“freedom is for love”

from Lent and Easter Wisdom:

The greatest light comes from the commandment to love God and neighbor. In this commandment, human freedom finds its most complete realization. Freedom is for love: its realization through love can reach heroic proportions.–Pope John Paul II

In thinking about yesterday's post, I see that part of Jesus’ agenda was love. To write that seems incredibly foolish in a sense–we say, “of course Jesus came to love.” And of course, Jesus said that people will know that we are His disciples by our love (John 13:35). I don’t know about you, but my love is not always so evident, and I don’t often hear teaching about love–God’s or mine. In the tradition I grew up in, Jesus came to save. In the tradition I moved into, Jesus came to heal and deliver. Now, I hear more about Jesus coming to bring abundant life and to empower.

All of these are true. But it seems to me that all of these are manifestations of–and secondary to–love. Jesus came to show us God in the flesh, available to see, hear, smell, touch, and taste. One of the remarkable things about Jesus’ ministry is the frequency of His touch. In some circles, laying hands on someone is a power transfer (and I believe it can be that). But obviously, Jesus didn’t need to touch someone to manifest the power to heal–the gospels provide a number of examples of Jesus healing at a distance. Jesus touching the lepers was about love, not power. There’s a moving scene in Kingdom of Heaven; the king of Jerusalem has died of leprosy, and his sister removes the silver mask that always covered his face. She blanches at the sight but then bends to kiss his horribly disfigured face. Or I think of my own impulse to kiss my child’s bloody knee–why else would I put my lips to a wound but love?

“God is love.“
“The greatest of these is love.“
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Knowing this is one thing; living it is something different altogether. Last Sunday, Chris finished a series on love and said that one of the tests of our love is how we respond when we are treated like a slave. That one’s stuck with me because it’s hard. When I’m controlled by my emotions, love manifests only when I feel it–and that ain’t very often! True love–the greatest of these–is costly because it’s calculated. It’s a choice. And it’s a choice I can make only if I’m truly free of my emotions and free of myself.

In His journey to Jerusalem, Jesus chose love, and not just at the end when He chose death. Early in the journey, as He left Jericho, Bartimaeus called out to Jesus for healing. Luke tells us that “Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet” (18:39). Was that the disciples, focused only on the destination? Jesus stopped, put His destination aside, and restored the man’s sight.

Teddie gave a good illustration yesterday of the tunnel vision shown by those who rebuked Bartimaeus. She took a napkin and stuffed it in a cardboard tube. Outside the tube, the napkin is free to fulfill its function. Inside the tube, it’s bound up, restricted, pretty useless. Looking from the perspective of the napkin, not much can be seen–the confining walls of the tube, a little bit of the world outside. How easy it is to miss the opportunities–the cries–for love when we see so little. Truly, love requires freedom: freedom from selfishness, freedom from emotion; freedom to choose.

Tagged as: freedom, Lent, love, Pope John Paul II