THE PATHWAY TO LOVE PART TWO
In the final and full revelation of God, we encounter Jesus, the true image of God. As the letter to the Hebrews tells us: “In times past, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways to our fathers through the prophets; in this. The final age, he has spoken to us through his Son, who he has made heir of all things and through whom he first created the universe, who is the refulgence, the very imprint of his being and who sustains all things by his mighty word.” (Heb 1:1-3)
Jesus offers a radically new image of God from the image that had been evolving over the centuries in the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus, the Word of God, teaches us who God is in a definitive way. The God of the New Testament does not want to be served by us but wants to serve us. This God’s idea of privilege is not the highest but the bottom. This God identifies with the sufferings of the poor, neglected and isolated. The God revealed by Jesus is one of compassion and mercy, of liberation and deliverance from every oppressive situation. The God of Jesus does not deny the importance of our humanity but offers its truest and most authentic expression in the life of Jesus, the Son of God.
There is a compelling contrast between the teachings of John the Baptist and Jesus. John had the message of Deuteronomy: repent or pay the price of calamitous consequences. Jesus also preached repentance. However, his call to repentance was followed by an invitation to accept the mercy and love of God that is always there.
In I John 4:8 we read the conclusion of the Bible’s revelation of God: “God is love.” In Jesus, we learn what love is.
The God of Jesus put no condition on God’s love. This teaching cast away the fear wrapped up in John’s preaching. The unconditional love proclaimed by Jesus links with the three hundred plus times Scripture says. “Don’t be afraid.” Each time this expression of God’s providence is proclaimed, it always is in the context of a message of God’s loving presence.
Jesus’ teachings do not come easily. They demand reflection, prayer and committed lived experience. All of this takes place over a long period of time. The message slowly takes root in our heart. The task of getting to know Jesus is never done. John of the Cross explains it this way:
“There is much to fathom in Christ, for he is like an abundant mine with many recesses of treasures so that however deep individuals may go they never reach the end or bottom, but rather in every recess find new veins with new riches everywhere.” (C.3.7.4)
The more one grapples with Jesus and his message, the more the image of God is changing, becoming more real, more connected to all of one’s life experiences, both good and bad. The Christian way is a process of slowly learning what true love is and who God is.
Jesus never taught God loves us if… He taught simply, God loves us: no conditions, no limits! This was most evident on the Cross: “Father, forgive them they know not what they do.” (Lk 23:34)
Reflection on the life and teachings of Jesus opens the story of the Bible in its entirety. It is a love story. God loves us and God accepts us not because we are good but because God is good. Karl Barth, a great Protestant theologian of the last century put it this way. It is not the natural therefore but the miraculous nevertheless. It is not that we are unworthy therefore God rejects us. It is that we are unworthy nevertheless God embraces us.
Thomas Merton caught the wonder of this mystery of love and our image of God in his text, The New Man (p 96)
“One of the keys to real religious experience is the shattering realization that no matter how hateful we are to ourselves, we are not hateful to God. This realization helps us to understand the difference between our love and His. Our love is a need, His a gift. We need to see good in ourselves in order to love ourselves. He does not. He loves us not because we are good, but because he is.”
Teresa of Avila put it more simply when she declared a truth about herself that applies to all of us. “The story of my life is the story of God’s mercy.” It is good to remember that this message of love does not remove our moral responsibility. It does, however, transform it from a burden to a joy.
All of this growth in depth and wisdom about the image of God always leads to self-knowledge. The more authentic our image of God the more we will truly know ourselves. This is absolutely essential to knowing God. This is the true pathway to love.
