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The Greatest Gift The greatest gift of the Holy Spirit is love as the holy apostle St. Paul reveals in his first letter to the Christians at Corinth (I Cor. 13) In this beautiful panegyric, the apostle outlines exactly how we may know we are moving in Christ footsteps towards heaven under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit towards God the Father. Our greatest gift to others is when we employ this holy gift of God; our greatest failing is when this gift is turned in on itself and replaced with egocentricism or self-love. No virtue, no prayer, no amount of fasting or asceticism has any value unless it is offered with love. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7 Giving of ourselves to God and to one another mirrors God's great love for us. We can have faith which produces miracles, but if these are not performed with love they are nothing: "You believe there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble." James 2:19 The demons believe but they do not love God and His Creation. St. Maximus the Confessor c. A.D. 580-662 quotes Jeremiah :" " Do not say you are the Temple of the Lord,"(Jer.7:4); nor should you say that faith alone in Our Lord Jesus Christ can save you, for this is impossible unless you acquire love for Him through your works."(The Philokalia Vol. II p.5 " When the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in man, He produces true love in his heart. True love in the heart is like a pure fire or warmth that sets a person aglow; it is the root which produces within him all good works. For a person animated by true love, there is nothing difficult, terrifying or impossible; for him no laws or commandments are hard, and all are attainable." St. Innocent of Alaska. Sermons: The Gift of the Holy Spirit. God bestows the power of love in His kingdom to overcome the everyday irritations and disappointments as much as the major catastrophes that may beset us, for nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. (Romans.8: 39) "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." I Cor.13: 7 The strength of love is enduring and positive; it enables us to cope with the burdens that others place upon us and the difficulties of living in the world. Despite the battles and hardships, strengthened by the love of Christ we remain more than conquerors. Love is greater than miracles and mighty works because with love you can perform even greater miracles for God; not simply for an individual but drawing many without public demonstration by the example of your love to God. Love unites the world, builds bridges between peoples of different cultures and becomes the greatest miracle of all. Love like God is infinite in nature. It is indeed fitting that the verb to love in Greek "agapo " begins with an Alpha and ends with an Omega the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Mankind was created because of Love and for love; we must be filled with love if we are to live correctly and at ease and in harmony with our Creator and one another. The greatest dis-ease is the lack of love that separates us from each other, distorts and warps our sensitivities towards indifference and that eventually slowly mortifies our spirit. Nothing in this world but God's love can fill our hearts or satisfy our desires because nothing else is big enough. The thirst that mankind has cannot be quenched with the material goods of this world for we do not belong to the world. We are pilgrims in this world and citizens of heaven and only the Love that came down to man from heaven can quench the thirst of our desires. From womb to tomb love is the essential life force, which is reflected in the procreation of children and in the remembrance for the departed. Love is the characteristic of the spiritual life as portrayed by the Church Fathers and especially of the ascetics and desert hermits. They urge us to love unconditionally, without limits or restrictions. St. Isaac the Syrian understands love as the merciful heart. You love with an ardent, warm and merciful heart when you love all creation, all mankind, birds, animal, demons." Christ himself in His Sermon on the Mount tells us to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, to do good to those who hate us and to pray for those who persecute and use us. (Matt 5:44) These are not simply alternative options they are divine imperatives! We give opportunity to the evil one when we respond to unkind words and actions with spitefulness but when we respond with love then the argument, the feud, the war cannot be maintained. In a real sense Love is unanswerable-it is the final word as well as being the first Word. The Desert Father Abba Poeman reflecting on Christ's own words said: " There is no greater love than a man lays down his life for his neighbour. When you hear someone complaining and you struggle with yourself and do not answer him back with complaints; when you are hurt and bear it patiently, not looking for revenge; then you are laying down your life for your neighbour." It is the nature of Love to pour itself everywhere, according to Gregory the Theologian. Love shines its light upon both the evil and the good. (Matt.5: 45) As the sun warms the body of a man so the soul of a man is warmed by love. However, we must never imagine that Christian love is the soft, sloppy sentimentalism of romantic novels or weakness that allows all things. Rather, Christian love is resilient and tough, measured and considered in the light of Christ. The warmth of love is accompanied by the light of love; compassion is attended by wisdom. "Behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."(Matt.10: 16) To avoid unnecessary harm Christian love must be exercised with discernment and gentleness. We are to accept this most Holy Gift of love and to use it. However, it cannot be a mere passive acceptance on our part, it has to be striven for with an earnest desire. St. John Chrysostom urges us to pursue, chase and strain after the love of God and to make every effort to retain her. In this we give the ultimate Glory to the Father through the Son and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Here on earth it is through reflection- a mirror but then face to face, since we are all icons of God made in His image. Our life is complete when we shine with the uncreated light of God in the love of the Blessed and Undivided Trinity. Fr. Jonathan Hemmings |
