The Holy Spirit guiding Agape

In my last posting to this blog I wrote about connecting Rom. 5:5 with Rom. 12:3-23. Now I’ll take that a step more.

Early in this Letter to the Romans, Paul reported that his hope for the human race came from the spiritual power of the agape of God, that was “poured” into the hearts of faithful people (5:5). Then later he talked about the victory that was won through Christ Jesus bringing his followers agape. And Paul proclaimed that such victory gave us spiritual bonding so strong that nothing can separate us from the agape of God -- “not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created.” (8:35-39 Common English Bible)

Then most of chapter 12 is a list of practical actions. He began by urging followers of Christ to let the Holy Spirit transform their minds so they do not conform to the patterns of their present age of history. Then beginning with vs. 9 he focused on the actions that spiritual agape helps us do when we let it open us to its spiritual flow in our life. He wrote about the way agape’s power, when we let it work in our relationships, helps us work for good against evil. For example -- be welcoming and hospitable to strangers, and bless people who harass you.

When describing good, healthful relationships, he gave the illustration of treating others as kind family members would treat each other — with respect, showing honor toward other people. Also he showed how agape helps faithful people not be conceited or proud, but live in harmony and peace with everyone, even to the point of blessing those you disagree with or who would persecute you. When he pointed out the strengthening aspects of agape, he described the way that spiritual energy helps with being patient in affliction (note, he didn’t insinuate that we would in any way escape affliction -- all of the great examples from the New Testament, from Jesus to the Disciples to Paul, had to go through afflictions).

When emphasizing the important power agape had with bringing empathy to people, Paul wrote: “Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying. Consider everyone as equal, and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else. … If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. Don’t try to take revenge. … If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom. 12:15-23 Common English Bible)

What we can so very clearly see in Romans is that when we keep agape connected with the Holy Spirit, it can transform people to be kind, compassionate, and charitable with everyone. Agape guided by the Holy Spirit can overcome that most dangerous part of human societies -- God’s agape can actually break down that old worldly pattern of taking revenge against enemies that mistakenly tries to overcome evil with evil. Paul knew how truly that was needed because of, partly, what he saw going on in towns and cities from Jerusalem through Turkey and Greece, all the way to Rome.

And so after the last several hundred years of increasing evidence throughout the globe, we can see, as Paul did, that through agape, the Holy Spirit liberates our mind from the old pattern of history in order to take part in the new way of living. Only spiritual energy is powerful enough to bring about such liberation. Thus agape works with the Holy Spirit to open us and liberate us when we tap into its spiritual flowing.


Agape and Compassion

For the last few decades we’ve been hearing people talking more and more about compassion. I think that is a way to overcome the problems of confusion with the English word ‘love.’ There also has been increased work on the spiritual meaning in compassion. All this could mean that ‘compassion’ is a much better English word to use to translate ‘agape.’ But of course, even though it is closer to agape’s meaning than the word ‘love,’ it still falls short of the full meaning of agape.

One person who did a masterful job of finding spiritual meaning in ‘compassion’ is Matthew Fox, the Episcopalian priest (who was kicked out of the Roman Catholic Church). In his 1979 book titled A Spirituality named Compassion, he started by talking about the way joy shows the difference between true compassion and mere pity. Then he quoted an old German proverb used in Max Scheler’s The Nature of Sympathy:
    “A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved; but a joy shared is a joy doubled.” (p. 3)

Fox considered compassion to be our “richest energy source.” And yet, in our period of history, “compassion remains an energy source that goes largely unexplored, untapped and unwanted … almost in exile.” And that problem makes everyone into victims -- “and all dying from lack of compassion.” But he deeply believed that, as hard as it is do, all people were capable of learning compassion -- as a better way of living, “a more fun-filled and justice-oriented way.”

He quoted 1 John 3:17-18 to show the Early Church’s connection between justice and the agape of God,

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but closed his heart to him, how can the [agape] of God be in him? Dear children, our [agape] is not to be just words or mere talk, but actions and in truth."

When I look back all the way throughout the last 2,000 years, I find it tragic that something as centrally important to the start of Christianity as agape -- somehow got lost. It is now absolutely crucial to the future of Christianity that we bring agape out of its deep exile and find its meaning for our period of history. This recovery is so crucial that Christianity does not have much of a future without doing that.

When agape was mentioned in the 12th and 16th Centuries, the English word used to translate it was ‘charity’ because of the understanding that the highest form of agape leads to works of feeding, sheltering, clothing, educating, counseling, comforting, forgiving, and providing the necessities of drink and medicine. Did that mean that the system of justice needed to be set up in society so that people who did have those necessities were able to receive them? And of course we remember how Jesus used the Parable of the Good Samaritan to show that agape had to lead to actions of helping people, even if those people were being discriminated against by the society. These were seen to be acts of justice-making. 

Unfortunately, in the 18th and 19th Centuries, many people in positions of power and authority felt threatened by too many people receiving such help to lift them out of poverty, so processes were set in motion to destroy the good meaning involved with the word ‘charity.’ But we now know that agape means all that and so much more.

Even today there are many people who are so threatened by talk about justice that they will rant and rave against churches that preach about the need for Christians to work for social justice. That is why it’s so important to keep in mind the connections between agape and justice-making.

But the Apostle Paul understood this fully, as we see in the way he put together the 2 Great Commandments from Jesus: “The whole of the law is summarized in a single command: ‘Have [agape] for your neighbor as yourself.’” (Gal. 5:14) Agape is what brings together our neighbor and our God. Others in the Early Church also understood that it is our works of agape, shown in helping others, that will constitute the dwelling of God among us. (1 Jn. 4:12)