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Once upon a time there was a young man who was madly in love with a beautiful, but wicked young woman. The woman wanted the young man to think only about her. So, she said, "I will pledge myself to you, if you cut off your mom's head and bring it to me." The young man loved his mom, but he was so infatuated with the woman that he could barely wait to fulfill her wish. He rushed home, grabbed his mom, and cut off her head. He clasped her head by the hair and ran off into the night, for he could hardly wait to get back to his lover. He, racing with his mom's head in his hand and down the street, heard the head speak, "Please don't hurry, my son; you might fall and hurt yourself."
There is a commitment, literally "a being joined together," stronger than everything else in the phenomenal world. When Judas came to betray Jesus in the Garden, on the night of his arrest, what did Jesus call him? Jesus called him "friend." Amazingly, Judas betraying Jesus did not sever the commitment and affection Jesus had for Judas.
In the Song of Songs, a romantic love poem, a Hebrew writer says,
6Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
jealousy (better, ardor or zeal) is fierce as the grave (lit. Sheol, place of the dead),
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the LORD.
7Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
he (or, it) would be utterly despised. (ESV)
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Spiritual Exercise
1. Have you ever loved someone with such love that even after being deeply hurt by the person, your love was as strong for him or her as before being hurt?
2. Have you ever felt unconditionally loved by another person? Who? What does that feel like?
3. Have you ever strongly disagreed with another person on important matters and, still, your love for each other made it possible for you two to have an enriching and growing relationship?
4. Compare the love spoken of in the Song of Solomon with the “love” often spoken of in contemporary culture.
5. Where does the love come from that allows a person to be betrayed and, still, call another person “friend”?
6. What does it mean to love deeply another person and, yet, have healthy boundaries that allow us not to go on being abused either emotionally or physically by him or her?
Prayer
Do the following in prayerful, reverential Silence:
The world is charged with the grandeur of God (Gerard Manley Hopkins).
I dwell for a moment on the presence of God
around me, in every part of my body,
and deep within my being.
(www.sacredspace.ie)
OneLife Ministries is a pastoral outreach and nurture ministry of the First United Methodist Church, Fort Meade, FL. For Spiritual Direction, Pastoral Counseling, spirtual formation workshops, Christian meditation retreats, or more information about OneLife, write Rev. Dr. Brian K. Wilcox at briankwilcox@comcast.net . Brian's book of mystical love poetry, An Ache for Union, can be ordered through major bookdealers.
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
The People of the
United Methodist Church
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