LOVE NEVER FAILS
4th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME-C

Taj Mahal is a major center of attraction to any tourist who visits India. The wonder of Taj Mahal lies not only in its immeasurable beauty but also in the unfathomable love behind its construction. Emperor Shah Jahan’s heart was broken at the death of his beloved wife Muntaz Mahal. His love towards her was so deep that he wanted to immortalize his love for her. He took 22 years and used 20,000 people to complete this epitome of love. Later, even after he was ousted and imprisoned, he celebrated his love for her, looking at Taj Mahal- the symbol of his love for her, through the prison windows. Such was the power of his love. Taj Mahal announces to the world the unfailing nature of love. Love never fails. “Deep waters cannot quench love, nor floods sweep it away” (Song of Solomon 8/7) St. Paul, today, talks about this eternal nature of the spirit of love.

LOVE FAILIURE!

There is an inner urge in every human person to love and to be loved. Everyone talks about the beauty and fruit of love. In spite of all this talk and excitement about love, everyone finds it difficult to stay in love. Where is the problem?

1. The problem lies in the fact that many of us are confused with the concepts of loving and liking. They are two different realities. Liking is the function of instincts of which we haven’t much control. It is an instinctual behavior. Anything that flows from an instinct is not premeditative. A human Instinct responds to whatever appeals to the senses. It can be the look of a person, the color of an object, the way she/he dresses, a certain manner of behavior, a particular quality of a person and so forth. We subconsciously fall in love with whatever is appealing to the senses. Very often we fall in love with people because of certain fascinations that have a quick impression on the senses. This sort of love ceases to exist as soon as these qualities disappear. Love based on liking alone is doomed to fail because the external appearances are transient.

On the other hand, love is a decision. It is an act of the will (Thomas Aquinas). Therefore even though we may not like someone, still we can choose to love him/her. In genuine love, likeability is only one aspect of many. Likeability definitely makes love easy; likeability makes a person more lovable. Even though, we may disagree with someone or do not like certain behavioral patterns of a person, still we can make a decision to love him/her. The decision to love someone helps us to look for the likeability in that person. That in turn changes our attitude towards him/her.

2. It is also important to know the difference between Eros love and agape love. Eros lies in the realm of sensuality and Agape on the other hand belong to the divine milieu. In the former case, we love a person because of the goodness in him/her. We love him/her as long as he/she serves my purposes. How often we hear people saying how the other disappointed them! Relationship based on Eros is destined to fail.

On the other hand, in agape love, our love is a reflection of the goodness within us. This love enriches the other rather than the lover. It enriches the receiver rather than the giver. This is the nature of God’s love. God’s love to the world does not add anything more to His Being. In agape, we love a person, not for what he is but for what he could be. Every person is created in the image and likeness of God. Every person is a potential saint. Every sinner has a future as every saint had a past. Our love is not based on his/her past but on his/her future possibilities.

NO LOVE, NO CHRISTIANITY

If there is no love, there is no Christianity. If we don’t abide in love, we don’t know anything about God because God is love. Love is not a quality of God. God is love. Jesus himself underscored this view when he said: ’By your love you will reveal that you are my disciples’ For example, the second reading (1John 4:7-10) starts with this advice: “Beloved, let us love one another, because God is love; everyone who loves is begotten by God”. Jesus repeats the same message in the Gospel: “As the Father loves me, so also I love you. Remain in my love” (John 15:9-17). Therefore, Christian vocation, as St. Therese of Lisieux put it rightly, is a call to love.

CRITERIA OF CHRISTIAN LOVE!

How do we know that we really love someone? What are the parameters of love? Christian love has three characteristics:
1. It is other oriented. The moment you start to think about others and their growth, you have begun to live Christian Love. If your life and activities do not bring happiness and growth to others, yours is not Christian love.
2. Christian Love is action oriented. Love is not an abstract thing. It should take on a concrete form. For example, we make available our time, talents, and treasures to the person we love. In genuine love there is always an exchange of words, an exchange of persons and an exchange of gifts. God so loved us by sending His own Son. Jesus loved us by giving His own Body and Blood. We must show our love through concrete actions.
3. Christian Love is expensive. There is no genuine love without a price or sacrifice. For example, to forgive someone who offended us or to defend somebody whom we don’t like…is really a sacrificial act. The amount of sacrifice that goes along with our concrete actions measures the real depth of our Christian Love!!

“The Crucifix is our Taj Mahal. It is our supreme parameter for love. Whenever you waver, look at Calvary. You will return home with hope and confidence.”