Contemplation of Brotherly Love

During the month of September, the Polish National Catholic Church celebrates the special Solemnity of Brother Love on the second Sunday.  We are reminded here that the one English word “love” is actually the translation of several words in the Greek New Testament, each of which have slightly different meanings.  And of course, we know this as well within English since when we say such things as, I love my husband or wife, or I love my children or I  love chocolate chip cookies, we don’t exactly mean the same thing.  In English this shows up in the context of the passage, in Greek it’s found in the word itself.

But one place in which we find a bit of difficulty here is in dealing with our relationship with Almighty God.  It is an issue that existed in the time of the biblical writings, but I think that it has become a more serious issue as time has gone on.  What is said within Scripture regarding this situation can certainly allow us to consider the issue today.

The word that is usually translated as “love” in our relationship with Almighty God is the one which in some way means “all self-sacrificing love.”  While this is certainly a wonderful attitude to bring to our relationship with Almighty God, we might do so to the exclusion of everything and everyone else.  It is for this reason that on the Solemnity of Brother Love we have the second reading from the First Letter of St. John which states: “We love because He first loved us.  Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.  The commandment we have from Him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.” (1 John 4:19-21)

We realize here that the ‘all self-sacrificing love’ of God must infuse every other type of love and relationship that we have within our lives.  In this special solemnity of the P.N.C.C. we emphasize that the ‘all self-sacrificing love’ of God, and the ‘brotherly love’ shown to those we encounter within our daily living are really the same thing, and therefore must mutually strengthen each other.

As we celebrate this solemnity as well, we are encouraged to allow this attitude of Brotherly Love to inform and penetrate the reflections and considerations that we have throughout the entire liturgical year.  During the most recent weeks of Ordinary Time, we have been focused on the journey of Jesus from the Galilee region to Jerusalem where He will finally undergo His Passion, Death and Resurrection.  Several times within these Gospel readings from St. Mark, we hear this referred to as being “on the way.”  While we certainly can see this in the literal reading as Jesus is traveling on the road from Galilee to Jerusalem, we can also see it as something more.  Traveling with Jesus is something that we are all called to do during our entire lives.  We remember that Jesus said, not only to Thomas, but to all of us that, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)  So the way of life is not just following Jesus, it is also being united to Him, as He is the way.

As an extension of the attitude of Brotherly Love during these weeks following the Solemnity, the second reading during Holy Mass in these Ordinary Time Sundays is taken from the Letter of St. James.  The entire letter is rather short and I encourage everyone to read the entire letter during this time of year and see how we can apply the teaching within it to the daily living of being on the “way” of life with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Just to take a quick look within the letter itself we can find many ways in which our faith in Christ and our love of Almighty God can be lived out among our brothers and sisters.  St. James reminds us: “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.  For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.  But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act – they will be blessed in their doing.  If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:22-27)

Likewise, the Letter of St. James goes on to give many examples of this principle to be “doers of the Word and not merely hearers.”  “You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” (James 2:8)  And especially the Letter shows us that if we try to separate the love of God from the love of a brother or sister then mere sentiment or good wishes is never enough.  It states: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?  Can faith save you?  If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?  So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” (James 2:14-17)

And further the Letter of James also reminds us of our relationship to the world at large, and especially as so much of our world today lives and operates apart from the knowledge and worship of God: “Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from?  Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you?  You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder.  And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts.  You do not have, because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasurers.” (James 4:1-3) 

And the Letter of James finally gives the remedy to this situation as well: “Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Lament and mourn and weep.  Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (James 4:7-10)

So, my brothers and sisters, members of our Holy Church, we have celebrated the Solemnity of Brotherly Love to remind ourselves to apply the love that we profess for Almighty God to our neighbors, to those with whom we share our daily lives.  As I encourage all to read through the short Letter of St. James in this month of September, the month of Brotherly Love, let’s apply this brotherly love within every moment of our lives.

“Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Romans 8-10)