MAKE LOVE YOUR AIM (FEB 11TH)

A Byzantine-Style Mosaic, Showing the Healing of the Blind Man from Luke 18

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

Today is the Sunday before the Feast of St. Valentine, one of our diocesan patron saints, and the last Sunday in anticipation of Lent. This Wednesday will have the impartation of ashes, and we will begin our Lenten Journey. Today is also Quinquagesima, or “Fifty Days Before Easter,” and this is the last non-lenten Sunday before Great and Holy Pascha! As the last Sunday in preparation for Lent, our Archdiocese also recommends the Eastern Rite service called the "Forgiveness Liturgy", which we will have today after the end of the Eucharist. Today is the day when we ask for forgiveness from everyone in the Church with the humble words, "Holy brother/sister, forgive me, a sinner, and pray for me!" And, we respond to requests for forgiveness with the beautiful phrase, "God forgives! May the Lord forgive you, and have mercy on you. God forgives!" All of today’s readings align remarkably with the story of St. Valentine and the Liturgy of Forgiveness, and complement the Gospel appointed, where we see the love and compassion of Jesus Christ overflowing for those who are suffering in sin and darkness, even though He was knowingly going up to Jerusalem to die.

 

The Old Testament Reading 

The Book of Zachariah was written in the post-exilic period, when God was bringing back the Jews from their time of punishment in Babylon. He ministered at the same time as Ezra. He was also a priest, like Isaiah, and was involved in the revival of the Temple worship in a time when the Jews were rediscovering their hidden identity. In the time of his prophecy, God was bringing them back from 70 years in exile, reforming their understanding of the Covenant, and preparing them for the coming of a Messiah for all peoples. In Zachariah it says… 

Zechariah 7:4-14 Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying, 

5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? 

6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? 

7 Should ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain? 

8 And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying, 

9 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: 

10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. 

11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. 

12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts. 

13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts: 

14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate. 

The New Testament Reading 

In the Book of 1st Corinthians, St. Paul is rebuking those new converts that he had established in the faith who had fallen into sexual sins. They had forgotten the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, and had replaced it with fallen, sinful and selfish endeavors, which blocked off God’s riches and power, and that made the practice of His spiritual gifts difficult. Here he shows that true, right, sincere love is the portal through which all the gifts of the Holy Spirit pour into our lives. 

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 

5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 

6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 

7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 

9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 

10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 

11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 

12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 

13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. 

The Gospel Reading 

Then we come up to the scene of Christ’s impending Passion, directly before He goes into Jerusalem and instates the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, and experiences the ultimate humility of surrendering to the Passion of the Cross. In this buildup, Christ still finds time to cure a blind man, and in the middle of what must have been overwhelming physical and emotional trauma, He still pities those around Him. 

Luke 18: 31-43 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. 

32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: 

33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. 

34 And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. 

35 And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: 

36 And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. 

37 And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. 

38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. 

39 And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. 

40 And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, 

41 Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. 

42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. 

43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God. 

“See How They Love One Another” 

In the three readings that we just read, we see several similar themes. In Prophet Zachariah, God tells us that he led the Tribe of Judah into captivity because they lacked compassion for the disadvantaged. In Zachariah 7:10, God says, “And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.” Because the Hebrews did not keep this law, God allowed Jerusalem to be taken into Babylonian Captivity, and suffer as oppressed, poor, fatherless and widows. 

In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, the Apostle Paul says, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” Love gives meaning to a Christian’s life. Without it, everything they do is empty and devoid of meaning. 

In the Gospel reading, we see that Christ knew that He was going up to Jerusalem to be persecuted. He did it anyway. We know it was for love that He decided to undertake His passion. But, on the way, even though a beggar was rebuked by others who heard his calling out for mercy, Jesus still had compassion on the blind man and restored his sight. Like Christ’s servant, St. Valentine, whom we talked about earlier, Jesus was moved with love for those around Him. Even though He was going to receive hatred, wrath, violence, torture and death, Jesus dispensed mercy and healing on His way up to Jerusalem. 

Scripture tells us that God is love. Because Christ is God, Christ is also love. Christ is in us, through Baptism and the filling of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands. Therefore, we should all be typified by our love. This is what St. John says in his Epistle of 1st John. 

In 1st John 4:7-21 it gives us a clear set of guidelines for understanding the role of godly love, “Agape”, in the Church. It says, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. 

The Summary 

If we do not love one another, we are not really Christians. How many of us are fooling ourselves by our fake piety, relying on hatred and self-appreciation, reaction and legalism, rather than love, for our supposed identity in Christ? Hatred should tip us off that we are not in the Spirit, and that we are not manifesting the works of God, but the works of the flesh. Those who hate their brothers are not really saved, and this should give us all cause to tremble and examine our own lives and hearts. 

The Early Church won the world through love. We know this because Tertullian (145AD-220AD) wrote: “It is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See how they love one another, they say, for they themselves are animated by mutual hatred; how they are ready even to die for one another, they say, for they themselves will sooner be put to death (The Apology, ch. 39).” The saints and martyrs of this time, like St. Valentine, were known for their love and compassion for others. Moved with this truth, this astonishing and irrepressible love for all, the saints preached the Gospel - not of fear or hate, but of hope and brotherhood - and those that heard them believed. They believed because the ring of love in one’s voice is the seal of sincerity of belief. Others will only believe what you truly love, and will only receive when you truly love them! 

Godly love in the Church was Christ’s intention for us from the beginning. In John 13:34, Christ says, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” The law of love replaces the Law and the Prophets. It is the “sum” of them, as Christ says in Matthew 22:37-40 - “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”  

Christ’s law is love, His paths are peace, and His will for the world is the salvation of mankind. This is the power of love, and what we remember today as we commemorate St. Valentine’s Day! 

The Collect 

O Lord, we beseech You, graciously hear our prayers; and releasing us from the bonds of our sins, guard us from all adversity; through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, for all ages of ages. Amen.