Magdalene as a repentant prostitute. Nowhere is the Gospels is she referred to as a prostitute. The prostitute narrative began in the Middle Ages and it is false. Mary Magdalene was a loving person who deeply loved our Lord and she deserves the credit due her.
As I watched Jesus of Nazareth I couldn’t help notice how much Jesus loved. Every move he made, every interaction he had was out of love. Even his moments of anger or frustration were born out of love for the Father. Jesus lived in the fullness of the divine milieu of God’s love and he allowed it to permeate his entire being. I often found myself pondering why I can’t love like Jesus as I watched this series.
Choosing Love
Oh, how many times I have withheld love out of fear, pride, or vanity only to experience the limitations that follow. It’s so easy to say to ourselves that “I” am here, while “you” are there. Our sinful nature calls us to this place of division and separation. Jesus on the other hand naturally drew himself to others, obliterating the gap between them. He chooses love every time because he is Love. Jesus the man, had the ability to meet God’s children at their deepest pain. When Jesus met them the hearts of the sufferer and Jesus merged together, the sufferer and Jesus became one.
While we may discount Jesus’ ability to love so deeply and attribute it to his sinless nature, we must also remember that Jesus was fully human in addition to his full divine nature. Jesus experienced the same temptations we do. This is why we can and must surrender to him, why we must decrease as he increases within us. Jesus will show us the way to love more because Jesus fully understands human suffering. And most importantly, he understands human suffering in light of God’s divinity.
Our human nature dictates that we will choose the opposite of love from time to time and we will surrender to sin. Jesus the man revealed to us the power of submitting to God’s love. Jesus the Christ stands at the threshold of our surrendering, illuminating the way through the waters of life for all eternity. And Christ is the one we can trust in.
Divine Love Heals
Living within God’s divine love is a reality of our humanity. Finding our way through the waters of life into heaven demands that we move through Jesus Christ. As we move through him we will find that all of God’s children exist within this love. If you would like to read more about God’s divine love I invite to read one of my blog posts here: Divine Love
God bless all of you – see you next week Friday! – Carolyn
Sacred Heart of Jesus – have mercy on us.
Father God – consume us.
Holy Spirit – enter into us.
Mother Mary – pray for us.
