In my last couple of postings, I commented on new understandings that came when I studied the agape versions of NT passages. I reflected in that posting on the first of 2 ideas that came from the word “whole” in the Great Commandment. In today’s posting I want to share the 2nd idea.
I began to wonder about the shift in perspective we could get if we thought of the nouns in the Great Commandment as though they were adverbs. That may sound a little strange, but here is how it could read: “You must agapao the Lord your God wholeheartedly, soulfully, and mindfully.”
Sometimes nouns and pronouns are what get us into trouble with identity issues. In elementary school we are taught that a noun has to refer to a person, place, or thing. So it gets drilled into us in the very early stages of development, when we also are taught that we have to form a separate ego identity (not in so many words, of course). So we start thinking that a noun has to stand for ‘something.’ Eventually then, in our youthful thought processes, we think that a 'mind' is something, and an 'ego' identity is something, and even that a 'soul' must therefore be something that is solid somewhere inside us.
But when we use adverbs in the Great Commandment, we no longer think in ego-identity terms, so we don’t have think of a ‘mind’ as something that ‘exists separately,’ or a ‘soul’ as something that ‘exists separately,’ or even a ‘heart’ as something that produces emotions.
With such a shift in perspective, we can see new meaning in being commanded to “agapao the Lord your God wholeheartedly, soulfully, and mindfully.” So we no longer have to think that we somehow need to take some ‘thing’ inside us and use it to generate something toward God.
Also in my last posting, I wrote about what it means to be commanded into an agape relationship with God, and how that very relationship brings whole-ness to life. I realized that such wholeness has a profound impact on our sense of identity.
So agape works in us (as a gift from God) to get us unstuck from that strange ego identity (that people in the modern world think they have to form). Instead of identifying with some ego that we formed by thinking of all the ways that each of us is different and separated, we can think of our identity in life as formed from the relationship with God. It is through the loving power of agape that we open up to wholeheartedly, soulfully, and mindfully accept the divine Presence permeating us and simultaneously helping us identify with the vastness of divine Presence.
It is often said that such opening up is the profound awareness of being “a child of God.”
Of course, that’s not possible to experience if we try to approach God while we are locked in ego identity, because that ‘sense of selfness’ (that gets referred to as ‘ego’) is so dependent on being separate. But such an all-important sense of wholeness, which is necessary for faith development, cannot happen for a person who tries to identify mainly with that false impression of being separated from God.
But, if over the years of our personality development, we thought we had to ‘build an ego’ by defending against everything that is ‘out there,’ then we have to start over. In a sense we have to reverse the process of identifying. A person has to get beyond any type of ego identity in order to realize the wholeness in relationship with God.
The beautiful good news is that God starts the process by making agape available to each of us, and all we have to do is allow God’s agape to open us up.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Wholeness and Agape in the Great Commandment
In my last posting I talked about noticing many different understandings I started getting when I read the agape versions of NT passages. After that reflection on the “new” commandment, another example came to me when I took very seriously the word “whole” in the Great Commandment (especially in the Common English Bible translation).
I saw the word ‘whole’ as a clue that something is required that goes beyond what a separated ego identity can do.
When we are commanded to give our whole being into our agape relationship with God, that has a profound impact on our sense of identity. But all ego identities (that people in the modern world think they have to form) cannot act as whole beings. Even though people think an ego is the best defense and protection against the sheer craziness of modern society, there is something wrong with putting that much faith in production that is based on separating from the wholeness of Life. So it just cannot work for a person to “love God with an ego identity” -- because there is no wholeness there. Any ego identity is merely too fragmented. Something else is needed.
An ego identity is so dependent on being separate, that no ego identity can do anything as a whole being. Of course, that’s the main problem with all ego identities in the modern world -- the very act of trying to develop an identity in life by forming a separate entity causes a terrible fracturing in the identity, because it is a false effort. In reality we are actually all connected, not separated.
That all-important sense of wholeness, which is necessary for faith development, cannot happen for a person who tries to identify mainly with that false impression of being separated from God. A person has to get beyond any type of ego identity in order to realize the wholeness of a relationship with God.
When I read through all those verses with ‘agape’ left in its originally intended form, I was able to realize how agape brings wholeness to a person’s life. So it is from the wholeness of an agape relationship with God that a person is able to be fully and completely alive with God. A person’s true identity in life brings that spiritual sense of wholeness when it is developed from the agape relationship.
I saw the word ‘whole’ as a clue that something is required that goes beyond what a separated ego identity can do.
When we are commanded to give our whole being into our agape relationship with God, that has a profound impact on our sense of identity. But all ego identities (that people in the modern world think they have to form) cannot act as whole beings. Even though people think an ego is the best defense and protection against the sheer craziness of modern society, there is something wrong with putting that much faith in production that is based on separating from the wholeness of Life. So it just cannot work for a person to “love God with an ego identity” -- because there is no wholeness there. Any ego identity is merely too fragmented. Something else is needed.
An ego identity is so dependent on being separate, that no ego identity can do anything as a whole being. Of course, that’s the main problem with all ego identities in the modern world -- the very act of trying to develop an identity in life by forming a separate entity causes a terrible fracturing in the identity, because it is a false effort. In reality we are actually all connected, not separated.
That all-important sense of wholeness, which is necessary for faith development, cannot happen for a person who tries to identify mainly with that false impression of being separated from God. A person has to get beyond any type of ego identity in order to realize the wholeness of a relationship with God.
When I read through all those verses with ‘agape’ left in its originally intended form, I was able to realize how agape brings wholeness to a person’s life. So it is from the wholeness of an agape relationship with God that a person is able to be fully and completely alive with God. A person’s true identity in life brings that spiritual sense of wholeness when it is developed from the agape relationship.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Agape as the “new” commandment?
In my last posting I wrote out agape versions of many NT passages. After letting 15 days go by, I read through all those quotes, and that was truly inspiring. Also, all of those verses -- taken together, in the sheer magnitude that the full spread of wisdom shows -- mean clearly that something entirely new was given there. So there is no way that the old, familiar word ‘love’ can be used there anymore. Some different meaning is conveyed there.
As I thought about them, I began to notice many different understandings developing. For example, I wondered about what happens when you put side by side the verses: Mt. 22:37-40; Lev. 19:18; Jn. 13:34-35 (of course, using ‘agape’ instead of ‘love’).
If everyone would have recognized as coming from the Leviticus laws what Jesus called the “second that is like” the Great Commandment, then what did he mean when he told the Disciples that he was giving them a “new” commandment? In other words, if it was already in the ancient law, how could it be NEW? Wouldn’t ‘Doubting Thomas’ have raised his hand and asked, “What’s new about that?”
Well, of course that didn’t happen, and no one even thought it, because they all instantly recognized that it was new. So the problem rests with us. If we don’t see that it’s new, then we don’t understand what was ‘gospel’ about what Jesus was demonstrating and teaching. Now, of course, it’s much easier to begin to see the new when we leave the original word ‘agape’ there, instead of changing the whole meaning by sticking in our common English word ‘love.’
Jesus was doing something dramatically, and profoundly, new. Although, I’m not sure anyone else in the 1st Century could figure out exactly what it was all about. I think all they came to realize is that it had something to do with the spiritual phenomenon they came to call ‘agape.’
That’s about it.
And we sadly trivialize it in the 21st Century when we continue the grave mistake of using the common English word ‘love’ to try explaining it. And worse -- we suck out of it all the amazing, new power.
When we fully open ourselves to allow God’s agape to work in both our faith development and our relationships of our daily life, then we begin to understand how truly new and powerful was what Jesus brought to people’s lives and to history.
As I thought about them, I began to notice many different understandings developing. For example, I wondered about what happens when you put side by side the verses: Mt. 22:37-40; Lev. 19:18; Jn. 13:34-35 (of course, using ‘agape’ instead of ‘love’).
Jesus replied: "You must agapao the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole being, and with your whole mind." This is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "you must agapao your neighbor as you agapao yourself." All the law and the Prophets depend on these two commands. ... Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but agapao your neighbor as yourself. ... "I give you a new commandment: Agapao each other. Just as I have agapan you, so you also must agapao each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you agapao each other."I began to imagine the 2 scenes: first of Jesus answering with 2 commandments when only one was called for; and then Jesus gathered with his disciples at the Last Supper, telling them to pay very close attention because he was giving them something new that they HAD to obey. I was then struck by a strange question.
If everyone would have recognized as coming from the Leviticus laws what Jesus called the “second that is like” the Great Commandment, then what did he mean when he told the Disciples that he was giving them a “new” commandment? In other words, if it was already in the ancient law, how could it be NEW? Wouldn’t ‘Doubting Thomas’ have raised his hand and asked, “What’s new about that?”
Well, of course that didn’t happen, and no one even thought it, because they all instantly recognized that it was new. So the problem rests with us. If we don’t see that it’s new, then we don’t understand what was ‘gospel’ about what Jesus was demonstrating and teaching. Now, of course, it’s much easier to begin to see the new when we leave the original word ‘agape’ there, instead of changing the whole meaning by sticking in our common English word ‘love.’
Jesus was doing something dramatically, and profoundly, new. Although, I’m not sure anyone else in the 1st Century could figure out exactly what it was all about. I think all they came to realize is that it had something to do with the spiritual phenomenon they came to call ‘agape.’
That’s about it.
And we sadly trivialize it in the 21st Century when we continue the grave mistake of using the common English word ‘love’ to try explaining it. And worse -- we suck out of it all the amazing, new power.
When we fully open ourselves to allow God’s agape to work in both our faith development and our relationships of our daily life, then we begin to understand how truly new and powerful was what Jesus brought to people’s lives and to history.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
New Testament agape quotes
In several of my postings I reflected on the change in meaning when ‘agape’ and ‘agapao’ were left in the original Greek in many biblical quotes. So I will now take a sampling of those quotes and give them with everything translated into modern English except ‘agape,’ ‘agapan’ and ‘agapao.’ (This listing is a little long, but that’s because there are so many verses that contain some form of agape.)
“‘You must agapao the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole being, and with your whole mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You must agapao your neighbor as you agapao yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” (Mat. 22:37-40 Common English Bible [CEB]) {an alternate translation: “‘You shall share in the agape of the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And a second is like it. ‘You shall share agape with your neighbor as you yourself [open to it].’ On these two commandments hang all the sacred way.” (based on the New Revised Standard Version)
“But I say to you, agapao your enemies and pray for those who harass you because of your faith so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven. … Therefore, just as your heavenly Father is complete in showing agape to everyone, so also you must be complete.” (Mt. 5:44-48 CEB)
“I give you a new commandment: Agapao each other. Just as I have agapan you, so you also must agapao each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you have agape for each other.” (Jn. 13:34-35 CEB)
“If you agapao me, you will keep my commandments. I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion, who will be with you forever. This Companion is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world can’t receive because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be with you.” (Jn. 14:15-17 CEB)
“Whoever agapao me will keep my Logos. My Father will agapao them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” (Jn. 14:23 CEB)
“As the Father agapan me, I too have agapan you. Remain in my agape. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my agape, just as I kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his agape. I have said these things to you so that my joy will be in you and your joy will be complete. This is my commandment: agapao each other just as I have agapan you. No one has greater agape than to give up one’s life for one’s friends. … I give you these commandments so that you can agapao each other.” (John 15:9-17 CEB)
“This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the agape of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Rom. 5:5 CEB)
“The Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words, and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what the Spirit means, and that the pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God. We know that by turning everything to their good, God cooperates with all those who agapao God.” (Rom. 8:26-28 The Jerusalem Bible)
“Nothing therefore can come between us and the agape of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked. … For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the agape of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:35-39 The Jerusalem Bible)
“Knowledge makes people arrogant, but agape builds people up. If anyone thinks they know something, they don’t yet know as much as they should know. But if someone agapao God, then they are known by God.” (1 Cor. 8:1-2 CEB)
“Now I shall show you a still more excellent way.” (1 Corinthians 12:31 The Anchor Yale Bible)
“If I speak in tongues of human beings and of angels but I don’t have agape, I’m a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and I know all mysteries and everything else, and if I have such complete faith that I can move mountains, but I don’t have agape, I’m nothing. If I give everything that I have and hand over my body to feel good about what I’ve done but I don’t have agape, I receive no benefit whatsoever. Agape is patient, agape is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, it isn’t happy with injustice, but is happy with the truth. Agape puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, endures all things. Agape never fails. … Now faith, hope, and agape remain -- these three things -- and the greatest of these is agape.” (1 Cor. 13:1-13 CEB)
“Let all your things be done with agape.” (1 Cor. 16:14 King James Version)
“Agape must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge.” (Rom. 12:9-19a New International Version)
“Serve one another in works of agape, since the whole of the Law is summarized in a single command: Agapao your neighbor as yourself.” (Gal. 5:13 The Jerusalem Bible)
“The fruit of the Spirit is agape, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal. 5:22 CEB)
“If we live by truth and in agape, we shall grow in all ways into Christ, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to its function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in agape.” (Eph. 4:15-16 The Jerusalem Bible)
“No one has ever seen God. If we agapao each other, God remains in us and his agape is made perfect in us.” (1 Jn. 4:12 CEB)
“There is no fear in agape, but perfect agape drives out fear, because fear expects punishment. The person who is afraid has not been made perfect in agape. We agapao because God first agapan us. If anyone says, I agapao God, and hates a brother or sister, he is a liar, because the person who doesn’t agapao a brother or sister who can be seen can’t agapao God, who can’t be seen. This commandment we have from him: Those who claim to agapao God ought to agapao their brother and sister also. (1 Jn. 4:18-21)
“Let’s agapao each other, because agape is from God, and everyone who agapao is born from God, and knows God. The person who doesn’t agapao does not know God, because God is agape.” (1 Jn. 4:7 CEB)
“God is agape, and those who remain in agape remain in God and God remains in them.” (1 Jn. 4:16b CEB)
“‘You must agapao the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole being, and with your whole mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You must agapao your neighbor as you agapao yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” (Mat. 22:37-40 Common English Bible [CEB]) {an alternate translation: “‘You shall share in the agape of the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And a second is like it. ‘You shall share agape with your neighbor as you yourself [open to it].’ On these two commandments hang all the sacred way.” (based on the New Revised Standard Version)
“But I say to you, agapao your enemies and pray for those who harass you because of your faith so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven. … Therefore, just as your heavenly Father is complete in showing agape to everyone, so also you must be complete.” (Mt. 5:44-48 CEB)
“I give you a new commandment: Agapao each other. Just as I have agapan you, so you also must agapao each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you have agape for each other.” (Jn. 13:34-35 CEB)
“If you agapao me, you will keep my commandments. I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion, who will be with you forever. This Companion is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world can’t receive because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be with you.” (Jn. 14:15-17 CEB)
“Whoever agapao me will keep my Logos. My Father will agapao them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” (Jn. 14:23 CEB)
“As the Father agapan me, I too have agapan you. Remain in my agape. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my agape, just as I kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his agape. I have said these things to you so that my joy will be in you and your joy will be complete. This is my commandment: agapao each other just as I have agapan you. No one has greater agape than to give up one’s life for one’s friends. … I give you these commandments so that you can agapao each other.” (John 15:9-17 CEB)
“This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the agape of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Rom. 5:5 CEB)
“The Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words, and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what the Spirit means, and that the pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God. We know that by turning everything to their good, God cooperates with all those who agapao God.” (Rom. 8:26-28 The Jerusalem Bible)
“Nothing therefore can come between us and the agape of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked. … For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the agape of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:35-39 The Jerusalem Bible)
“Knowledge makes people arrogant, but agape builds people up. If anyone thinks they know something, they don’t yet know as much as they should know. But if someone agapao God, then they are known by God.” (1 Cor. 8:1-2 CEB)
“Now I shall show you a still more excellent way.” (1 Corinthians 12:31 The Anchor Yale Bible)
“If I speak in tongues of human beings and of angels but I don’t have agape, I’m a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and I know all mysteries and everything else, and if I have such complete faith that I can move mountains, but I don’t have agape, I’m nothing. If I give everything that I have and hand over my body to feel good about what I’ve done but I don’t have agape, I receive no benefit whatsoever. Agape is patient, agape is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, it isn’t happy with injustice, but is happy with the truth. Agape puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, endures all things. Agape never fails. … Now faith, hope, and agape remain -- these three things -- and the greatest of these is agape.” (1 Cor. 13:1-13 CEB)
“Let all your things be done with agape.” (1 Cor. 16:14 King James Version)
“Agape must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge.” (Rom. 12:9-19a New International Version)
“Serve one another in works of agape, since the whole of the Law is summarized in a single command: Agapao your neighbor as yourself.” (Gal. 5:13 The Jerusalem Bible)
“The fruit of the Spirit is agape, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal. 5:22 CEB)
“If we live by truth and in agape, we shall grow in all ways into Christ, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to its function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in agape.” (Eph. 4:15-16 The Jerusalem Bible)
“No one has ever seen God. If we agapao each other, God remains in us and his agape is made perfect in us.” (1 Jn. 4:12 CEB)
“There is no fear in agape, but perfect agape drives out fear, because fear expects punishment. The person who is afraid has not been made perfect in agape. We agapao because God first agapan us. If anyone says, I agapao God, and hates a brother or sister, he is a liar, because the person who doesn’t agapao a brother or sister who can be seen can’t agapao God, who can’t be seen. This commandment we have from him: Those who claim to agapao God ought to agapao their brother and sister also. (1 Jn. 4:18-21)
“Let’s agapao each other, because agape is from God, and everyone who agapao is born from God, and knows God. The person who doesn’t agapao does not know God, because God is agape.” (1 Jn. 4:7 CEB)
“God is agape, and those who remain in agape remain in God and God remains in them.” (1 Jn. 4:16b CEB)
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Giving back Agape
Recently I’ve been focusing on the way agape has improved my prayer life over the last few years. As I’ve mentioned before in this blog, the scripture verses that speak to much of that are Rom. 5:5; 8:26-28, which link the Holy Spirit with agape, and thus show the Holy Spirit praying through us and for us.
In those verses (Rom. 5:5; 8:26-28), we find the basis for God not only giving us the agape of God through the Holy Spirit, but also we find that when we are living with the agape of God, our best prayer practice comes out of realizing that the Holy Spirit actually is returning the agape of God from us to God. In other words, when we agapao God, it is not a case where the human generates agape for God.
The reason for accepting agape as a gift from God is because of the need for accepting the way agape flows through us. If, on the other hand, we acted as though agape was merely a form of human love, then we would have the basic attitude that we generated agape. But the best prayer practice is to be in God’s agape with God. In that spiritual sense, we would be in the agape relationship with God, that God initiated -- rather than think we ourselves are ‘loving’ God with our human-generated affection and adoration. Many religious writers (such as Thomas Merton) have called such prayer, "infused contemplation."
If I try to think of the infinite vastness of God’s Presence, I find it to be dumbfounding that any human could form a relationship with God. Such actions don’t seem to be humanly possible. Our necessary humility before the vastness of God (for example, as portrayed in the last chapters of Job), leaves us realizing that our very limited reasoning ability can’t help us begin to know how to form such a relationship.
The only way such a relationship could be possible is if God initiated it. That of course was one of the key themes of Paul’s writings. One way he expressed it is Rom. 5:5 where he said that our hope lies in the agape of God being given to us through the Holy Spirit. So the more I’ve prayed about that verse for the last several years, the more I’ve come to understand that verse to mean that agape is our God-given access to a relationship with God. In the Gospel of John it is expressed, of course, in those famous verses showing how Jesus was sent to the world to teach how to live by agape and how humans can be accepted into the eternal Life relationship with God. (Jn. 3:16-36)
It is such teaching that I bring into my prayer practices, as I open up to let God’s agape draw me close to God’s Presence.
In those verses (Rom. 5:5; 8:26-28), we find the basis for God not only giving us the agape of God through the Holy Spirit, but also we find that when we are living with the agape of God, our best prayer practice comes out of realizing that the Holy Spirit actually is returning the agape of God from us to God. In other words, when we agapao God, it is not a case where the human generates agape for God.
The reason for accepting agape as a gift from God is because of the need for accepting the way agape flows through us. If, on the other hand, we acted as though agape was merely a form of human love, then we would have the basic attitude that we generated agape. But the best prayer practice is to be in God’s agape with God. In that spiritual sense, we would be in the agape relationship with God, that God initiated -- rather than think we ourselves are ‘loving’ God with our human-generated affection and adoration. Many religious writers (such as Thomas Merton) have called such prayer, "infused contemplation."
If I try to think of the infinite vastness of God’s Presence, I find it to be dumbfounding that any human could form a relationship with God. Such actions don’t seem to be humanly possible. Our necessary humility before the vastness of God (for example, as portrayed in the last chapters of Job), leaves us realizing that our very limited reasoning ability can’t help us begin to know how to form such a relationship.
The only way such a relationship could be possible is if God initiated it. That of course was one of the key themes of Paul’s writings. One way he expressed it is Rom. 5:5 where he said that our hope lies in the agape of God being given to us through the Holy Spirit. So the more I’ve prayed about that verse for the last several years, the more I’ve come to understand that verse to mean that agape is our God-given access to a relationship with God. In the Gospel of John it is expressed, of course, in those famous verses showing how Jesus was sent to the world to teach how to live by agape and how humans can be accepted into the eternal Life relationship with God. (Jn. 3:16-36)
It is such teaching that I bring into my prayer practices, as I open up to let God’s agape draw me close to God’s Presence.
Monday, July 25, 2011
The origin of ‘Agape’
As my birthday approaches, I’ve been thinking back over the year, because annually I take time on my birthday to go over the last 12 months. So that caused me to think so much about this blog that I decided to put some of those thoughts into words here. I started this blog a year and a half ago after spending a few years puzzling about why ‘agape’ ended up getting translated into the English word ‘love.’ Finally, I tried letting my own spiritual experiences of agape inspire my understanding of what the Gospels and St. Paul were teaching by not using the common word for love.
The more I let the spiritual power of agape influence my life while I worked on this translation problem, the more I realized that a lot of confusion in modern Christian theology was caused by that problem. In fact, I saw that modern Christians would have trouble understanding the main theme of the New Testament until a change in translating happens.
Although every Christian scholar has acknowledged that translating ‘agape’ as ‘love’ caused a misunderstanding about the basic spiritual meaning of ‘agape,’ the practice continued in every translation since the 18th Century. Because St. Paul was making an important religious point by using ‘agape’ instead of any of the common Greek words for love, we do St. Paul a terrible disservice when we go against everything he was trying to do when we translate him as though he used the most common word for love, which was ‘eros.’ The same way ‘eros’ was used then is what most people today mean by the English word ‘love.’ But St. Paul never used ‘eros.’
Then I began to wonder what could have happened to allow such a blatant distortion of Christian teaching to happen. So I tried to figure out what possible reason could have allowed such a radical misunderstanding to happen in modern Christianity.
But the only reason I have been able to find is the complete lack of any adequate word in English. So ‘love’ became sort of a fall-back substitute. And yet, there must have been something similar between the meanings of the 2 words so that translators could have been willing to use ‘love’ as a substitute translation of ‘agape’ until someone could come up with a better word someday.
So lately I’ve been looking back on my spiritual experiences of agape to try sensing a similarity to love. I think I found the first similarity in the sensation of being drawn into a closeness with divine Presence. This similarity is especially clear during a spiritual, joy-filled sensation of being lovingly opened to and engulfed with Presence. After all, the only way that humans could possibly be able to have such a spiritual awakening is by God giving the means for such access. Of course, from our very limited capability to express with English, we call the feeling of such spiritual sensation of well-being, acceptance, and exhilaration -- “being loved by God.”
And next then, of course, is the extension of agape power out into relationships with other beings. One of the profound biblical insights involves the way our relationship of agape with God inspires and motivates relationships of agape with “our neighbor.” So here again, our very limited English vocabulary makes it hard to find words to express a spiritual basis for intense intimacy, affection, respect and caring. There is no word that expresses a spiritual meaning for total, complete acceptance, support, and commitment-without-the-beloved-needing-to-fulfill-any-conditions. Many writers have been forced to use the strange 2-word expression, ‘unconditional love.’ But that's really not expressing a spiritual meaning, so they try giving a spiritual meaning by using the cumbersome phrase, ‘divine love given to another person.’
I think St. Paul initially had the same problem with the Greek language. None of the normal words in common, everyday usage carried any spiritual meaning. Also he seemed to be trying to explain that only through a profound walk with God can a person begin to truly, deeply understand what happens when God opens us up and draws us into a close experience of Presence. No ordinary word could possibly help with such an explanation.
Because Paul studied with a few of the best scholars of his region, he would have known about the 70 scholars in Alexandria who translated the Torah into Greek (the Septuagint). As far as I can track it, that translation seemed to have been the first time when the verb form of ‘agape’ was used in the important Jewish ‘Shema’ (that Jesus used for the Great Commandment). And at the time of the Septuagint translation, ‘agape’ was an unusual, archaic word. So when the teachings of Jesus were translated into Greek, that version of the Shema became the clue to use ‘agape’ and the verb form, ‘agapao,’ throughout the Gospels. For example in Matthew’s version, Jesus added a second commandment that was “like” the first: “You shall agapao your neighbor as yourself.”
So I speculated that Paul used the Greek translation of the Shema to get the idea to use that unusual, archaic word ‘agape’ as a spiritual word. Paul used that idea to begin teaching that God’s agape not only opened us to divine Presence, but also agape opened us up to intense intimacy, affection, respect and caring with those around us. What an insight to show agape’s double power! So by the time Paul wrote the letter to the Romans, he could express that through giving agape to humans, God makes it possible for us to be able to find the profound level of intimate, intense affection such that we can give full acceptance and mutual respect to everyone around us. And Paul also explained that only the power of God’s Presence can transform a human life to perform such profound actions. (After all, how many times have you heard people complain that such actions "are not humanly possible.")
As I look back over the last few years, I try to see how I’ve been slowly transformed by living my daily life in the reality of such spiritual flow. Even though I still have times when I let myself get overly tired and frustrated, I still find I have been increasing the depth, spiritually, of concern, caring, and compassion in my relationships. The only word that expresses the spiritual depth of such living is ‘agape.’
The more I let the spiritual power of agape influence my life while I worked on this translation problem, the more I realized that a lot of confusion in modern Christian theology was caused by that problem. In fact, I saw that modern Christians would have trouble understanding the main theme of the New Testament until a change in translating happens.
Although every Christian scholar has acknowledged that translating ‘agape’ as ‘love’ caused a misunderstanding about the basic spiritual meaning of ‘agape,’ the practice continued in every translation since the 18th Century. Because St. Paul was making an important religious point by using ‘agape’ instead of any of the common Greek words for love, we do St. Paul a terrible disservice when we go against everything he was trying to do when we translate him as though he used the most common word for love, which was ‘eros.’ The same way ‘eros’ was used then is what most people today mean by the English word ‘love.’ But St. Paul never used ‘eros.’
Then I began to wonder what could have happened to allow such a blatant distortion of Christian teaching to happen. So I tried to figure out what possible reason could have allowed such a radical misunderstanding to happen in modern Christianity.
But the only reason I have been able to find is the complete lack of any adequate word in English. So ‘love’ became sort of a fall-back substitute. And yet, there must have been something similar between the meanings of the 2 words so that translators could have been willing to use ‘love’ as a substitute translation of ‘agape’ until someone could come up with a better word someday.
So lately I’ve been looking back on my spiritual experiences of agape to try sensing a similarity to love. I think I found the first similarity in the sensation of being drawn into a closeness with divine Presence. This similarity is especially clear during a spiritual, joy-filled sensation of being lovingly opened to and engulfed with Presence. After all, the only way that humans could possibly be able to have such a spiritual awakening is by God giving the means for such access. Of course, from our very limited capability to express with English, we call the feeling of such spiritual sensation of well-being, acceptance, and exhilaration -- “being loved by God.”
And next then, of course, is the extension of agape power out into relationships with other beings. One of the profound biblical insights involves the way our relationship of agape with God inspires and motivates relationships of agape with “our neighbor.” So here again, our very limited English vocabulary makes it hard to find words to express a spiritual basis for intense intimacy, affection, respect and caring. There is no word that expresses a spiritual meaning for total, complete acceptance, support, and commitment-without-the-beloved-needing-to-fulfill-any-conditions. Many writers have been forced to use the strange 2-word expression, ‘unconditional love.’ But that's really not expressing a spiritual meaning, so they try giving a spiritual meaning by using the cumbersome phrase, ‘divine love given to another person.’
I think St. Paul initially had the same problem with the Greek language. None of the normal words in common, everyday usage carried any spiritual meaning. Also he seemed to be trying to explain that only through a profound walk with God can a person begin to truly, deeply understand what happens when God opens us up and draws us into a close experience of Presence. No ordinary word could possibly help with such an explanation.
Because Paul studied with a few of the best scholars of his region, he would have known about the 70 scholars in Alexandria who translated the Torah into Greek (the Septuagint). As far as I can track it, that translation seemed to have been the first time when the verb form of ‘agape’ was used in the important Jewish ‘Shema’ (that Jesus used for the Great Commandment). And at the time of the Septuagint translation, ‘agape’ was an unusual, archaic word. So when the teachings of Jesus were translated into Greek, that version of the Shema became the clue to use ‘agape’ and the verb form, ‘agapao,’ throughout the Gospels. For example in Matthew’s version, Jesus added a second commandment that was “like” the first: “You shall agapao your neighbor as yourself.”
So I speculated that Paul used the Greek translation of the Shema to get the idea to use that unusual, archaic word ‘agape’ as a spiritual word. Paul used that idea to begin teaching that God’s agape not only opened us to divine Presence, but also agape opened us up to intense intimacy, affection, respect and caring with those around us. What an insight to show agape’s double power! So by the time Paul wrote the letter to the Romans, he could express that through giving agape to humans, God makes it possible for us to be able to find the profound level of intimate, intense affection such that we can give full acceptance and mutual respect to everyone around us. And Paul also explained that only the power of God’s Presence can transform a human life to perform such profound actions. (After all, how many times have you heard people complain that such actions "are not humanly possible.")
As I look back over the last few years, I try to see how I’ve been slowly transformed by living my daily life in the reality of such spiritual flow. Even though I still have times when I let myself get overly tired and frustrated, I still find I have been increasing the depth, spiritually, of concern, caring, and compassion in my relationships. The only word that expresses the spiritual depth of such living is ‘agape.’
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The active presence of Agape in life
In my previous posting I commented on St. Paul’s profound point that we should use agape to do everything that we do in life (1 Cor. 16:14). (And of course, that verse makes a lot more sense when we leave ‘agape’ untranslated, to carry the meaning of powerful faith, instead of weakening his point by using the common English word ‘love.’)
I’ve been trying to follow the meaning of that verse by extending my ‘agape prayer’ beyond my early morning prayer practice. I try letting my experience of the spiritual power of agape extend out in various ways so that I center the activities of my daily life around experiencing agape flowing through me. But... I’m finding it hard to remember to do that in many times during mundane activities. Usually, to see the meaning, I have to wait til the end of the day then reflect back over the times when I was able to experience momentary centering. As I do that looking back, I try finding a pattern to my day that can show me how to be more effective in centering my life with agape.
In that way I’ve been using the pattern-building process, stretched out over a few years, to realize how agape power has opened up my life from the very depths of my being and helped me over the years with my growth in faith. So my commitment is to focus on agape-flow in daily prayer exercises and then find ways throughout the day to let agape flow through me. During all this time it has been increasingly important to my faith development to continue to experience agape as a flowing spiritual power that opens me to ACCESS spiritual Presence all around me, within me, and extending infinitely.
As I look back over the last few years, I try to see how I’ve been slowly transformed by living my daily life in the reality of such spiritual flow. Even though I still have times when I let myself get overly tired and frustrated, I still find I've been increasing the depth of concern, caring, and compassion in my relationships. And I’ve always included in relationships: non-human creatures, and the rest of Creation. Then I try to experience this happening as others are drawn into this flow because of my participation in it and openness to it’s permeating all my living.
I’m confident that this process is available to everyone who is willing to prayerfully open up to find how God is pouring agape into our hearts. I’ve continued to read comments from more and more people, and it’s becoming apparent that a wide-spread change in perspective is happening as the experiencing of agape is spreading and the awareness is increasing. Of course, very few people recognize that it is agape.
As people describe their spiritual breakthroughs, they write about the exhilaration that brings a sense of freeing up of perspective on living. That change of perspective also allows people to see our period of history in a new light. More and more people are describing a greater awareness as people break free from the deadly, destructive perspectives that have held people back for too many centuries.
That’s why I describe what I’ve experienced as agape bringing “sacred freedom.” Not only does agape open people to new faith awareness, but also agape opens up relationships to new possibilities.
So I feel a similar hope to St. Paul’s when he expressed his hope in terms of the spiritual power of agape pouring into the heart of a faithful person (Rom. 5:5 -- if we leave ‘agape’ as its original Greek word). And so as more and more people are opened up spiritually to receive agape, each can experience agape’s power of patience and kindness. So that brings us back to 1 Cor. 13 and the wise rejoicing in the truth. In that chapter (when we leave ‘agape’ untranslated) we find the basis of true, charitable, profound compassion (as a religious principle; instead of the common English word ‘love’). And so we can let the Greek word ‘agape’ help us see the implication of 1 Cor. 13:1-3 -- if we don’t live by that spiritual power God gives us, then there is the despair of futility as all the words of the world are nothing more than clanging gongs or clashing cymbals (or symbols?), and all the knowledge of philosophy and the prophecies of religion are nothing, and all charitable acts amount to nothing. Those are harsh words indeed from a man who was forced to witness the pathetic results of trying to build a religion without the spiritual basis of accepting the gift of agape from God. But of course, he also witnessed the profound hope from people being opened up to sense God’s Presence in Life.
I’ve been trying to follow the meaning of that verse by extending my ‘agape prayer’ beyond my early morning prayer practice. I try letting my experience of the spiritual power of agape extend out in various ways so that I center the activities of my daily life around experiencing agape flowing through me. But... I’m finding it hard to remember to do that in many times during mundane activities. Usually, to see the meaning, I have to wait til the end of the day then reflect back over the times when I was able to experience momentary centering. As I do that looking back, I try finding a pattern to my day that can show me how to be more effective in centering my life with agape.
In that way I’ve been using the pattern-building process, stretched out over a few years, to realize how agape power has opened up my life from the very depths of my being and helped me over the years with my growth in faith. So my commitment is to focus on agape-flow in daily prayer exercises and then find ways throughout the day to let agape flow through me. During all this time it has been increasingly important to my faith development to continue to experience agape as a flowing spiritual power that opens me to ACCESS spiritual Presence all around me, within me, and extending infinitely.
As I look back over the last few years, I try to see how I’ve been slowly transformed by living my daily life in the reality of such spiritual flow. Even though I still have times when I let myself get overly tired and frustrated, I still find I've been increasing the depth of concern, caring, and compassion in my relationships. And I’ve always included in relationships: non-human creatures, and the rest of Creation. Then I try to experience this happening as others are drawn into this flow because of my participation in it and openness to it’s permeating all my living.
I’m confident that this process is available to everyone who is willing to prayerfully open up to find how God is pouring agape into our hearts. I’ve continued to read comments from more and more people, and it’s becoming apparent that a wide-spread change in perspective is happening as the experiencing of agape is spreading and the awareness is increasing. Of course, very few people recognize that it is agape.
As people describe their spiritual breakthroughs, they write about the exhilaration that brings a sense of freeing up of perspective on living. That change of perspective also allows people to see our period of history in a new light. More and more people are describing a greater awareness as people break free from the deadly, destructive perspectives that have held people back for too many centuries.
That’s why I describe what I’ve experienced as agape bringing “sacred freedom.” Not only does agape open people to new faith awareness, but also agape opens up relationships to new possibilities.
So I feel a similar hope to St. Paul’s when he expressed his hope in terms of the spiritual power of agape pouring into the heart of a faithful person (Rom. 5:5 -- if we leave ‘agape’ as its original Greek word). And so as more and more people are opened up spiritually to receive agape, each can experience agape’s power of patience and kindness. So that brings us back to 1 Cor. 13 and the wise rejoicing in the truth. In that chapter (when we leave ‘agape’ untranslated) we find the basis of true, charitable, profound compassion (as a religious principle; instead of the common English word ‘love’). And so we can let the Greek word ‘agape’ help us see the implication of 1 Cor. 13:1-3 -- if we don’t live by that spiritual power God gives us, then there is the despair of futility as all the words of the world are nothing more than clanging gongs or clashing cymbals (or symbols?), and all the knowledge of philosophy and the prophecies of religion are nothing, and all charitable acts amount to nothing. Those are harsh words indeed from a man who was forced to witness the pathetic results of trying to build a religion without the spiritual basis of accepting the gift of agape from God. But of course, he also witnessed the profound hope from people being opened up to sense God’s Presence in Life.
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