The
word “charity” is generally rendered “love” in just about any other translation
of the Bible. The King James use of the word “charity” is something that may be
instructive, if we take advantage of it. After all, the Greek word translated here
as “charity” is agape’ (ἀγάπη), and in most places the King James Bible also translates it as “love.”
One example is Romans 5:5: “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is
shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Notice,
this love, agape’, is not just any
love. It is the love of God. Well, if this is God’s own love, how can we be
expected to have it ourselves? The answer is twofold.
First of all, it is in the
verse itself: “…the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost
which is given unto us.” It is God’s own love, resident by grace, in the
human heart. Second, as we continue to read, we see these words: “For when we
were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For
scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some
would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (vs.6-8).” God commends His love,
once again, His agape’ (His charity,
or if you prefer Latin, His caritas).
This special love, the
love of God, is given to us, that is made to grow within us, by the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit also makes us understand this particular love by seeing
it in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. He had said, the night before His
death, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends (John 15:13).” It has been said before that Jesus showed something greater
than mere human love, that is Divine love, by dying for His enemies. And,
though I appreciate a measure of truth in that statement, I prefer to take it a
step further. In the following verse Jesus said, “Ye are my friends, if ye do
whatsoever I command you (v.14).” Yet, His death is once for all, for every
human being, every sinner, who has ever lived (Hebrews 10:10, John 1:29, I John
2:2). That is, from the Divine perspective, everyone has been treated as a
friend, even the worst enemies who were crucifying Him. That is what His cross
and death were about, reconciling the lost and fallen world to God. To whatever
degree you may have ever acted like an enemy of God, on the cross Jesus has treated
you as if you were a friend; for He gave His life for you.
To experience Divine love for
others as a gift, as grace, planted within you, as the fruit of the Spirit
(Galatians 5:22f) that grows within you, you need to receive the Holy Spirit.
He alone can make this happen within your heart. It is more than natural love.
It is supernatural love. In our Epistle reading this day, that most famous
passage St. Paul
The reason charity “endureth
all things” and “never faileth” is because it is God’s love. Faith works, love
labors and hope endures. But, it is all because God’s children have the grace
of God that comes only from the Holy Spirit “shed abroad in our hearts.”
Without the Holy Spirit, you may love and love deeply. But, only with the grace
that comes from the Holy Spirit, can you love perfectly. It is more than
emotion; it is always giving. It
doesn’t tire out when you come to the end of your own strength. Indeed, it may even begin there.
And, as we have seen, you
cannot understand this love unless you understand what Jesus did for you on the
cross, when “He poured out His soul unto death (Isaiah 53:12)” to pay the full
price for all of your sins. God commended His love to us, sinners, unworthy,
indeed guilty before God, in that Christ died for us.
How astounding are the
words of St. Paul
“And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not
love, I am nothing (v.2).”
Remember these words
from the sermon on the Mount:
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in
thy name? and in thy name have cast out demons? and in thy name done many
wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you:
depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:22,23) .”
What do we learn from
this? That even power to work miracles, even great knowledge and understanding,
are no mark of a holy life. Since the Apostles went out and worked miracles,
sent by Jesus to “every village and town” while He was with them on earth, we
may be sure that Judas worked miracles too. It is no proof whatsoever of
sainthood. That is because it is God’s work, not man’s. A holy person, a
saint, cannot heal you by his own power anyway. And, evil men may still have
the gifts and callings of God, even the power to work miracles (Romans 11:29).
Then we look at these
words from today’s Epistle reading (again let me use the RSV):
“If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but
have not love, I gain nothing (v.3).”
Why is that? Well, if you understand anything
at all about the Gospel, you should know that good works do not atone for sin.
Who, not having the love of God shed abroad in their hearts, go to great
lengths such as we read about here? Is it not those who believe that they can
atone for their own sins? Is it not those who believe they can earn God’s
favor? But you cannot earn God’s favor, and you cannot atone for your own soul,
neither for that of anyone else (“They that trust in their wealth, and boast
themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any
means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.” -Psalm 49:6, 7).
One and only one atonement has ever been
made. Every Old Testament sacrifice was a sacrament that would have meant
nothing apart from Christ coming and fulfilling the whole Law, and offering
Himself for sin. And, when you confess and repent, it is not atonement; you are
not paying for your sins with
penance. You can’t pay for them. Listen and hear the words again: “But God commendeth
his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Let those words sink down into your ears. Let them take hold in your heart. That, His death, is the only price that
has ever been paid, ever could be paid, or, indeed, that we need to have paid,
for our sins.
So, of course, you “gain
nothing.” Of course “it profiteth me nothing.” It cannot anyway, nor have we
need of any such thing to be justified by God.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10).”
What then about good works
that God has “prepared for us to walk in?” Are they not the fruit of love, of agape’ shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit? Are they not
the spontaneous response of a true believer, because you simply cannot do
otherwise, and could not let yourself turn away? The person who acts from this
love of God is not seeking to profit, not looking to gain, anything. Such a person
knows how to depend on the Holy Spirit, and such a person is grateful always to
God for the atoning death of Jesus Christ by which salvation has been freely
given. So, such a person will always treat even “one of the least of these” as
if he was serving the needs of the Lord Jesus Himself (Matthew 25:31-46).
“And now abideth faith,
hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” For, that is
no less than the presence of God Himself, for “God is Love” – “God is agape’ (I John 4:8, 16).”
3 comments:
Dear Fr Hart,
Was giving one's body to be burned considered an act of piety among the Jews?
Jay
Jay,
I am wondering if you are referring to the worship of Baal? From the net: Ritualistic Baal worship, in sum, looked a little like this: Adults would gather around the altar of Baal. Infants would then be burned alive as a sacrificial offering to the deity. Amid horrific screams and the stench of charred human flesh, congregants – men and women alike – would engage in bisexual orgies. The ritual of convenience was intended to produce economic prosperity by prompting Baal to bring rain for the fertility of “mother earth.”
More from the net: The Israelites never abandoned the worship of Yahweh. They simply added the worship of Ba‘al to their worship of Yahweh (called syncretism). When crops were abundant, Ba‘al was praised and thanked for his abundant rain. It is in this context that drought had such impact throughout the biblical traditions. Not only was lack of rain a threat to survival, it was also a sign that the gods of the Ba‘al myth were unhappy. It is this context that the "contest" between Elijah and the prophets of Ba’al carries such significance. The issue is really who controls the rain, Ba‘al or Yahweh.
Further summation, from the net: The Israelites struggled with Ba‘al worship until the time of the exile, especially in the more agrarian areas of the northern Kingdom of Israel (also due to some degree to its official establishment as a state religion in the North for a time during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel, c. 850 BC). However, as Jeremiah makes clear, it was a recurring problem in the Southern Kingdom as well. Largely due to Jeremiah’s insistence that the nation would fall because of its lack of commitment to God exemplified in its dabbling in Ba‘al worship, the problem faded after the return from exile in 538. While there were traces of it later, Ba‘al worship was never again the problem that it was prior to the Exile. The Judaism that emerged after the exile in the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah was passionately monotheistic, and has remained so ever since.
The above text by Dennis Bratcher.
Susan
I think St. Paul may have been thinking of the kind of martyrdom described in II Maccabees.
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