Mark 12:28-34
“Love Is All We Need”
“All you need is love,” sang The Beatles. “Love, love, love, that’s what it’s all about,” sing some children at Bible School and Camp. “And the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). My sense is that no topic has been written about, or fantasized about, more than love. We read about it, watch it in movies and television programs, perhaps we even dream about it.
When it comes right down to it, however, how many of us share love, or practice it? How many of us can say that because we are loved, we love in return? If we truly practiced love, there would be less divorce, less strife between parents and children, and certainly less war. If we actually loved one another the way Jesus commanded us to do, then there would be no more crime and no more need for jails. We wouldn’t need welfare programs, or even Social Security. There would be no need for government to make sure that people who fall “through the cracks” are clothed, housed, and given the care that they so desperately need.
“Love is all we need,” but it appears as if we need more of it. We are afraid to love our neighbors the way Christ commanded us to love. If we have a problem loving one another, perhaps it is the second phrase of the command that gives us the greatest difficulty. We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Perhaps we find it difficult to love because we believe that we are unlovable. We find it difficult to love because we find it hard to believe that anyone would want to love us.
In that regard, we treat one another as we believe we deserve to be treated. Maybe we don’t know what love is or what it means. All too often we associate love with feelings or emotions. We think that to love means that we are “in love.” We picture love as a state of euphoria, a scrambled mixture of emotions and hormones. Society would have us believe that love also means that there are strings attached. Love seems to imply there are expressed expectations of the one who loves, as well as the one who receives love. If we fail to love, then perhaps it is because we believe that we have failed to live up to the expectations of our beloved, or they have failed to live up to ours.
This is the kind of love and lack of love we tend to experience as human beings. And this is different than the love of which Jesus speaks in the text. The ancient Greeks had different words for love, and these different words influence the meaning of the New Testament. Eros indicates the romantic kind of love. Philos focuses on love for brother of sister. Philadelphia literally means “city of brotherly love.” Storge implies the love of friends. Agape is unconditional love – love without expectations. These definitions are my generalizations. I could only think of three, I could not think of the fourth “Storge” so I asked Associate Pastor Jeanne Yurke and she went on-line and picked up the “Greek words for love” from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. I will not try to share them now, but will add that information at the end of today’s message for those who want to know more.
Agape is used throughout the scriptures in a special way to describe God’s love for humankind. Agape is love that tells the beloved that he or she will be loved, warts and all. Agape is love that wants nothing from the beloved, and recognizes that it is not up to the beloved to meet the needs of the one who loves her or him. Agape is the way that God loves all. The ultimate result of that kind of love is that God gives us Jesus Christ, who suffers and dies for us. Through that suffering and death, we see how great God’s love is for us. Out of God’s love for all people, Jesus is crucified. Jesus takes our sins and receives the punishment we deserve. He does this for us because he loves us. The love of Christ is all we need.
This is an important and powerful revelation for us, as we look deeper into the text. At first glance the text convicts us. It sets us up for an impossible task. We are to love one another, as we love ourselves. The key here before we get too discouraged is to recognize that Jesus uses that word agape for the love that we are to display. Even as we hear the words of Jesus, we are given hope. We are given hope because standing in the midst of the story is Jesus. Jesus is the evidence of God’s love for us. Jesus is proof positive that God’s love has no strings attached.
Jesus does what we cannot do. Jesus not only loves our neighbor; Jesus loves us. Through that love we are all drawn into a new community, a new neighborhood so to speak. We call that neighborhood the body of Christ. We bring this neighborhood to life through the church. The church, then, becomes the welcoming place where these new neighbors gather. It is the intersection that gathers people from different races and different places. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, this new neighborhood, the body of Christ, is formed around word and communion.
As members of the body of Christ, we know that we are loved. We know that God’s love for us does not depend upon how well we meet God’s expectations, nor the expectations of anyone else. Hopefully, such love changes us. It changes us from people who are uncertain about love and questioning if we are lovable people to people who are moved to love as God first loved us. Such love changes us so that we are eager to tell others abut God’s love that changes people from enemies to friends, and from strangers to neighbors.
Viewed in the light of the gospel and from the foot of the cross we may affirm that God’s love is all we need. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer: Gracious God, inscribe on our hearts and in our minds the commands that Jesus brings to life: “Love the Lord your God. Love your neighbor as yourself.” Open us to new awareness of your word that burns in our very hearts. Gird us to uphold Jesus’ commands in the midst of places where they are not honored. Amen.
Greek words for love / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are several Greek words for love, as the Greek language distinguishes how the word is used. Ancient Greek has four distinct words for love: agape, eros, philia, and storgē. However, as with other languages, it has been historically difficult to separate the meanings of these words. Nonetheless, the senses in which these words were generally used are given below.
Agapē (αγάπη agápē) means "love" in modern day Greek, such as in the term s'agapo (Σ'αγαπώ), which means "I love you." In Ancient Greek, it often refers to a general affection rather than the attraction suggested by "eros." Agape is used in ancient texts to denote feelings for a good meal, one's children, and the feelings for a spouse. It can be described as the feeling of being content or holding one in high regard.
Eros (έρως érōs) is passionate love, with sensual desire and longing. The Modern Greek word "erotas" means "(romantic) love;" however, eros does not have to be sexual in nature. Eros can be interpreted as a love for someone whom you love more than the philia, love of friendship. It can also apply to dating relationships as well as marriage. Plato refined his own definition: Although eros is initially felt for a person, with contemplation it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within that person, or even becomes appreciation of beauty itself. It should be noted Plato does not talk of physical attraction as a necessary part of love, hence the use of the word platonic to mean, "without physical attraction." Plato also said eros helps the soul recall knowledge of beauty, and contributes to an understanding of spiritual truth. Lovers and philosophers are all inspired to seek truth by eros. The most famous ancient work on the subject of eros is Plato's Symposium, which is a discussion among the students of Socrates on the nature of eros.
Philia (φιλία philia) means friendship in modern Greek. It is a dispassionate virtuous love, a concept developed by Aristotle. It includes loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality and familiarity. In ancient texts, philos denoted a general type of love, used for love between family, between friends, a desire or enjoyment of an activity, as well as between lovers.
Storge (στοργή storgē) means "affection" in ancient and modern Greek. It is natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring. Rarely used in ancient works, and then almost exclusively as a descriptor of relationships within the family. It is also known to express mere acceptance or putting up with situations, as in "loving" the tyrant.
