Luke 2:15-19
The shepherds who were in the field and had heard the angels announce the birth of their savior, said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
It’s been a long journey over these few weeks, and I believe we have each traveled some distance—spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually in our understanding of these first three words--hope, peace, and joy—and that they are not just words, they are concepts we use in forming our lives.
I’ve mentioned each week so far that these are multi-layered words, with different intensities of meaning ranging all the way from deeply intense to casual. I think this applies to love most of all. Just think of how often we use that word – everywhere from something like “I just love chocolate-almond ice cream” to “I am overwhelmed with love every time I see a photograph of my new great-grandbaby.”
There’s the romantic kind of love, the love of lovers; there’s the friendship kind of love; and there’s the giving ourselves for the good of all humankind kind of love—the one that often gets called “charity.” There’s an over-sentimentalized huggy-squishy “I’ll do anything for love”; and then there’s tough love. Frederick Buechner once wrote, “When Jesus talked to the Pharisees, he didn't say, "There, there. Everything's going to be all right." He said, "You brood of vipers! how can you speak of good, when you are evil!" And he said that to them because he loved them.”
As far as the Christmas story is concerned, our hymns and carols are all about the love of the young mother for her newborn child—our cards and illustrations show us the tenderness of that mother’s love, over and over, and yet, in truth, that love may be best shown years later, as Mary stood at the foot of the cross and watched that beloved son die in tortured pain, while her own heart was being ripped out. Still she was with him—loving him to the end and beyond.
Love can be sweet and tender and it can also be agonizing. I suspect that we have all of us lived through some part of both extremes of that emotion. And so it is with God’s love for us and for all God’s creation.
I don’t have a story this week as I have had the past three weeks—just a couple of quotes, and a fragment of poetry. I’m not sure that I could find one story that tells us all there is about love—not even Luke’s gospel account of this holy birth.
There is a poem that I think of every year as soon as this season rolls around. Written by Christina Georgina Rossetti in the middle Victorian years, it is deceptively simple sounding but incorporates a lot of love in its three short stanzas:
- Love came down at Christmas,
- Love all lovely, love divine;
- Love was born at Christmas,
- Star and angels gave the sign.
- Worship we the Godhead,
- Love incarnate, love divine;
- Worship we our Jesus:
- But wherewith for sacred sign?
- Love shall be our token,
- Love shall be yours and love be mine,
- Love to God and to all men,
- Love for plea and gift and sign.
And finally, a quote from Thomas Merton who was a twentieth century American theologian, social activist, poet – a brilliant writer – and I’m sure he would have put this before all the rest – a Trappist monk. This is one of his takes on the subject of love:
- Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.
So in this fourth week of our Advent waiting and learning and preparing ourselves, let us love. As we await the birth of love itself into our so-needy world – let us love.....just let us love.
Amen.